Use Immersive Reader in Word
Applies To
Word for Microsoft 365 Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac Word for the web Word 2024 Word 2024 for Mac Word 2021 Word 2021 for Mac Word 2019 Office for business Word for iPad Microsoft OfficeSupport 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:
In This Topic
Use Immersive Reader in Word desktop
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Open your Word document.
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Select the View tab, then select Immersive Reader
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Choose the Immersive Reader options that work for you from the ribbon.
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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.
Column Width changes line length to improve focus and comprehension.
Page Color can make text easy to scan with less eye strain.
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.
Text Spacing increases the spacing between words, characters, and lines.
Syllables shows breaks between syllables, to improve word recognition and pronunciation.
Read Aloud highlights each word as it reads your document to you.
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Select the Settings icon, then:
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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.
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Select X to close Read Aloud
Tip: Get directly to Read Aloud by right clicking anywhere in your document and selecting Read Aloud.
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.
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
Use Immersive Reader in Word for macOS
Go to View > Learning Tools, and select your options:
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Column Width changes line length to improve focus and comprehension.
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Page Color can make text easy to scan with less eye strain.
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Text Spacing increases the spacing between words, characters, and lines.
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Syllables shows breaks between syllables, to improve word recognition and pronunciation.
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Read Aloud lets you hear your document as each word is highlighted.
Note: Use the playback controls to start and stop the narration, to change the speed of the reading, and to switch between reading voices.
In This Topic
Use Immersive Reader in Word for the web
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Select the View, then Immersive reader. Your document will open in a full screen format.
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
Select the gear icon to open Voice Settings.
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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Select your preference of Male or Female voice.
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Press Play to hear the different speeds and voices.
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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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.
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Picture Dictionary gives you the ability to click on any single word and view visual support. You can also hear the word read aloud.
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Translate allows you to view a selected word or the entire document in your preferred language.
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Reading Coach allows you to practice reading out loud, provides a report on your reading speed and accuracy, then identifies the five words you struggled with most and provides a supported opportunity to practice the words again.
Use the toggles to adjust your reading 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
Close Immersive Reader
Select the back arrow or tap Esc on your keyboard to exit Immersive Reader.
Important: To protect the security of your documents, Immersive Reader isn't available for protected documents in Word for the web. However, to improve readability for protected documents, you could try:
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Opening the document in the Word desktop app to use Immersive Reader for protected documents.
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Evaluate the security label of the document and update it if needed.
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Manually adjust the font style, spacing, or theme.
Use Immersive Reader in Word for iPad
Some Immersive Reader tools are available in Word for iPad. To turn on Immersive Reader while reading or editing a Word document:
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Select View
2. Select Immersive Reader
3. Choose from the following tools to make your document more comfortable to read and edit.
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Select Column Width to change the line length. This can improve focus and comprehension.
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Select Page Color to choose between
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None (standard white page)
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Sepia (pale yellow page with print feel)
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Inverse (black background with white text)
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Select Text Spacing to increase the distance between characters.
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Select Read Aloud to have sections of text highlighted as your document is read out loud to you. To change Read Aloud settings:
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Select the Settings icon, then:
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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.
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Select X to close Read Aloud
Note: Read Aloud reads text in the default speech language of your operating system. For information about supported languages and how to add additional text-to-speech voices, see How to download Text-To-Speech languages for Windows
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Select Close Immersive Reader to close the assistive experience and return to the Word document as it is formatted.
Language support
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