Other PDF Issues

Fix Adobe Acrobat Read Out Loud Stopping at End-of-Line Hyphens

Camila Milosovich Nov 3, 2026 869 views

Question details

Users experience an issue where Adobe Acrobat's Read Out Loud text-to-speech feature abruptly stops reading or mispronounces words that are divided by an end-of-line hyphen.

How to Fix Acrobat Read Out Loud Stopping at End-of-Line Hyphens

Product: Adobe Acrobat
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Listening to a paragraph in a PDF document using the built-in Read Out Loud accessibility tool.
Observed behavior: The text-to-speech engine misinterprets end-of-line hyphens, causing it to stop reading the rest of the paragraph or mispronounce the split words.

Before you start

Verify that your computer's audio is working correctly and check if there is a pending software update for your Adobe Acrobat application.

Solution 1Recommended

Use Full Page or Document Reading Commands

Switching the Read Out Loud command from reading individual paragraphs to reading the entire page or document bypasses the hyphenation limitation.

This issue is a known limitation in certain versions of Adobe Acrobat where the text-to-speech engine struggles with paragraph-level hyphenation. Changing the reading scope prevents the engine from halting prematurely.

Open your PDF

Launch Adobe Acrobat and open the PDF document you want to read.

Navigate to the View menu

Click on 'View' in the top menu bar to open the viewing options.

Access Read Out Loud

Hover your cursor over 'Read Out Loud' in the dropdown menu.

Select a broader reading option

Click on either 'Read This Page Only' or 'Read to End of Document'. The system will now continue reading without stopping at line-ending hyphens.

Use Full Page or Document Reading Commands

Temporary Workaround: This method effectively bypasses the bug until Adobe releases a permanent patch for paragraph-level reading.

Solution 2

Update Adobe Acrobat to the Latest Release

Installing the latest updates ensures you have the most recent bug fixes and patches for the Read Out Loud feature.

Read PDFs Smoothly with WPS Office

If Adobe Acrobat's reading bugs disrupt your workflow, use WPS Office. It features a reliable, built-in PDF reader with smooth text-to-speech capabilities that handle text formatting and hyphenation effortlessly.

1. Download and install: Get the free WPS Office suite from the official website and install it on your device.
2. Open your PDF: Right-click your PDF document, select 'Open with', and choose WPS Office.
3. Start reading: Navigate to the 'View' tab and click on the 'Text to Speech' or 'Read' option to listen to your document smoothly.

Smooth text-to-speech reading without abrupt hyphenation stopsFully compatible with all standard Adobe PDF file formatsFree, lightweight, and incredibly fast to load complex documentsIntuitive user interface that requires no learning curve

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Acrobat Read Out Loud stop at hyphens?

This happens because the text-to-speech engine in some versions of Acrobat incorrectly interprets an end-of-line hyphen as the absolute end of a text block or sentence, causing it to halt playback prematurely.

Can I remove the hyphens from the PDF to fix this?

Yes. If you have a PDF editor, you can manually edit the text blocks to remove end-of-line hyphens. However, this can alter the document's layout and is very time-consuming for lengthy files.

What is the keyboard shortcut for Read Out Loud in Acrobat?

You can activate Read Out Loud by pressing Shift + Ctrl + Y (Windows) or Shift + Cmd + Y (Mac). To read the current page only, use Shift + Ctrl + V (or Shift + Cmd + V).

Does WPS Office have a feature to read PDFs out loud?

Yes, WPS Office includes a robust PDF reader that supports text-to-speech, allowing you to listen to your documents with natural pacing and without the formatting interruptions found in some other software.

PDF Troubleshooting