Some Windows 10 programs, such as Apple’s iTunes app, rely on the Windows 10 default system voice when applying voice clips to older iPod Nanos. You can change the text to speech voice that iTunes and apps like it use in Windows 10 by following the procedure below.
As with prior Windows versions, text to speech translation ability is built into the operating system, and so, is free to the Windows user; that is, you pay nothing more for it specifically. The biggest differences between this procedure in Windows 10 as compared with Windows 8, are the following:
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- Accessing the Control Panel from the start button no longer requires clicking the Settings item first, as Microsoft now provides direct access to Control Panel right on the Start button context menu.
- The Hazel voice has disappeared from the Speech Properties dialog box.
Otherwise, the Windows 10 and Windows 8 procedures are essentially the same. In this document, we’ll run through the Windows 10 version of how to change the default system voice below.
Setting Windows 10 Voice Instructions
1. Go to the Windows 10 Task Bar
Ours is located vertically at the left edge of the screen. However, you can choose the location of your task bar as well as whether it’s always on the screen, or only appears when you mouse over the screen’s edge. So yours may be oriented differently.
2. Right Click the Start Button on the Task Bar
This reveals the Start Context Menu.
3. Find the Control Panel Item to Continue with Setting Windows 10 Voice
It’s on the Start Button Context Menu.
The Windows 10 Control Panel window opens as shown next.
4. Left Click on the Ease of Access Center Option
Find this in the Control Panel window, as highlighted by the pink arrow in the previous picture. Picking this option produces the Ease of Access Center dialog box, shown next.
5. Go to the Use the Computer Without a Display Option
Described as Optimize for Blindness.
Then, the Use the Computer Without a Display window results, as follows.
6. Go to the Setup Text To Speech Option to Continue with Setting Windows 10 Voice
Find the Setup Text To Speech item circled in pink in the last picture.
The Speech Properties window then appears as shown next. Note that we’ve circled the Voice Selection area in pink.
7. Pick the Default System Voice
Choose the default system voice from the Voice Selection pull-down menu, circled in the last picture. There are two voices listed in our demo here (David, and Zira). We picked the Zira voice, as shown next.
Note that upon clicking the voice you want in the list, and if you have your computer speakers turned on and up, you’ll hear a sample of that voice played through them. Furthermore, you can sample each voice in the list by selecting it as described.
8. Press the Apply Button
You have now changed your computer’s default system voice. Thus, iPods that utilize iTunes et al that rely on this voice in generating their voice menus while syncing, will now speak with this voice after you’ve resynced them.
9. Close the Speech Properties Window to Continue with Setting Windows 10 Voice
Press the Okay button to do that.
10. Close the Ease of Access Center Window
11. Done with Setting Windows 10 Voice !
Finally, enjoy “text-to-speeching” on your Windows 10 computer.
Related Posts
Related Posts to Setting Windows 10 Voice
References for Setting Windows 10 Voice
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- Setting Speech Options in Windows from Microsoft. Note that this URL currently describes how to do this in Windows 7. There are some differences in Windows 10, and the procedure given above accounts for these.
Revision History
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- 2019-05-28: Added key phrase targeting for ‘Setting Windows 10 Voice’, deleted ad code, and added more links and tags.
- 2015-11-10: Added more appropriate tags.
- 2015-10-01: Added appropriate tags.
- 2015-08-21: Originally published.
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