Windows Narrator (Screen Reader)

  • Article

The Windows Narrator (Screen Reader) component provides a text-to-speech utility for users who have low vision. Narrator reads text displayed on the user's screen, for example, the contents of the active window, menu options, and the text typed on the page.

Narrator is designed to work with Notepad, Wordpad, Control Panel programs, Internet Explorer, the Windows desktop, and Windows setup. Narrator may not read words aloud correctly in other programs.

Narrator allows users to customize the way screen elements are read in the following ways:

  • New windows, menus, or shortcut menus can be read aloud when they are displayed.
  • Typed characters can be read aloud.
  • Mouse pointer can follow the active item on the screen.
  • The speed, volume, or pitch of the voice can be changed.

The Accessibility tools that ship with Microsoft Windows XP are intended to provide a minimum level of functionality for users with special needs.

Services

There are no services associated with this component.

Associated Components

No other components interact with this component.

Settings

Narrator provides a dialog box that can be used to configure Narrator for each user.

Last updated on Wednesday, October 18, 2006

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