The ReadBack app is a voice reader for books and documents that makes reading accessible to visually impaired readers and dyslectics. The opening window serves as the app's hub for individual tasks. You can navigate the menu list using the LEFT or RIGHT ARROW or the TAB key. The keyboard shortcut for each menu item is listed after its name. The active menu item can be opened by pressing the ENTER key or by left-clicking the mouse.
- Help:
Displays help for the app.
- Scanner:
Scans an image using a connected scanner, recognizes text within the image, and opens the recognized text in the Text document window.
- Text:
Reads the opened text document using the computer's voice output.
- Recent:
Shows reading history, i.e., the most recently read documents.
- Settings:
Contains settings for the app's user interface and individual tasks.
- Exit:
Exits the app.
Pressing the ALT key opens the main screen's application menu, which offers access to the basic tasks Scanner and Text, as well as Help and "About App" information. Additionally, it contains a "Donate" request through which you can donate a small amount to support the further development of this free app (freeware).
The two basic tasks of this app are:
In the main menu, selecting TEXT (F4) or using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + O opens a file in a supported format (image or text). The text of the selected document will open in the Text window.
Press the F1 key to open this help in the document window; use the CTRL + F1 combination to open a list of the app's keyboard shortcuts. You can find the HTML-formatted help on page
https://eiat.cz/wp-content/uploads/RB/RB_00_help.en.html
Selecting this task in the app's main menu, or equivalently pressing the F3 key, scans the original document placed in the scanner, converts the scan to text, and opens the recognized text in the document window. You can then begin continuous reading of the text by pressing the Enter key.
It may happen that the original document in the scanner contains no text, no text is recognized, or there is only a blank page in the scanner. In such cases, the scanner will simply report that no text was recognized.
You can select a text document for reading in the file open dialog. You can display this dialog by selecting Open from the drop-down menu in the top left (accessed via ALT or a left mouse click), or with the shortcut CTRL + O. It is also possible to paste text into the text window from the clipboard using the shortcut CTRL + V, or from the scanner by pressing the F3 key (just make sure the original document is placed in the scanner).
The Open dialog is a list of folders and documents located in the system's Documents folder or one of its subfolders. You can see the name of the currently open folder above the list in the first row. You can navigate the list items using the UP or DOWN arrow. Pressing ENTER or clicking the mouse opens the contents of the selected folder or the text of the selected document (which you can then read).
If you are not in the top-level Documents folder, the second row below the current folder name will show the command "Parent Folder", selecting which will take you to the parent folder one level up. Naturally, this command is not available in the main Documents folder, as you cannot go any higher than the Documents folder from this dialog. If you do not select any document, you can close the dialog with the ESC key to return to the previous window.
You can read the open document continuously by pressing the ENTER key, and pause reading with the same key. You can read a section of the document using the LEFT or RIGHT ARROW (word by word) or the UP or DOWN ARROW (line by line). You can skip larger sections using the PGUP, PGDN keys, or use the shortcuts CTRL + HOME or CTRL + END to jump to the beginning or end of the document.
The text is read aloud by the computer's voice output; the line being read is highlighted on the screen, and the word currently being read is boxed. Below the document window is an echo bar, which shows the single word currently being read or the action being performed in an enlarged and highlighted format. To the right, next to the echo bar, the identified language of the document is shown.
Reading can also be stopped using the mute key CTRL. However, this does not act as a toggle; it only stops reading without restarting it. Nonetheless, the CTRL key will stop the voice output in the program's user interface as well. So use it whenever you want to stop listening. You can also read a document with your eyes only, without voice output—simply turn off the voice output in the program settings (F7, Ctrl+P) on the "OCR & Speech" tab.
The text of an open document can be converted into an MP3 audio recording using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + D. You can set the length of the audio track in settings (F7, Ctrl+P) on the "Expert" tab.
Only one document can be open in the document window at a time; opening another document will close the previous one. The F-shortcuts from the main screen also work in the document window: F1 (help), F3 (scanner), F4 (text), F6 (recent), F7 (settings), and F8 (exit). For example, you can start a new scan by pressing the F3 key.
The basic actions you can perform in the document window are grouped in a menu under the icon in the top left. You can expand the menu using the ALT key or by left-clicking.
