Accessibility : Browsealoud

BrowseAloud IconBrowsealoud Speech Enabling of the City of Ottawa Web site

Browsealoud is a solution that allows you the option of having Web site content read to you. As you move the cursor over text, it is spoken aloud. Browsealoud is free to download and you have control over the voice, word pronunciations and speech highlighting.

You simply download a small browser plug-in and once installed, content on the site can be spoken aloud. Browsealoud is FREE for you the user. The City of Ottawa subscribes to Browsealoud to increase accessibility for all residents and visitors.

To install Browsealoud, click on the Browsealoud logo and follow the instructions. The size of the installation ranges from between 200k and 2.5 MB depending on your operating system. It should take no longer than 10 minutes using a 56k modem. Additional speech engines and languages are available to download.

For more information about this service, please see the BrowseAloud Faq.

Please note: Only version 5 of Browsealoud is currently available for download. The city is trying to acquire previous versions of Browsealoud for viewers using older browsers.

System Requirements for Browsealoud version 5 (PC Version)

  • Operating Systems: Windows 2000, XP or Vista
  • Recommended Browsers: Internet Explorer 6 or above
  • Adobe Reader 7 or 8 and Microsoft Word 2002, 2003
  • Pentium 350MHz + upwards Processor
  • Good quality sound card and speakers
  • 256 MB RAM (512MB recommended)
  • 50 MB Free Disk Space

System Requirements for Browsealoud version 5 (Apple Mac Version)

  • Operating System X 10.3.9 or later
  • 256 Mb RAM (512 Mb is preferable)
  • Compatibility with Power PC or Intel processor.
  • Browser: Safari
  • 50MB disk space