How to read a Word document aloud
Word can read your documents aloud, right from the Review tab. It's often the simplest way to proofread a text you're writing. Readotte, on the other hand, doesn't read .docx files: you go through a PDF or copy and paste. Here are both paths.
How do you get Word to read a document aloud?
In Word for Windows, open the Review tab and select Read Aloud, or press Ctrl+Alt+Space. Word reads from the cursor and highlights the text as it goes.
Controls appear: Play, Pause, Previous and Next to move between paragraphs, and Stop. On a Mac, Microsoft lists the shortcut Ctrl+Option+Space.
How do you change the voice or speed in Word?
Select the gear icon in the reading controls: it opens Voice Selection and a Reading speed slider. On the keyboard, Alt+Left or Right arrow decreases or increases the speed, and Ctrl+Space plays or pauses.
The available voices depend on your system and your version of Word, and Microsoft's help describes a different variant of these controls for some licenses. So the menus may look slightly different for you.
What is Immersive Reader in Word?
Immersive Reader is a reading view that adjusts how the text is displayed and can also read it aloud. In Word for the web, it's on the View tab, under Document Views, Immersive Reader.
In desktop Word, its location can vary with the version, so look on the View tab first. It mostly helps you follow along as you read; to proofread your writing, Read Aloud is more direct.
Can Readotte read a Word file?
No, Readotte doesn't open .docx files. It reads PDFs that contain text, articles from a link, and pasted text.
Two simple workarounds: save the document as a PDF, or copy all the text (Ctrl+A, then Ctrl+C) and paste it into Readotte to turn text into speech, up to 400,000 characters per document.
How do you save a Word document as a PDF to listen to it?
In Word, choose File, then Save As (or Export, depending on the version), and select PDF as the file type. Then drop that PDF into Readotte and start playback.
Word exports sometimes put each word in a separate object, which makes some readers stutter; Readotte rebuilds sentences, headings and lists in order and leaves out repeated headers, footers and page numbers. Copy and paste keeps less of the heading structure, but it's instant.
Word or Readotte: which should you use?
To proofread a text while you're writing it, Word's Read Aloud is enough: it reads inside the document itself, so you fix things as you listen, with no export. It's the best option to proofread a text by ear when you're already in Word.
Readotte becomes useful to listen to a long finished document over several sessions, on a computer or phone, resuming at the sentence where you stopped, or to get an MP3 of it for personal use with Readotte Plus at €3.99 a month. It reads only French and English and stays free for about 10 minutes a day; for a thesis in English, see also English text to speech.
Listen to your document
PDF with selectable text, 25 MB max. Scanned PDFs (images only) are not read yet.
ListenFrequently asked questions
I don't see Read Aloud on the Review tab. Why?
The button may be missing in some versions or editions of Word; if it doesn't appear, Microsoft suggests signing in to your Microsoft 365 account and restarting Word. You can also try Ctrl+Alt+Space.
Do I need to keep the Word file for Readotte?
No. Readotte doesn't keep the uploaded PDF file: it only keeps the extracted text in your library, until you delete it.
Does Readotte read Google Docs or LibreOffice documents?
Not directly: export them to PDF or copy and paste their text, as with Word.