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Listen to our website

We have provided two simple tools - Browsealoud and DixerIT Plus - that enable you to listen to our web pages. You may find these tools helpful if:

  • you find it hard to read
  • you have learning difficulties
  • English is not your first language
  • you have a mild visual impairments

Browsealoud

Browsealoud is a small software application that can be downloaded free of charge. Once you have downloaded and installed Browsealoud, you can use the software to listen to any website that has been enabled, including the BBC site. Browsealoud can be easily downloaded and operated from a computer hard disk or a USB flash drive.

Browsealoud

How to use Browsealoud

The software only needs to be downloaded once and can be used on Windows PCs using Internet Explorer or Apple Macs using Safari.
When browsealoud is installed you will see a small icon of blue concentric circles in your system tray - the area in the bottom right hand corner of your screen, near the clock. This icon indicates that Browsealoud is ready for use on your computer.

Listening to pages

By moving your mouse over the text on a website, Browsealoud will read the text to you. The software is also able to read PDF documents on our website.

Settings

Once installed, you can customise various settings including the voice and volume. To adjust the settings, right-click on the Browsealoud icon in system tray and select "Open Browsealoud settings".

Help

For further help and assistance with the Browsealoud application, take a look at the Browsealoud FAQs.

Please be aware that Browsealoud is an electronic reader, and on occasions the reader may mispronounce some unusual words. If this affects your understanding of our pages then you can change the pronunciation within the Browsealoud settings.

DixerIT icons

DixerITPlus

DixerIT Plus makes it possible to listen to most pages on this site. Select the "Listen" link at the top of the page to launch the tool. If the page you are viewing can not be read aloud using DixerIT, then you will be able to download Browsealoud instead.

Listening to pages

You can use DixerIT Plus to:
  • Listen to sections of text by highlighting it and selecting the "Read Text" icon.
  • Listen to any paragraph by hovering your mouse pointer over it, and selecting the paragraph icon that appears after a short time.
  • Listen to all of the links on the page by selecting the "Read Links" icon. Each link is read out with a number - to follow a particular link enter the link's number in the "Goto" box and select "Go".

Saving speech

After listening to a section of text you can save the speech file by selecting on the "Save" icon. You will be prompted for a filename and location to save the file, using your computer's standard file window.

Stopping speech

You can stop DixerIT Plus from reading by selecting the "Stop" icon.

Changing speech settings

You can change the settings for DixerIT Plus by selecting the "Settings" icon.

Getting help

If you need extra help select on the "Help" icon. This provides the most up-to-date help for DixerIT Plus and may include information that isn't available here.

Exiting DixerIT Plus

To exit DixerIT Plus and remove the toolbar select the "Exit" icon. The toolbar will be removed and you will be returned to the website.

Page information

  • Updated: 11 Jan 2012
  • Web Operations Team
  • Send to a friend
  • http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/?a=180897