There are many users who regularly use the Acrobat Reader DC program (popularly known as Adobe Reader). The truth is that its free version offers many interesting functions such as viewing, printing or signing PDF files, but there are many other things that we can do. In this post we are going to see How to read a PDF aloud with Adobe Acrobat Reader.
The screen reading function can be very useful in many cases. For example, when we are faced with particularly long documents, or when we have visual fatigue and want to know the content of a document without having to fix our eyes on the screen.
This is a fairly unknown function and, therefore, not widely used by users. However, it is tremendously useful. By reading a PDF aloud with Adobe Acrobat Reader, we will be able to hear the content of our PDF documents with clear and realistic voices, regardless of the language in which the program is configured.
Among other things, its options menu allows us to configure aspects such as the volume or the number of words per minute. The fact that it is such a little-known function is due to the fact that it is always disabled by default when we install the program on our computer, although the activation process is very simple.
How to activate read aloud mode
No, it's not a miracle. Adobe Acrobat Reader uses a sophisticated text-to-speech API that allows us to read our files aloud. Not only that, it is also possible to personalize this experience by configuring the narrator's voice according to our expenses and needs, and choosing the reading pace that best suits what we need at all times.
To activate the read aloud mode we must follow the following steps:
- First, we start the program and go directly to the page of the document that we want to be read aloud.
- Then, we go to the top left of the screen and click on the menu "Watch".
- Next, we select "Read out loud".*
- At this point we come across a series of Options to choose: whether the entire document is read aloud or only the current page:
- "Read only this page" so that the reading is only from the page in which we are.
- "Read to the end of the document" for a full read.
(*) There is another more direct way to activate this function using the following keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+Y.
Option settings
Once we have activated the function of reading a PDF aloud with Adobe Acrobat Reader, we can also proceed to customize it according to our preferences. These are the main configuration options:
- Type of voice. To see the different voices available and choose the one we want, we just have to go to the upper right menu and click on the "Edit" button. Next, we select “Preferences” and, within them, we choose “Reading”. Once this is done, all that remains is to remove the “Use default voice” checkmark and, finally, choose the narration voice (male or female) that we like best from the drop-down list.
- reading pace. This is another parameter that can also be adjusted, increasing or reducing the Words per minute count, depending on what we need in each case.
It must be said that this function can be activated or deactivated as many times as we want depending on our needs. To do so, just follow the steps explained in the previous section and select the relevant option.
Other options for reading PDF documents aloud
It is true that Acrobat Reader is the software that has most managed to refine the function of reading aloud PDF documents, but it is not the only one. exist other alternatives interesting that we can also use in other circumstances. These are the best two:
Microsoft Edge
Beyond its main function as a browser, it can also be used Microsoft Edge to open and read PDF files aloud. The screen reader feature for listening to PDF files is very easy to find and activate. We will see it as a clearly differentiated separate element in the menu bar. So all you have to do is click "Out loud reading» to start voice playback.
You can also use a keyboard shortcut for activation: Shift + Ctrl + U. As for the additional options (speed, type of voice, etc.) they are available just by pressing the reading button.
Foxit PDF Reader
The program Foxit PDF Reader (pictured above) is one of the most popular alternatives to Acrobat Reader. It also allows you to activate the read aloud option. For this you have to go first to the "View" button, then to the "Read" option and finally press "Activate Read". From there, the configuration options are virtually identical to those of Adobe Reader.