Hear text read aloud with Narrator

Narrator is a text-to-speech program (or basic screen reader) that is built into Windows Vista. Narrator reads menus without leaving the active window. Individuals who use Narrator will also find a more pleasant, natural sounding voice in Windows Vista.

There are two ways to start Narrator:

Start Narrator from Quick Access to common tools for use in the current session, or
Turn on Narrator so that it starts automatically each time you log on.

Start Narrator for the current session

Mouse actions

Keyboard actions

To open the Ease of Access Center, select:

Start.
Control Panel.
Ease of Access.
Ease of Access Center.

To open the Ease of Access Center, press:

Windows logo key [image: Windows logo key] +U.

Under Quick access to common tools, select:

Start Narrator.

Under Quick access to common tools, select:

Start Narrator by pressing ALT+N.

[image: Screenshot of Ease of Access Center]

Turn on Narrator so that it starts automatically each time you log on to your computer

Mouse actions

Keyboard actions

Under Explore all settings, select:

Use the computer without a display, by pressing TAB, then ENTER.

Under Explore all settings, select:

Use the computer without a display, by pressing TAB, then ENTER.

Under Hear text read aloud, select:

Turn on Narrator.
Select Save.

Under Hear text read aloud, select:

Turn on Narrator by pressing ALT+U.
Select Save by pressing ALT+S.

More Narrator Tutorials

Narrator Tip

When the Narrator settings window is minimized to the taskbar, you can restore it by pressing ALT+TAB until Microsoft Narrator is selected, then release the keys.

More Information

See this list of Narrator keyboard shortcuts.

Microsoft Accessibility: Technology for Everyone

Hear text read aloud with Narrator

Start Narrator for the current session

Turn on Narrator so that it starts automatically each time you log on to your computer

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