# Using text-to-speech on PC

{% hint style="warning" %}
Text-to-speech is not natively supported in Windows or ENGAGE. The following solution uses third-party software which is not verified or endorsed by ENGAGE XR.
{% endhint %}

If you have software on your computer that can convert text to speech, which includes Microsoft Word, then you can feed that computer generated voice into the ENGAGE application to speak on your behalf. To do this, you use a piece of software called a *virtual audio cable*. Example software includes the following:

* VB-CABLE: <https://vb-audio.com/Cable/>
* Virtual Audio Cable (VAC): <https://vac.muzychenko.net/en/download.htm>
* JACK Audio Connection Kit: <https://jackaudio.org/>

The following instructions use Microsoft Word and VB-CABLE.

## Setting up Microsoft Word for text-to-speech

There are two methods that you can use to generate speech in Microsoft Word. You can use the following instructions to enable both, and then decide which you prefer.

1. Open Microsoft Word and create a blank document.
2. On the ribbon, select **File**.
3. In the bottom-left corner of the files page, select **Options**.
4. In the **Word Options** window, select **Quick Access Toolbar**.
5. From the **Choose commands from** list, select **All Commands**.
6. From the list of commands on the left, select **Speak**, and then select the **Add** button between the two lists.
7. From the list of commands on the left, select **Speech**, and then select the **Add** button between the two lists.
8. Select **OK**.

Two icons are added to the Quick Access Toolbar, as shown in the following image:

<figure><img src="https://3460182399-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwVx6bvwqEE7tD0TYOcfj%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-19ec17a398a1b86d6747bb19ba36143030a9538d%2Faccess_toolbar.png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption><p>Speak and Speech options on the Quick Access Toolbar</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
If you don't see the Quick Access Toolbar, right-click on the ribbon, and then select **Show Quick Access Toolbar**.
{% endhint %}

## Using Speak in Microsoft Word

The Speak tool has an unnatural voice, but produces the audio quickly.

1. Enter text in the document, and then highlight that text.
2. In the Quick Access Toolbar, select ![](https://3460182399-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwVx6bvwqEE7tD0TYOcfj%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-0dc33ae16d53343f4c63814e7944bfcb098611d7%2Faccess_speak_icon.png?alt=media) **Speak selected text**.

## Using Speech in Microsoft Word

The Speech tool has a more natural voice, but is slower.

1. In the Quick Access Toolbar, select ![](https://3460182399-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwVx6bvwqEE7tD0TYOcfj%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-1064b88a9b0701b52dca4146b8e80b6f7c767784%2Faccess_speech_icon.png?alt=media) **Speech**, and then select **Read Aloud** from the menu that appears. The Read Aloud toolbar appears.
2. To change the voice gender, select **Settings** on the Read Aloud toolbar, and then choose a gender from the **Voice Selection** list.
3. When you want to generate speech from text, highlight the text, and then select the **Play** button on the Read Aloud toolbar.

{% hint style="info" %}
If you don't highlight any text, the Speech tool reads from the current cursor position to the end of the document.
{% endhint %}

## Sending voice output to the virtual audio cable

The following instructions assume that you have VB-CABLE installed. The steps for other virtual audio cable software will be similar.

{% hint style="warning" %}
After you send audio output to the virtual audio cable, it will no longer be sent to your headphones or speakers. Because of this, you will not be able to hear any audio from the source application. If you want to undo the change, repeat the steps but select **Default** as the **Output device**.
{% endhint %}

1. Choose one of the following options:
   * Press the Windows ![](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/a-z-word-list-term-collections/s/media/start-button-start-menu/967781121.png) key on your keyboard.
   * On the taskbar, select the Windows Start ![](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/style-guide/a-z-word-list-term-collections/s/media/start-button-start-menu/967781121.png) button.
2. In the Search bar, enter `sound mixer`, and then select **Sound mixer options** in the **Best match** section of the search results.
3. On the **Volume mixer** page, in the **Apps** section, expand the application that will generate your speech. In this example, Microsoft Word.
4. From the **Output** device list, select the virtual audio cable.

<figure><img src="https://3460182399-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwVx6bvwqEE7tD0TYOcfj%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-8f05dfe9f77f2fa92cb52ae193413f56fc2c4bbf%2Faccess_sound_mixer.png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption><p>Virtual cable configured as an output device</p></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
You don't need to configure the **Input device** for the ENGAGE application. You do that in the ENGAGE application instead.
{% endhint %}

## Receiving voice input from the virtual audio cable

To use the output from the text-to-speech application in ENGAGE, complete the following steps:

1. In a session, press **Esc** on your keyboard to open your menu.
2. From the right-hand menu, select the cog icon.
3. On the **Settings** page, select **User Preferences**.
4. On the **User Preferences** page, from the **Microphone** list, select the virtual audio cable.

<figure><img src="https://3460182399-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FwVx6bvwqEE7tD0TYOcfj%2Fuploads%2Fgit-blob-f1f0720f6ade9e318def20fe685118ac1685d04e%2Faccess_engage_settings.png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption><p>Option to select a microphone input in ENGAGE</p></figcaption></figure>

When you generate voice from text in the source application, you will see the microphone indicator move in ENGAGE. However, you will not hear the spoken audio.

{% hint style="info" %}
If your software provides multiple virtual audio cables, ensure that you choose the same cable in both the volume mixer and in ENGAGE.
{% endhint %}