Narrator: How to enable or disable reading aloud in Windows

Narrator is a built-in tool in the Windows operating system that allows you to read text from the device screen with your voice. Quite a lot of users are not aware of the existence of this feature in the OS.

Windows Narrator is a component of the operating system designed primarily for people with disabilities, such as those with vision problems. In this case, the voice of the screen reader will help you familiarize yourself with the content of the text or understand the details of the program and system interface.

Narrator reads the text on the screen with your voice, announces the names of the details of the software interface when you hover over an object with the mouse cursor. These functions are of great help to visually impaired or blind people when working on a computer.

Healthy users can also use Narrator features when they don’t have time to read something because they’re busy doing other things. The user can use the services of a screen reader in various situations when it is necessary to read an e-mail, a text document, or an article on a website on the Internet by voice.

Narrator uses text-to-speech (TTS) technology built into Microsoft Windows. The program reads text on the screen or on web pages automatically from top to bottom.

In this article, we’ll cover several topics: turning on Narrator, how to turn off Narrator, application settings, using keyboard shortcuts to control the tool. The instructions in this guide are based on an example of using this feature on the Windows 10 operating system.

How to turn on Windows Narrator – 7 ways

First, let’s look at how to turn on Narrator on your computer. In the Windows 10 operating system, you need to perform the necessary steps to activate the application, which can be done in different ways.

1 way:

1. Enter the Start menu to launch the Settings app.
2. From the Options window, go to Accessibility.
3. Open the Narrator tab.
4. In the “Use Narrator” section, in the “Turn on Narrator” option, move the toggle switch to the “On” position.

2 way:

1. Press the keyboard keys “Win” + “Ctrl” + “Enter”.
2. The Narrator window opens, alerting you to changes to the keyboard to control the app.
3. Click on the “OK” button.

While reading, the spoken text or interface is outlined in blue. If you don’t want to see this warning every time, check the Don’t show again box.

4. In the Narrator window that opens, you can review the app’s options and features.

Next, you can use Windows 10 Narrator for your intended purpose.

3 way:

1. Press the “Win” + “R” keys.
2. In the “Run” dialog box, you need to enter the command – “narrator” (without quotes).
3. Click on the “OK” button.

After that, Narrator is turned on on the PC.

4 way:

1. Enter the start menu.
2. Open the Accessibility folder.
3. Click the Narrator app.

5 way:

1. Launch Windows Command Prompt .
2. In the command line interpreter window, type the command: “narrator”, and then press the “Enter” key.

6 way:

1. Launch Windows PowerShell .
2. In a PowerShell shell window, run the command: “narrator”.

7 way:

1. Open Control Panel .
2. In the All Control Panel Items window (in this image, the view view is small icons), click on Ease of Access Center.
3. In the “Make your computer easier” section, in the “Frequently used tools” option, click on the “Enable Narrator” option.

Narrator settings in Windows 10

In Windows 10, the user has two options to customize the application to suit their needs. You can do this from the Settings app or Narrator preferences.

In the Windows OS settings, select the appropriate settings for the program to run on your computer. You can change Narrator settings as you wish, changing them to something that is more convenient or effective for you personally.

In the “Launch options” option, specify your preferred options for launching the application.

The Customize Narrator Voice section lets you choose a suitable voice, add a new voice, adjust the tone, volume, or speech speed. The following voices are available for the Russian language: “Microsoft Irina” (“Irina”) and “Microsoft Pavel” (“Paul”).

The “Change the information spoken during reading and interaction” section contains parameters that regulate the interaction of the user with the speaker when certain situations occur on the computer: what exactly to read, whether to change the voice, context, etc.

The section “Change the information spoken when entering text” regulates the order of speaking in different situations.

The “Choose Keyboard Options” section contains options for configuring the use of keyboard keys.

The Use Narrator Cursor section sets preferences for Narrator focus.

The “Use Braille”, “Manage Data and Services”, and “Read Faster in Scan Mode” sections contain other application settings that may be useful in some situations.

Narrator hotkeys

The Narrator component uses hot keys in its work, with the help of which the user can conveniently control the application’s functions. The full set of hot keys can be found on the official Microsoft website page at this link .

How to turn off Windows 10 Narrator – 7 Ways

In some cases, the text-to-speech or software interface functionality is not required, so users will benefit from information on how to turn off Narrator.

1 way to disable Narrator in Windows:

After launching the screen reader, you need to press the keys “Win” + “Ctrl” + “Enter”. Pressing these keys again will stop the application.

2 way:

Pressing the “Caps Lock” + “Esc” keys closes the program on the PC.

3 way:

Just close the Narrator window that is open on the Windows desktop.

4 way to turn off Narrator in Windows 10:

1. Enter Windows Settings.
2. Open Accessibility.
3. In the Narrator tab, in the Use Narrator option, set the toggle switch to the Disabled position.

5 way:

1. Right-click the Narrator app icon in the Taskbar.
2. Select “Close Window” from the context menu.

6 way:

1. Right-click the program icon in the notification area.
2. In the menu that opens, click on “Turn off Narrator”.

7 way to turn off Windows Narrator:

If for some reason you cannot disable Narrator using the suggested methods, you can use the services of the Task Manager.

In the “Task Manager” window, in the “Processes” tab, find “Screen Reader”. Right-click on it and select End Task from the context menu.

This operation disables Narrator in Windows 10.

Article Conclusions

Windows has a built-in Narrator tool that allows you to read text aloud and speak the interface settings of the operating system and programs. First of all, these functions are necessary for people with disabilities, in particular those with vision problems. Any Windows 10 user can use Narrator to read aloud any text on their computer screen, for example, when they are busy doing other things.