You can hear the computer read text aloud in one of several different voices. To hear the computer speak, use the sound options in SimpleText, a text-editing program that came with your computer, or WorldText, a text-editing program in the CD Extras folder of your system software CD.

Open SimpleText for me.

Note: There are two versions of Text-to-Speech software: one that reads English text, and one that reads Spanish text.

To hear the computer read text aloud:

•	Type some text into a SimpleText document, then open the Sound menu and choose Speak All.
	You can make the computer's speech sound more natural by adding characters for pauses and emphasis.

To hear only part of the text:

•	Select the text you want to hear, then open the Sound menu and choose Speak Selection.

To stop the speaking:

•	Press Command-Period (.).

To change the voice you hear in SimpleText:

•	Open the Sound menu and choose Voices, then choose a voice from the submenu.

Tip: If you know how to use AppleScript, you can create scripts that speak.

If the Speak All menu item is unavailable:

•	You need to install the Text-to-Speech software on your computer.
	Depending on the software version you're using, you may be able to install English Text-to-Speech or Mexican Text-to-Speech using the Custom Install option in your system software Installer, or the applicable Installer in a text-to-speech folder in the CD Extras folder on your system software CD.
•	Make sure the Speech control panel is turned on in the Extensions Manager. Open the Extensions Manager for me.

If you can't hear the computer speak:

•	Make sure the computer's volume is turned up and the sound is not muted in the Sound control panel. Open the Sound control panel for me.
•	If you're using external speakers, make sure the speakers are turned on and that the volume is turned up.
•	Change the voice to Fred in the Sound menu, then choose Speak All.
	If you can hear the computer speak, the voice you were using before required more random-access memory (RAM) than was available. (The voices with "high quality" in their names have the most natural sound, but take up the most memory.)

If the pronunciation sounds strange:
If you have installed Mexican Spanish Text-to-Speech, you may be using a Mexican Spanish voice (Carlos or Catalina) to read English text, or an English voice to read Spanish text. Try changing the voice using the Voices submenu in the Sound menu.

If voices are missing from the Voices submenu:
If you did a custom installation to install your new speech software, you may have erased voices included with your old speech software. You can reinstall the old software and voices using the Custom Install option in the English Text-to-Speech Installer. You can download the Installer from the following Web site:

•	Apple's Speech Web site http://www.apple.com/speech