Don't have time to read that Word, Pages, or TextEdit document at your desk? Why not listen to it on your iPod instead? In this Automator how-to, I am going to show you how to create an audio file using text that you have in an open document, then sync that using iTunes to your iPod or iPhone. Creating the workflow
For this workflow, you need the following Automator actions (placed in the same order):
- Get Contents of TextEdit Document
- Text to Audio File
- Import Files into iTunes
Continue reading to learn how to build this workflow.
Saving the workflow
You can breathe a little because you're half way done. Now, let's save the workflow as an application so it can be re-used at your whim. To save:
- Click File > Save
- Choose "Application" from the Format drop-down box
- Choose a location and file name, then click Save
Running the workflow
To run the workflow, just open TextEdit (this application comes with Mac OS X and can be found in your Applications directory). Type a document in TextEdit, or copy and paste any text you want. When you are ready to convert your TextEdit document into an audio file, just double click on your workflow that you saved in the last step.
The text will then be copied from the document and a dialog will ask you where you want to save the audio file that it will create. You can also specify a system voice to be used. If you are using Mac OS X Leopard, Alex is by-far the best voice for this job.
Once your audio file is saved, the workflow will ask you for the playlist name in iTunes to add it to. If you already have a playlist created, you can add the audio there; or if you want to create a new playlist, select "New playlist" from the drop-down box. When you click continue, your audio file will be added to iTunes to the playlist your specify.
You can then sync your playlist to the iPod or iPhone of your choice. You will then be listening to your text in no time! You can also combine this with last weeks Mac Automation post to create audio version of websites!
Remember -- if you have a special automation request, feel free to leave a comment or use our contact form.
You can then sync your playlist to the iPod or iPhone of your choice. You will then be listening to your text in no time! You can also combine this with last weeks Mac Automation post to create audio version of websites!
Remember -- if you have a special automation request, feel free to leave a comment or use our contact form.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-28-2008 @ 10:31AM
meatleg said...
would be nice to be able to save it as an aac or an mp3 file. i just changed a 13 page book into an audio file, and the aiff version was 132MB. of course i can convert it when i import it into iTunes, but it would be nice to save a step...
otherwise i love it!
Reply
2-28-2008 @ 10:38AM
jay said...
Nope works in there.
Reply
2-28-2008 @ 11:12AM
jay said...
I am receiving an error:
Can’t get «class popB» "voice popup" of missing value. (-1728)
?
Reply
2-28-2008 @ 10:20AM
Tony said...
I get the exact same error.
2-28-2008 @ 10:28AM
Cory Bohon said...
Try running it from within Automator and see if the error persists.
2-28-2008 @ 10:54PM
Frank said...
Getting same error as well
2-28-2008 @ 11:27AM
Jon said...
I did something similar to this but made playlist name announcing MP3's to head up each playlist on my iPod. I have an iPod integration module in my Mazdaspeed 6 and while you get really nice steering wheel controls you can't see *anywhere* what track / playlist / etc is playing (not even on the iPod itself! -- there is a mazda logo instead and the iPod is locked).
So to navigate through the playlists easily I needed them to announce themselves... it's quite slick!
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2-28-2008 @ 12:08PM
KeynoteKen said...
For those that have developer tools installed, there's an app called "Speech Synthesis Example" that you can use to record text directly to an audio file. Not as cool as automator, but if you have problems, it's an option! :)
http://www.keynoteuser.com/news/?p=259
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2-28-2008 @ 1:24PM
Kirk Rheinlander said...
You're making this too hard.
Under SYSTEM PREFERENCES>SPEECH, you can check the speak selected text box, and set the key. Then, anything you select in any application, by pressing a key, will be spoken back.
I have used this for years to edit/proof documents I write. Now with 10.5 and the new ALEX voice, it is getting much more human sounding.
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2-28-2008 @ 11:07PM
jay Myers said...
True, but it doesn't save to a audio file that you can listen to on your iPhone, iPod, or just through your Mac.
2-28-2008 @ 1:50PM
Tom Bechtel said...
I was getting the same errors too. I tried it in Automator and it works but not as a stand alone app. Very cool though!
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2-28-2008 @ 4:46PM
rei_vilo said...
Great how-to! The only problem is that the French release of Mac OS X only speaks English, not French. And French text are read with very funny accent :)
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2-28-2008 @ 6:37PM
Sam said...
I got the same errors, but I found that if you save the Automator workflow as a Script Menu item it works brilliantly and is just as accessible (assuming you have the Icon in your menu bar). You could probably save it as a Finder plug-in as well.
Thanks for the great tip Cory.
Reply
2-28-2008 @ 7:13PM
Sam said...
Update - I hope Cory doesn't mind but because this is such an great tool to have available, I have been mucking about with this workflow for a bit and found a slight variation that Meatleg might find useful since it can automatically convert to your chosen compressed format.
The workflow for this goes:
1. Get Contents of TextEdit Document (as before)
2. Text to Audio File (as before)
3. Import Audio Files (with 'delete source files after encoding' selected and 'show this action when the workflow runs' either selected or not - depending on whether you want to change the file type on the fly).
4. Add songs to playlist -- New Playlist -- (type the name of your new playlist in here).
This is a bit neater for me, because it doesn't leave the source file on the desktop and it doesn't leave the AIFF file stuck in the iTunes library.
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2-28-2008 @ 11:25PM
jay Myers said...
I think this is better. Is there a way to set up a keystroke to this?
2-29-2008 @ 3:50AM
Jutzuro said...
Getting same error as Jay:
"Can’t get «class popB» "voice popup" of missing value. (-1728)"
Any suggestions please?
Reply
2-29-2008 @ 5:36PM
Alessandro Vernet said...
Works great! I am just wondering if there is a way to pass parameters to the Text to Audio File action, such as speed.
Alex
Reply
3-18-2008 @ 4:24AM
Mike C said...
Why not add Doug Adams 'Make Bookmarkable' script, this would get text based files out of the music library and into Audiobooks.
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