You navigate the menu using the up or down arrows and close it by selecting an item or by pressing the ESC key. Other commands can be entered using keyboard shortcuts; you can open a list of these shortcuts by pressing CTRL + F1 and close the list with the ESC key. The items in this menu are:
- Play:
Starts or pauses continuous reading.
- Open:
Opens the file open dialog. You can close the dialog by opening a document or by pressing the ESC key.
- Mode:
Switches the text display mode.
- Keys:
An overview of keyboard shortcuts. Close this help with ESC.
- Help:
Help for the app. Close this help with ESC.
- Document:
Information about the open document. Close this info with the ESC or ENTER key, or by clicking the OK button.
- Settings:
Here you can configure the appearance of the interface, language and voice output, the appearance of the document, or other expert settings.
- Main Panel:
The app's main navigation hub.
You can enlarge or reduce the text using the shortcuts CTRL + PLUS or CTRL + MINUS (using both the numeric keypad and the alphanumeric keys), or simply using PLUS and MINUS. You can change the text's appearance by selecting the CTRL + M mode, or make the text bold with the CTRL + B combination. You can find more options for adjusting the text's appearance in the app's settings (F7 or CTRL + P).
You can also search within an open text document, and even edit the searched text. You can perform these actions using the Find dialog, which you can open with the CTRL + F combination. In the dialog, enter the word you are looking for, and optionally the word you want to replace the found string with. Perform the replacement by pressing the "Replace" button; if you do not want to change anything, click "Find Next". You can navigate the dialog's elements by repeatedly pressing TAB or SHIFT + TAB. Close the dialog with your chosen action or by pressing the ESC key without taking any action.
You can save the modified document after a replacement using the standard shortcut CTRL + S, or if you close an unsaved document window, select YES to save in the warning dialog.
In the top right of the window's title bar, there are standard buttons to minimize, maximize, and close the window. Closing the Text window—equivalently by pressing F8 or ALT + F4—only closes the current document; the app will keep running. You can exit the app by pressing F8 or ALT + F4 again, or by selecting EXIT from the main hub.
You can maximize or minimize an open window using the usual system shortcut WIN + UP ARROW or WIN + DOWN ARROW.
The name of the open document is visible below the window's title bar.
Shows a list of several recently read documents. You navigate the list using the UP or DOWN arrow. Pressing ENTER or clicking the mouse opens the text of the selected document so you can read it.
Here you can configure the app's user interface and individual tasks. Open Settings from the main menu using the "Settings" button or the shortcut F7 or CTRL + P. The app's settings are designed in the style of Windows system settings as a list of tabbed cards: the left column contains the tabs for the settings cards, which you can navigate using the UP and DOWN arrows. On the right is the settings card corresponding to the active tab. You can control the card on the right with the mouse or navigate through it using the TAB, SHIFT + TAB keys. If elements on the card have further options, you can open the button with the ENTER key, adjust toggle switches using the arrows, navigate the dialog with TAB, SHIFT + TAB, and change check boxes using the SPACEBAR. At the bottom of the card is a preview of what the window will look like after adjusting the settings. The tabs in the left column are:
- Devices
To go from the tab to the card, press the TAB key. The card has a single button "Scanner Settings", which you can open with the ENTER key. Here you select the scanner for the SCANNER task.
- Appearance
There are three toggles on the card with which you choose the appearance of the user interface: Theme, Size, and Sound.
- The values for the Theme toggle are: System (appearance based on Windows settings), Black (high-contrast appearance with a black background), and White (high-contrast appearance with a white background).
- The next toggle, Size, determines the font size of the user interface and the echo bar.
The last toggle, Sound, configures sound signals—we recommend beginners choose "Full".
To go from the tab to the card, press the TAB key; you can navigate and select the toggle values using the UP and DOWN arrows. You can move to the next toggle using the TAB key, and to the previous one using SHIFT + TAB. To return to the tab, press TAB, SHIFT + TAB. When you hear "Appearance, list", you are on the tab.
- OCR & Speech
The card for this tab has three buttons: OCR, Interface Speech, and Document Speech. You can access the card from the tab using the TAB key; pressing a button with the ENTER key opens its dialog. Navigate through the dialog's elements using the TAB or SHIFT + TAB key.
In the first dialog "OCR Settings", you select the language in the "OCR Language" rotor for converting scanned images to text (the rotor only offers languages you have installed in your Windows system). Choosing the correct language will make text recognition more accurate. Other check boxes in the dialog determine the conversion method; we recommend leaving them at their default settings. Confirm the settings with the OK button (ENTER key) or discard the changes with the CANCEL button (ESC key).
