You can use the Text to Speech feature to hear selected text read aloud in a Microsoft Office for Mac file.
If you have not already done so, set up the Text to Speech feature.
On the Apple menu, click System Preferences.
Click Accessibility > Speech.
Select the voice that you want to use.
Tip: You can change the speed at which words are read by moving the Speaking Rate slider.
Select the Speak selected text when the key is pressed check box, and then click Set Key to assign a keyboard shortcut that you want to use to hear text read aloud. The default keyboard shortcut is Option+Esc.
In your Office file, select the text that you want to hear, and then press the keyboard shortcut.
See also
Symptoms
When you start Microsoft Word for Mac, or when you try to open a new document, you experience one of the following conditions:
Word for Office 365 Word for Office 365 for Mac Word 2019 Word 2019 for Mac Word 2016 Word 2016 for Mac More. Less This article is for people who use a screen reader program with the Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. To open a file like a Microsoft Word documents in Pages for iOS, tap the file in the document manager. If you don’t see the document manager, tap Documents (on an iPad) or (on an iPhone or iPod touch), then tap the file that you want to open. Collaborate for free with online versions of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. Save documents, spreadsheets, and presentations online, in OneDrive. Use Microsoft Word for the best word processing and document creation. Find out how document collaboration and editing tools can help polish your Word docs. Download Microsoft Word and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. The trusted Word app lets you create, edit, view, and share your files with others quickly and easily. It also lets you view and edit Office docs attached to emails. Discusses that Word for Mac closes unexpectedly or that files experience formatting problems when you start the program. Provides a resolution for the problem. Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac. Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs. On the Go menu, click Home. Copy URL into your reader. Did this solve your problem. Download free office suite - download LibreOffice for Windows, macOS (Mac OS X), Linux. Originally based on OpenOffice.org.
The program closes unexpectedly.
Error message:
Note
This error message may also occur during usage of application such as saving a document.
Resolution
To resolve this problem, follow steps below.
Microsoft Word for Mac 2008 or Later
Step 1: Quit all applications
On the Apple menu, click Force Quit.
Select an application in the 'Force Quit Applications' window.
Click Force Quit.
Repeat the previous steps until all active applications.
Warning
When an application is force quit, any unsaved changes to open documents are not saved.
Step 2: Remove Preferences
Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
On the Go menu, click Home.
Open Library.
Note
The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
Open the Preferences folder.
Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.
If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.
If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Microsoft Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.plist file to the trash.
Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
On the Go menu, click Home.
Open Library.
Note
The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
Open the Preferences folder.
Open the Microsoft folder.
Locate the file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.
Move the file to the desktop.
Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist file to the trash.
On the Go menu, click Home.
Open Library.
Note
The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
Open the Application Support folder.
Open the Microsoft folder.
Open the Office folder.
Open the User Templates folder.
Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.
Start Word and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Normal file to the Trash. If the issue continues to occur, proceed to the next step.
If the issue continues to occur, go to the next step.
Step 3: Peform clean boot
For information how to clean start your Operating system (OS), see Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
2398596 How to use a 'clean startup' to determine whether background programs are interfering with Office for Mac
If the issue continues to occur in Safe mode, go to the next step.
Step 4: Remove and then reinstall Office
For information how to remove and then reinstall Office, see the following article:
If after removing and then reinstalling Office, the problem continues to occur, go to the next step.
Step 5: Use the 'Repair Disk Permissions' option
You can use the Repair Disk Permissions option to troubleshoot permissions problems in Mac OS X 10.2 or later versions. To use the Repair Disk Permissions option, follow these steps:
- On the Go menu, click Utilities.
- Start the Disk Utility program.
- Click the primary hard disk drive for your computer.
- Click the First Aid tab.
- Click Repair Disk Permissions.
Note
The Disk Utility program only repairs software that is installed by Apple. This utility also repairs folders, such as the Applications folder. However, this utility does not repair software that is in your home folder.
Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac
Quit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
On the Go menu, click Home.
Open Library.
Note
The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
Open the Preferences folder.
Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.plist.
If you locate the file, move it to the desktop. If you do not locate the file, the program is using the default preferences.
If you locate the file and move it to the desktop, start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.plist file to the trash.
Qit all Microsoft Office for Mac programs.
On the Go menu, click Home.
Open Library.
Note
The Library folder is hidden in MAC OS X Lion. To display this folder, hold down the OPTION key while you click the Go menu.
Open the Preferences folder.
Open the Microsoft folder.
Look for a file that is named com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist.
Move the file to the desktop.
Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem still occurs, quit Word, and restore the file to its original location. Then, go to the next step. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the com.microsoft.Word.prefs.plist file to the trash.
On the Go menu, click Home.
Open the Documents folder.
Open the Microsoft User Data folder.
Locate the file that is named Normal, and move the file to the desktop.
Start Word, and check whether the problem still occurs. If the problem seems to be resolved, you can move the Normal file to the trash.
Third-party disclaimer information
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.
Microsoft Office Word For Mac
The information and the solution in this document represent the current view of Microsoft Corporation on these issues as of the date of publication. This solution is available through Microsoft or through a third-party provider. Microsoft does not specifically recommend any third-party provider or third-party solution that this article might describe. There might also be other third-party providers or third-party solutions that this article does not describe. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, this information should not be interpreted to be a commitment by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot guarantee or endorse the accuracy of any information or of any solution that is presented by Microsoft or by any mentioned third-party provider.