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How to Listen to Text on the Speechify Mac App

With the new Speechify Mac app, you don’t need to upload files or select specific pages anymore. You can use Speechify directly across your Mac to listen to any text anywhere you type, including PDFs, Word documents, emails, messages, and more.

Written by Mike B

Option 1 — Play Selected Text

You can instantly listen to selected text anywhere on your Mac.

  1. Open any app on your Mac (PDF, browser, email, Word, etc.)

  2. Highlight or select the text you want to listen to

  3. Press Option + A (⌥ + A) on your keyboard

Speechify will immediately begin reading the selected text aloud, and the Miniplayer will appear.

Option 2 — Screenshot to Listen

You can also listen to text that cannot be selected, such as images or scanned PDFs.

  1. Press Option + X (⌥ + X) on your keyboard

  2. Select the area containing the text you want to read

Speechify will automatically extract the text and begin reading it aloud.

Playback Controls

Pause or Resume Playback

  • Press Option + Q (⌥ + Q) at any time to pause or resume playback.

  • You can also use the pause button on the Miniplayer.

Cancel Playback

  • To stop playback completely, click the X button on the Miniplayer.

That’s it, no uploading or copying needed!

Need more help?


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