YouTube clip of Orato
Orato is a free text reader which can be installed on your PC or run from a USB Pen Drive for portable use.
It can read text from:
- Microsoft Word,
- PDFs,
- emails,
- the internet.
You can download Orato directly from:
- This website (we host a copy of Orato)
- or, as part of CALL Scotland's MyStudyBar.
How do I use Orato?
- Select some text;
- Press Ctrl-C to copy it;
- Click the Speak button in the Orato window.
If you'd prefer not to have the text displayed in the Orato window, untick Show text when reading in the Options.
Reading a PDF file
When reading a PDF (such as a Digital Exam paper) we recommend changing one of the settings.
- Click on the Options button,
- untick Automatically start reading clipboard.
If you leave this option selected, Orato will read out the text and then repeat the first few characters, which is disconcerting.
Using different voices
- Click on the Options button,
- Click Set Voice in the Voice section,
- A pop-up Speech Properties will appear,
- Select your preferred voice from the Voice selection list,
- Press OK.
