How to Convert Text to Speech and an Audio File on MacBook

How to Convert Text to Speech

Sometimes you have a lengthy online article to read, but you are lazy to read it. Fortunately, you can have your Mac read it for you. Here is the way of “How to”:

1. On your Mac at up left corner, choose Apple menu  , choose “System Preferences”, click “Accessibility”, then, at the left panel, click “Speech”.
2. Select the “Speak selected text when the key is pressed” checkbox. By default, speaking is enabled when you press “Option-Esc”.
3. To have your Mac start speaking, select text item, and then press “Option-Esc”. To stop the speaking, press “Option-Esc” again. If text is selected when you press the key, the selected text is spoken. Otherwise, available text items in the current window are spoken.

Here is an example, you highlight the text and then press “Option-Esc”. Listen to it : This is a good post, try and enjoy it.

How to Convert Text to an Audio File

1. Select text item you want to convert into an audio file
2. Right-click on the block of text and from the ‘Services’ submenu, select “Add to iTunes as Spoken Track”.
3. The audio track will then open up in iTunes.
4. If you want to convert audio file to mp3 file, you can first click iTunes app on your Mac. On your MacBook up left corner, choose iTunes > Preferences, then click General. Click Import Settings. In the Import Using pop-up menu, choose the format you want to convert songs to, then click OK to save the settings. Select one or more songs in your library, then on your MacBook up left corner choose File > Convert > Create [format] Version.

Following is converted mp3 file of “This is a good post, try and enjoy it.”