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DocuVocal

Read PDF Aloud

Follow along while your PDF is read to you. Every sentence lights up as it is spoken, so your eyes and ears stay on the same line.

Want to keep it?

Turn this book into an audiobook you can download: an M4B with chapters, MP3 files, or a feed for your podcast app. The DocuVocal Library is on its way, with chapters you can edit and fair per-book pricing.

Coming soon

How it works

  1. 1

    Open a PDF: drag it onto the page or tap to choose a file.

  2. 2

    Pick a voice and a speed that feels comfortable.

  3. 3

    Read along with the highlight, or tap any sentence to jump straight to it.

Read along without losing your place

Listening and reading at the same time helps many people focus, from students working through dense chapters to readers with dyslexia or ADHD. DocuVocal highlights the sentence being spoken and keeps it in view as the page scrolls. Where your browser supports it, the current word is underlined too. Tap any sentence to restart from there.

Made for study and long documents

Research papers, reports and textbook chapters are full of clutter that breaks concentration when read aloud. DocuVocal removes running headers, page numbers and broken hyphenation, and leaves the reference list out of the narration. Headings are kept, so you always know which section you are in, and you can skip a whole paragraph forward or back with one tap.

Comfortable on any screen

The reader works in a modern browser on a laptop, tablet or phone. Use the keyboard on a computer: space to play or pause, and the arrow keys to move one sentence at a time.

Questions

Can it highlight words as they are read?

It always highlights the current sentence. Word-by-word underlining appears when your browser voice reports word positions, which most desktop browsers do. The natural voice highlights by sentence.

Is reading a PDF aloud helpful for dyslexia?

Many readers with dyslexia find that hearing text while following a highlight reduces effort and improves recall. You can slow the voice down, jump back a sentence, and choose a voice you find easy to listen to.

Do I need to create an account?

No. Open the page, add your PDF and press play. An account will only be needed for the upcoming DocuVocal Library, where your books are saved.

Will I be able to listen away from my screen?

Yes, that is what the DocuVocal Library is for. It will turn a whole PDF book into an audiobook you keep, with chapters, so you can listen in your podcast or audiobook app on a walk or a commute.

What if my PDF has two columns?

Single-column pages read best today. On two-column layouts, such as many journal papers, the reader can run across both columns, so a page may sound jumbled. If that happens, use the report link under the player; better column handling is on our list.