Windows 7: Text to Speech Shortcut - Create

   Information

This will show you how to create or download a Text to Speech shortcut that opens to this tab in the Speech Properties window. You can also Pin to Taskbar or Pin to Start Menu this shortcut, or move where you like in Windows 7 for easy use.

   Note

The following table describes the text-to-speech options on the Text to Speech tab.

Option	Description
Voice selection	Lists available text-to-speech voices. Click a voice to activate it. Once selected, the text-to-speech engine will speak the text to preview the voice.
Settings	Shows additional information or options about the text-to-speech engine. It is specific to the engine type, and not all engines have additional properties.
Use the following text to preview the voice	Displays the sample text spoken by the text-to-speech playback voice. You can change the text temporarily, but it will always default to the original content.
Preview Voice	Speaks the text in the Use the following text to preview the voice box using the selected voice. Each word is highlighted as the engine speaks it. When speaking, the Preview Voice button changes to Stop, which allows you to end the speech. When finished speaking (or if it's stopped), the Stop button changes back to the Preview Voice button.
Voice speed	Adjusts the rate of speech for the text-to-speech playback voice.
Audio output	Opens the Sound dialog box. You can adjust settings for your audio output devices.
Advanced	Click to set a preferred audio device as output for text-to-speech playback. It will be active only if there is at least one audio device installed.

OPTION ONE

Download the Shortcut

1. Click on the download button below to download the file below.

Text_to_Speech.zip

2. Click on Save, and save the .zip file to the desktop.

3. Open the .zip file and extract the Text to Speech shortcut to the desktop.

4. Right click on the Text to Speech shortcut, and click on Properties, General tab, and on the Unblock button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you do not have a Unblock button under the General tab, then the shortcut is already unblocked and you can continue on to step 5.

5. Move the shortcut to where you like for easy use.

6. When done, you can delete the downloaded .zip file on the desktop if you like, or save it to use again.

OPTION TWO

Manually Create the Shortcut

1. Right click on a empty area on desktop, and click on New and Shortcut.

2. Type the location below into the location area, and click on the Next button. (See screenshot below)

Code:

%WinDir%\explorer.exe shell:::{D17D1D6D-CC3F-4815-8FE3-607E7D5D10B3}

OR

Code:

%WinDir%\System32\rundll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL %SystemRoot%\System32\Speech\SpeechUX\sapi.cpl,,1

3. Type Text to Speech for the name, and click on the Finish button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: You can name this anything you would like though.

4. Right click on the new Text to Speech shortcut on the Desktop and click on Properties.

5. Click on the Shortcut tab, then click on the Change Icon button. (See screenshot below)

6. In the line under "Look for icons in this file", type the location below and press Enter. (See screenshot below)

Code:

%SystemRoot%\System32\Speech\SpeechUX\sapi.cpl

7. Select the icon highlighted in blue above and click on OK. (See screenshot above)
NOTE: You can use any icon that you would like instead though.

8. Click on OK. (See screenshot below)

9. Move the shortcut to where you like for easy use.