Sometimes we may need to convert text from Notepad, Word, web page, email into speech voice so we can use it as narration in a video or presentation. In an earlier article, we demonstrated how to convert text to speech or audio file using Adobe Audition. Audition however is a paid-for app. Is it possible to convert text to audio file in Windows 10 without any fee? Today, we will show you how to achieve that using the inbuilt Narrator for Windows 10 and free third-party audio recorders.
Narrator is an app for reading screen and interacting with things on the screen, like text and buttons. Windows 10 users can use it on PC to read and write email, browse internet, and work with documents. In order to create audio files from plain text file in Windows, we can enable Narrator in Windows 10 and allow it to read the text, then launch the voice recorder to record the sound input and save it as audio files in Windows 10. Note that you can even directly capture sound from the Narrator app other than your microphone so the voice quality does not suffer. Check out the details below.
Enable Narrator in Windows 10
Go to Settings > Ease of Access > Narrator, and then turn on the toggle under Use Narrator. Or simply search ‘narrator’ in the search box at the bottom left corner of the task bar to quickly access Narrator on Windows 10 computer.
Finally, you can personalize Narrator’s voice, change a different voice, adjust speaking rate, increase or lower down voice pitch, change voice volume. You can even install additional languages and text-to-speech (TTS) voices on your Windows 10 computer.
Prepare the text to be read and recorded
Create a new document in Notepad or Word on your PC. Copy the text from web page, email, PDF or other document to Notepad or Word. Since the Narrator may not read words correctly in other programs.
Read out text without Narrator
You can also choose to read out loud any text on your compute without turning on the Narrator in Windows 10. We have explained this method in this guide to read text without Narrator in Windows 10.
Directly record Narrator voice in Windows 10
Windows 10 has the new Voice Recorder app which we can use to record lectures, conversations or any other sound. It however captures the sound from only microphone. Audacity is a free, open source multi-track audio editor and recorder. It is a great alternative to the stock Voice Recorder for Windows 10. It is powerful and easy to use. You can refer to this tutorial to record system audio in Windows 10 using Audacity for free. You will have the options to save the recorded voice as MP3, WAV, AIFF, OGG and other audio file formats.