Similarly, in the second dialog "Interface Speech", you set the language and voice with which the app reads user interface elements in the rotors (you select rotor values using the UP and DOWN arrows). Set the voice parameters, i.e., the values of the Speed, Pitch, and Volume rotors, in the same way. At the beginning of the dialog is a "Speech Enabled" check box—if you uncheck it with the SPACEBAR, the voice output will not read interface elements. You can restore it with the SPACEBAR. Confirm the settings with the "Close" button (by pressing ENTER on the active "Close" button).
The third dialog "Document Speech" is identical and operates the same way, with the only difference being that these settings apply to the voice output for reading documents. We highly recommend choosing different voices for the interface voice and the document voice, as this will help you easily distinguish what is the app's interface and what is the document's text. Of course, this assumes you have installed two different voice synthesizers in your system. If you only have one synthesizer, at least set the interface voice with different Speed and Pitch parameters than the document voice.
- To return to the tab, press TAB, SHIFT + TAB. When you hear "OCR, Speech, list", you are on the tab.
- Text
To access the card from the tab, press the TAB key; the settings on the card determine how the document's text will look during reading. There are five rotors at the beginning of the card: Zoom, Line Spacing, Character Spacing, Word Spacing, and Colors. These are followed by three check boxes. You can navigate between the card's elements using TAB, SHIFT + TAB. When you hear "Text, list", you are back on the tab. Changing the zoom level using the Zoom rotor is not very practical; it is much more convenient to change the text zoom directly in the document window using the shortcuts CTRL + PLUS, CTRL + MINUS, and PLUS, MINUS. Adjust the other rotors as needed (select rotor values using the UP and DOWN arrows); you can see the effect of the settings directly in the preview on the card.
You can change the state of check boxes with the SPACEBAR; their functions correspond to their names: Bold Text makes letters thicker, Word Highlighting selects between strong and weak highlighting of the word currently being read in the document window, and Inversion means the word currently being read is displayed on an inverted background.
- Application
To access the card from the tab, press the TAB key; the card contains two buttons. Open the dialog under a button with the ENTER key; navigate through the dialog's elements using TAB, SHIFT + TAB. The first dialog "About App" lists basic information, especially the build number and date of the app. An important button is "Service Report to Clipboard", which you can use to copy log information to the system clipboard in case of an error or if the app is not working: you can then paste the clipboard contents into an email, add your own description of the issue, and send the email to support@eiat.cz.
The second dialog "Donate" is a request for a small contribution toward the further development of this free app (freeware). In the dialog, you can copy the account number to your clipboard to transfer your contribution, or view the corresponding QR code for payment. Alternatively, you can scan the QR code in the dialog with your mobile phone.
- Expert
Here you can configure some of the app's advanced features. To access the card from the tab, press the TAB key; the card has four buttons: Text to MP3, Appearance, Verbosity, and General. Navigate between the buttons using the TAB, SHIFT + TAB keys. When you hear "Expert, list", you are back on the tab. Open the dialog under a button using the ENTER key; then navigate through the dialog's elements using TAB, SHIFT + TAB. Close the dialog with the OK or Cancel (ESC) button, or Close (by pressing ENTER on the active button).
Two dialogs are particularly interesting: "Text to MP3" and "Verbosity".
The "Text to MP3" dialog contains time toggles that determine the length of a single audio track when converting document text to MP3 format. Start the actual conversion in the Text window with an open document using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + D.
In the "Verbosity" dialog, you can set the amount of audio information the app provides for interface elements. We recommend "Full mode" for beginners, while "Basic mode" should be sufficient for experienced users. If you do not want the interface to be voiced, you can turn off sound here. Even with sound off, the voice output will still read the text of the open document.
The other dialogs configure various highlighting options, fonts, etc. They are mostly meant for experimenting with what can be adjusted and how the document looks afterward; they do not have a major practical impact on reading. Please be careful when experimenting so you do not disrupt the app's settings too much.
- OS Windows 10 or higher
- 4GB RAM, USB 3, 200MB free disk space
- Installed voice synthesis
- Speakers and/or headphones
- Scanner, if you want to read scanned documents
- Supported text file types are txt, rtf, docx, pdf
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