Hi there,
I've been frustrated that Windows lacks a universal text-to-speech shortcut, like the one on macOS that works across all applications. With ChatGPT’s help, I built a script to fill that gap, and I’m sharing it here to help others!

When Ctrl + Space are pressed any highlighted text will be spoken using Windows Natural Voices.

-------- How to Set It Up on Windows 11 -----------

Install Required Software

1. Download AutoHotkey

   • Run the setup, and complete the installation.

2. Download NaturalVoiceSAPIAdapter

   • Go to the releases page, scroll down to “Assets,” and download NaturalVoiceSAPIAdapter_v0.2_x86_x64.zip.

   • Unzip and place the folder in your preferred install location. I recommend C:\Program Files.

   • Run installer.exe (if prompted by Windows, choose "Allow").

   • Install the 64-bit version, then close the installer.

   • Note: Do not delete NaturalVoiceSAPIAdapter install folder or the TTS will stop working.

Install Natural Voices

1. Open Accessibility Settings

   • Go to the Start Menu > type Settings and open Settings > Accessibility > Narrator.

   • Next to “Add natural voices,” click Add and download your chosen voices.

   • These voices offer higher quality than the default text-to-speech settings in Windows.

   • Restart your computer once installation is complete.

2. Check the Text-to-Speech Voices are available to AutoHotkey

   • Open the Control Panel from the Start Menu, and search for speech.

   • Click on Change text to speech settings, then go to the Text to Speech tab.

   • If Natural Voice SAPI Adapter is working, the natural voices should appear in the dropdown menu.

   • Note: some users may not see Speech Options in the Control Panel, if this is the case please continue on to the end of this guide as it may still have installed correctly.

Create the Script File

1. Open AutoHotkey Dash

   • Go to Start Menu > type AutoHotkey Dash and start the application.

   • Click New Script. In the New Script dialog, name it (e.g., Read Aloud), choose the Empty type, and click Create.

2. Edit the Script

   • In the folder that opens, right-click the new script file, select Edit with Notepad, and paste the code below.

   • To change the voice, edit the line after global preferredVoice := with the desired voice name. It has to be a voice that was in the drop-down in the Text to Speech tab discussed above. The default shortcut is Ctrl + Space but this can be changed by editing the Script.

   • Save and close the file.

3. Run the Script

   • Double-click the script file to start. To stop, right-click the AutoHotkey tray icon.

4. Optional: Auto-Start on Login

   • To start the script automatically on login, open the Run dialog (Win + R), type shell:startup, and click OK.

   • Copy and paste a shortcut of your script into this folder.

```ahk

; Paste from here
; Possible Voices:
; Microsoft Thomas Online (Natural) - English (United Kingdom)
; Microsoft Sonia Online (Natural) - English (United Kingdom)
; Microsoft Ryan Online (Natural) - English (United Kingdom)
; Microsoft Libby Online (Natural) - English (United Kingdom)
; Microsoft Steffan Online (Natural) - English (United States)
; Microsoft Aria (Natural) - English (United States)
; Microsoft Christopher Online (Natural) - English (United States)

; Global variables for better performance and memory management
global preferredVoice := "Microsoft Ryan Online (Natural) - English (United Kingdom)"
global lastText := ""
global isSpeaking := false
global speaker := ""

^Space::
{
    ; Save current clipboard content
    ClipSaved := ClipboardAll
    
    ; Clear clipboard and get selected text
    Clipboard := ""
    Send ^c
    ClipWait, 1  ; Fixed ClipWait syntax
    selectedText := Clipboard
    Clipboard := ClipSaved  ; Restore original clipboard content
    
    ; Check if speech is currently active
    if (isSpeaking)
    {
        ; If the selected text is new, stop current speech and start reading the new text
        if (selectedText != lastText && selectedText != "")
        {
            try {
                speaker.Speak("", 3)  ; Stop any ongoing speech
                speaker := ""
                isSpeaking := false
            }
            catch e {
                speaker := ""
                isSpeaking := false
            }
        }
        else
        {
            try {
                speaker.Speak("", 3)
                speaker := ""
                isSpeaking := false
            }
            catch e {
                speaker := ""
                isSpeaking := false
            }
            return
        }
    }
    
    ; Proceed if there is selected text
    if (selectedText != "")
    {
        lastText := selectedText
        
        try {
            ; Create new COM object for SAPI.SpVoice if needed
            if (!speaker)
            {
                speaker := ComObjCreate("SAPI.SpVoice")
                
                ; Set the preferred voice
                voices := speaker.GetVoices()
                for voice in speaker.GetVoices()
                {
                    if (InStr(voice.GetDescription(), preferredVoice))
                    {
                        speaker.Voice := voice
                        break
                    }
                }
            }
            
            ; Start speaking the new text asynchronously
            speaker.Speak(selectedText, 1)
            isSpeaking := true
        }
        catch e {
            speaker := ""
            isSpeaking := false
        }
    }
}

; Cleanup on script exit
#SingleInstance Force
OnExit("ExitFunc")

ExitFunc(ExitReason, ExitCode)
{
    global speaker
    if (speaker)
    {
        speaker := ""
    }
    return
}
; End of content to Paste

'''