How to Show Reading Position in Acrobat Read Aloud
Question details
The user wants to know how to display a visual marker or highlight indicating the text currently being read aloud in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Listening to a PDF document using the built-in Read Aloud accessibility feature.
- Observed behavior
- The text is read aloud, but there is no visual indicator or highlight to track the current reading position on the screen.
Ensure your computer's audio is working properly and verify that you have successfully activated the Read Aloud feature in Acrobat by navigating to View > Read Aloud > Activate Read Aloud.
Use Native Operating System Screen Readers
Since Adobe Acrobat Reader does not provide a built-in text highlighting marker during Read Aloud, using native OS screen readers is the best alternative to get visual feedback.
Adobe Acrobat Reader currently lacks a dedicated feature to visually highlight or track words as they are spoken by the native Read Aloud tool. To get a visual tracking marker, you can utilize built-in accessibility tools like Windows Narrator or Mac VoiceOver, which offer visual highlights as they read text on the screen.
On Windows, press Windows + Ctrl + N to open the Narrator settings. On Mac, open System Settings and navigate to Accessibility > VoiceOver.
In your OS accessibility settings, find the cursor tracking or highlighting option. For Windows Narrator, ensure the 'Have the insertion point follow Narrator' option is toggled on.
Open your PDF in Acrobat Reader, activate your OS screen reader (Windows + Ctrl + Enter for Narrator), and click on the text to let the tool read aloud while highlighting the current position.
Use Alternative Text-to-Speech Software
Opening the PDF in dedicated TTS software or a modern web browser can provide the word-by-word visual tracking you need.
Try WPS Office for a Smoother PDF Experience
WPS Office offers a powerful, built-in PDF reader that makes viewing, editing, and managing your PDF documents incredibly simple. It provides a comfortable reading environment with flexible layout options.
- 1. Download and Install: Visit the WPS official website, download the free version, and install it on your computer.
- 2. Open Your PDF: Launch WPS Office, click on 'PDF', and select 'Open' to browse and load your PDF document.
- 3. Customize Your Reading View: Use the 'View' tab to adjust the page layout, zoom level, and reading background color to perfectly suit your preferences.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I activate the Read Aloud feature in Adobe Acrobat Reader?
Go to the 'View' menu at the top, scroll down to 'Read Aloud', and click 'Activate Read Aloud'. You can then return to the same menu to select 'Read This Page Only' or 'Read To End of Document'.
Can I change the voice used in Acrobat Read Aloud?
Yes. Go to Edit > Preferences > Reading. Uncheck the 'Use Default Voice' option, and then select your preferred voice from the dropdown menu provided by your operating system.
Why is Acrobat Read Aloud skipping sections of my PDF?
This often happens if the PDF is an image-based scan rather than a text-based document. You may need to use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software to convert the images into readable text before the Read Aloud feature can process it.
