If you write a lot (and who doesn't these days?), it's common to make
mistakes in spelling, word usage, and grammar. As a former college writing
instructor, I told my students to get into the habit of reading their work
aloud as a form of proofreading. It worked wonders for them. Now there is
another way to do this using a tool called Key2Speak
from Madoogali Software.
Key2Speak
enables you to highlight text in any document or web page, and with a
click hear it read aloud. In this fashion, you can listen while you continue
working. It's a great time-saver.
Key2Speak
comes with a default English-speaking male voice, but the developer's web
site offers many other voices for download for other languages as well as
animated Microsoft Agents (those pesky little cartoon characters that pop-up
when you are trying to work). And if you like skinnable applications, then you
can also download different skins for Key2Speak.
Once installed, Key2Speak
minimizes to a convenient button on your icon tray. With a simple left
click you can turn it on or off, and with a right click, you can change
settings.
Just highlight the text you want to hear, copy it to the clipboard and Key2Speak
starts reading your words aloud. This is a very useful and inexpensive
($19.95) tool that belongs in everyone's toolbox. For more information, please
click here.
Key2Speak
