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Support reading and writing by using Immersive Reader to customize how word documents appear while you read and edit. Immersive Reader provides options for a comfortable and easy to process experience by allowing you to listen to the text read aloud or adjust how text appears by modifying spacing, color and more.

Looking for more options to Listen to your Word documents? Check out Listen to your Word documents for more info.

Choose the version of Word you're using below:

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In This Topic

Use Immersive Reader in Word desktop

  1. Open your Word document.

  2. Select the View tab, then select Immersive Reader Icon for Immersive Reader  . Immersive Reader will launch a full screen experience. 

  3. Choose the Immersive Reader options that work for you from the ribbon.

  4. Once you click in your Word document to read or edit, the Immersive Reader ribbon will minimize. To make the ribbon visible so you can change Immersive Reader settings or close Immersive Reader, select the ... at the top of the screen. 

Immersive reader tool in outlook with cursor hovering over "close"

Column Width changes line length to improve focus and comprehension.

screenshot of the column width dropdown for immersive reader, options are very narrow, narrow, moderate, wide

Page Color can make text easy to scan with less eye strain.

screenshot of the page color dropdown menu for immersive reader. A color palette is shown and the background visible behind the dropdown is pastel orange

Line Focus removes distractions so that you can move through a document line by line. Adjust the focus to put one, three, or five lines in view at a time.

Screenshot of line focus. the majority of the email is darkened making only one line of text clear to read.

Text Spacing increases the spacing between words, characters, and lines.

Screenshot of the text spacing option of immersive reader, there is a greater distance between letters and between words

Syllables shows breaks between syllables, to improve word recognition and pronunciation.

Screenshot of the Syllable feature of immersive reader selected and showing a few word in an email separated into syllables. the word recommendation is shown as rec dot om dot men dot da dot tion

Read Aloud highlights each word as it reads your document to you.

  • Select the Settings icon, then:

    • 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.

    • Use the Voice Selection dropdown menu to choose different voices for the reader. Select a voice and then press Play to hear it.

  • Select X to close Read Aloud

Tip: Get directly to Read Aloud by right clicking anywhere in your document and selecting Read Aloud. 

screenshot of the Immersive reader voice options toolbar. The mouse hovers over settings revealing a toggle for reading speed and dropdown for voice selection

Language Settings

To change the language for immersive reader, select Review, Language, then Language, and select Set Proofing Language. You can select a language from there.

Additional resources:

Close Immersive Reader

Select the View tab, then select Immersive Reader, then select Close Immersive Reader

Immersive reader tool in outlook with cursor hovering over "close"

Keyboard shortcuts for Read Aloud

Start or exit Read Aloud: Ctrl+Alt+Space

Pause or play Read Aloud: Ctrl+Space

Speed up reading speed: Alt+Right

Slow down reading speed: Alt+Left

Read the previous paragraph: Ctrl+Right

Read the next paragraph: Ctrl+Left

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