Immersive Reader in Outlook for the web and Read Aloud in Outlook desktop allow you to hear the text of an email read out loud while following along. Outlook for the web also offers tools for changing the spacing of lines and words to make them easier to read, as well as tools to highlight parts of speech and syllables.
Use Immersive Reader for Outlook for the web
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Log in to your account at Office.com, and select Outlook.
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Open an email.
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Select the More Options icon ( ... ), then Show in immersive reader.
Using Immersive Reader
Once your document opens within Immersive Reader, you can do one or more of the following, depending on how you want to focus on the content in your document:
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To hear the paragraphs read to you, select the Play button.
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To listen from a certain point on your page, select that word.
Voice Options
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Select the gear icon to open Voice Options.
The Voice Speed slider controls the playback speed of the reader.
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Select Voice Speed, then drag the control to the right or left. Move to the right to increase speed and to the left to decrease it.
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Press Play to hear the different speeds.
Text options
You can change the appearance of your document by using Text options. The choices you make in text options can help remove visual distraction and improve text readability.
The Text Options menu lets you:
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Change text size
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Reduce crowding between letters
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Change the font
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Change background color
Parts of Speech
Parts of Speech controls grammar highlighting and helps readers understand complex sentences.
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To use, select Parts of Speech (looks like three books).
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Choose what to highlight:
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Syl·la·bles splits words by showing small dots between syllables.
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Under Parts of speech, turn on Nouns, Verbs, or Adjectives to highlight every noun, verb, or adjective on the page in a color that corresponds to the color of the label.
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Click the Close icon to exit Immersive Reader.
Reading preferences
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Line Focus enables readers to narrow the focus of their reading experience by highlighting sets of one, three, or five lines within their chosen material in Immersive Reader. Use the toggle to turn it on or off.
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Picture Dictionary gives you the ability to click on any single word and have it read aloud.
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Translate allows you to change the language preferences.
Shortcut keys for Immersive Reader
Use keyboard shortcuts to navigate.
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Up/Down arrow scrolls line by line
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Page Up/Page Down scrolls screen by screen
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Left/Right arrow goes to previous/next page in your OneNote Notebook
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Esc key closes the reader or menu
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Tab advances to the next control in Immersive Reader settings
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Space selects the current tool
Use Immersive Reader in Outlook desktop
First, enable Read Aloud.
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Open your Outlook desktop application.
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Select File > Options > Ease of Access.
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Select the checkbox next to Show Read Aloud.
Next, launch Read Aloud.
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From an email you're reading, select Read Aloud in the Message tab.
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From a reply message window, select the Review tab, then Read Aloud.
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The reader will start reading immediately. To listen from a certain point in an email, select that word. Otherwise, the reader will begin with the first line of text in your message.
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A toolbar will appear after you've selected Read Aloud. Select the Pause icon to stop listening.
Voice and speed options
Use the toolbar to Play, Pause, and skip to the next or previous paragraph using the arrows.
Select the settings icon to adjust the reader's voice and playback speed:
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Drag the Reading speed control to adjust reading speed. Move to the right to increase speed and to the left to decrease it. Press Play to hear the different speeds.
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Use the Voice Selection dropdown menu to choose different voices for the reader. Select a voice and then press Play to hear it.
Select the X to close Read Aloud.
Keyboard shortcuts:
Use the following keyboard shortcuts for Read Aloud in Outlook:
CTRL+ALT+SPACE: Start/Exit Read Aloud
CTRL+SPACE: Pause Read Aloud
ALT+RIGHT: Increase reading speed
ALT+LEFT: Decrease reading speed
CTRL+RIGHT: Read previous paragraph
CTRL+LEFT: Read next paragraph
