Narrator in Win11 for Read aloud issues...

Brent Hoefling · 2025-01-29T14:52:49+00:00

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In Windows 10 (and earlier versions of win11, I could change the narrator to use my third-party voice (Harpo/Ivona software "Amy" is my preference). I could go to the control panel and select text to speech. That option is no longer available in Win11.

I have checked with faithlife support and the software support - in addition to support for other third party voice vendors. They all have links to knowledgebase articles that point to the old windows control panel that is no longer available in Win11.

It seems there are a few voices in narrators in Windows. 1. Accessibility for doing screen readers, etc. this is not the voices that Logos uses for Read Aloud. 2. MS Word also has a voice for read aloud in MS Word, that lets you select Male of Female. This is neither used for accessibility nor for the Read Aloud feature in Logos. and 3. The narrator in Settings/Time and Language/Speech is the replacement for the old control panel text-to-speech. This is where the Logos Read Aloud gets its voice.

The problem with the latter (#3) is that the voices here are only from Microsoft and do not (seem to, as I have discovered) support anything but the Microsoft robot voices. and so, now I (we?) no longer have options for third party support of voices for Read Aloud in Logos.

For years, I have used this feature in my collegiate studies and reading materials. I can't look at a screen very long, regardless of the settings for light/dark, sepia, etc. This failure is a challenge and hindering my studies.

Has anyone else had this challenge?

Does anyone have any suggestions for third party voices that actually work in Logos Read Aloud?

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Bernhard

I did some searching and testing about this, this is what I came up with:

@Jason Stone (Logos) : The instructions on https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/360050957832-Change-Logos-System-Narrator-Voice do not work anymore on the newest version of Windows 11 (24H2), that part of the control panel was dropped. I don't think there is any other way in Windows 11 settings that affects the voice sued in Logos Read aloud. Even the place mentioned by Brent above (Settings/Time and Language/Speech) does not work to change the voice used in Logos
Logos should give us a way to change voices used, even without the workaround below. I also hope, somehow Logos can find an official way to include the newer Natural Narrator voices.
@Brent Hoefling You can still find the Control Panel speech settings by opening an Explorer window and going to C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Speech\SpeechUX (replace C: with drive your Windows installation sits on), then double-click the file named sapi.cpl. I hope this file is still available on Windows 11 computers that never ran an older version.
And a bonus I discovered: To use the newer Natural Narrator voices and also the voices included in Edge for Logos Read aloud, install this: https://github.com/gexgd0419/NaturalVoiceSAPIAdapter (read the instructions there and restart the computer after installation)

Brent Hoefling

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1355776#Comment_1355776

This is an awesome workaround (since it works) - I am back in business for my classes, and now can catch back up! Here's what I also found out if it matters; In Windows 10, Microsoft introduced a second API for speech (called OneCore) which is restricted to Microsoft voices only. Third party voices (SAPI5) will work with any SAPI5-enabled application, including the (now found) Control Panel.

For most people, the speech settings at: Settings/Time & Language/Speech now use the OneCore voices only, so the only voices you can see in the list are the Microsoft voices. Apparently, Microsoft haven't released an SDK which would permit 3rdparty voice venders to support the OneCore API.

Jan Krohn

I've created a suggestion to make this properly configurable within Logos.

Read Aloud narrator voices (multilingual and natural voices) [WINDOWS] — Logos Community

Please vote if you like this idea.

If you don't like the idea, listen to the following video, and vote out of compassion for us Germans (and probably also Latin Americans, French, Portuguese etc.)

https://youtu.be/GKSL0PmY4eM

Bernhard

This is relevant, not only to users of Windows in other languages, but also to anyone else who would like to change to another Read-aloud voice in English. In the newer versions of Windows 11, there is no obvious way to do that anymore.

Bernhard

Another more convenient way to access the Control Panel item from Logos: Open the folder C:\WINDOWS\system32\Speech\SpeechUX\ and drag the file sapi.cpl to you Logos shortcut bar or favorites.

Yasmin Stephen

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1355776#Comment_1355776

Thanks very much! Now I can actually listen to books in Logos (and Calibre!) from my laptop. (Well, I was able to do so before, but the voices available to me were just too horrid 🫨)

Paul Burns

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1355776#Comment_1355776

Ok, so I installed a natural voice following this page: https://help.kamiapp.com/en/articles/8422832-how-to-add-more-voice-options-to-windows-os

However the voice is still the robotic Dave in Logo's trying to read my NKJV.

Will natural voices work in the desktop app of Logo's?

When I go to the tools / read aloud — as per the help pages in logos, the read aloud is not there. The only way to read the Bible is the Ctrl-R and no ability to change voices.

I've looked at the page you referenced, other pages, and it seems so difficult to just get a decent voice.

Bernhard

@Paul Burns

The link you posted shows how to add Natural voices to newer versions of Windows. Unfortunately, Microsoft has two different voice systems. Logos is using the old system, where normally those Natural voices cannot be used. In my comment above I wrote about a way to make them usable even in Logos, by installing a piece of software from

https://github.com/gexgd0419/NaturalVoiceSAPIAdapter

After running that, you then need to open sapi.cpl as described above to select the voice you want Logos to use (restart Logos, or at least close and reopen the book for any change to become effective).

See this thread for more information and easier ways to run the sapi file:

https://community.logos.com/discussion/246017/read-aloud-narrator-voices-multilingual-and-natural-voices-windows

Logos said there that they are aware of these issues. It is important to realize that all of this is due to the inconsistend way Microsoft has implemented text-to-speech in the newer versions of Windows.

DMM

Thank you! That was incredibly easy. I had been using Biblia through Edge to do that, and it was a bit of a pain, and I really don't like Edge anyway.

Paul Burns

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/1358795#Comment_1358795

Ok, wow was I confused by all this… but got it done.. this wonderful. Thank you so so much.

To summarize for others, and in case I need to ever re-do this, I believe these are the steps I took:

I went to Github and then followed the link to their releases, and downloaded it.

Then I unzipped it on C drive in a folder I named Natural Voices

Then I ran the installer from the file folder.

Then I rebooted computer

Then went to: C:\WINDOWS\system32\Speech\SpeechUX\

Double clicked the Sapi.cpl link

And went to the voice selections and picked one.

Done.

Thank you