What This Feature Does
When you use the shortcut:
Speechify reads the text you’ve highlighted on your screen
A mini player automatically appears
Playback starts immediately from the selected text
This works across most apps, including browsers, documents, emails, and PDFs.
How to Use It
Open any app on your Mac (browser, email, PDF, Word, etc.)
Highlight the text you want to listen to
Press Option + A (⌥ + A) on your keyboard
Speechify will immediately start reading the selected text aloud
Pausing playback
Use the shortcut ⌥ Q at any time to play/pause playback. You can also tap the pause button on the Miniplayer.
Cancelling playback
You can click the ‘x’ button on the mini-player to cancel playback.
Troubleshooting
If the shortcut does not work:
Make sure text is properly highlighted
Check if another app is using the same shortcut
Try reselecting the text and pressing the shortcut again
Restart the Speechify app if needed
Important Notes
You must highlight text before using the shortcut
The feature works across most macOS apps
If nothing is selected, the shortcut will not trigger playback
Need more help?
Feel free to email us at [email protected]. To help us assist you faster, please include full details of your concern and a screen recording, if available.