Readable Web gives you two ways to hear web page text spoken. Both methods use the voice and settings you have chosen in the Readable Web settings panel.

Method 1 — Hover over text

Simply move your mouse pointer over any text on a web page. Readable Web will automatically speak the word, line, or block of text under the pointer — depending on which speak mode is active on the toolbar.

Ctrl+Move to Speak: If this setting is enabled in Settings, hovering alone does not trigger speech. Instead, hover over the text you want to hear, then press and release the Ctrl key to start reading.

Method 2 — Select text

Select any text on the page by clicking and dragging with your mouse. As soon as you release the mouse button, Readable Web speaks the selected text and underlines it as it plays (if underline highlighting is enabled and supported by the chosen voice).

Stopping speech

Press the Shift key at any time to stop speech immediately. Alternatively, left-click your mouse anywhere on the page to stop.

Hover speak modes

The toolbar lets you choose how much text is spoken when hovering. See Toolbar Buttons for full details. The three modes are:

  • Speak Word — speaks the single word under the mouse pointer
  • Speak Line — speaks the whole line under the mouse pointer
  • Speak Block — speaks the paragraph or sentence block under the pointer
If no speech is heard: Check your computer volume and audio settings. Also check that Silent Mode is not ticked in Readable Web Settings.