Voice Dream - Read Aloud

Wish voice dream read kindle, then can lock screen as read. Would only use to read books.

The voices stop speaking after i close the screem. This happened after i updated the app. What should I do?
Can I make the app to not reed the footnotes? How?

Thank you.

Probably my ipad needed a compleet reboot , because only than worked.

I didn't find any feature regarding the turn on/off screen lock.

What's New in Version 3.1.1

-Specify number of lines visible (1, 3 or 5).
-Specify keeping speech cursor always centered, or on the page.
-Improved performance of iOS built-in voices.
-Corrected pausing at end of line for Ivona voices.
-Improve Pocket download reliability.
-Many minor bug fixes and enhancements.

I am running the latest version, and I decided to put the app through some stress tests. I started with a 575mb daisy book (specifically the front page manual from daisy.org's examples section). This failed to load. The same was true of a 2gb zip file containing mp3s. In either case, the loading screen simply disappeared. I assume typical use would not include this, so the failure of the app doesn't strike me as much of a problem. However, in looking at the file sharing documents, there are still some junk files from these failed imports. Is there a way of flushing the temporary folders short of jailbreaking the phone, rewriting the directories in question, and unjailbreaking? I guess I could also reinstall the app. This isn't urgent, but I was curious.
Thanks for all the great work; I love the app!

Can you use kruptis to remove any junk and temp files? I did not spell the app right but I can when I wake up get a link.

Take care.¬

To the developer:
(since there's no contact link on the product Web site) If OneDrive integration can be added alongside DropBox and GoogleDrive, I'll buy this app in a heartbeat, because it is a solution I've been looking for for literally ten years (the Symbian days!). However, my professional library is tied up with Office, and that's tied up with OneDrive pretty tightly these days. I have the same Word functionality on my Book Port Plus, for example, but I never turned out to use it for the same reason: lack of graceful access to my files. So, I hope it's in the works and doesn't require expensive licensing.

This version now bring support to the iOS 8 with many other fixes.

What's New in Version 3.2.0

-Support for iOS 8.
-Updated appearance for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
-Korean localization.
-Fixed: Deleted documents no longer take up extra storage.
-Fixed: Built-in iOS voices speech rate now correctly set.
-Fixed: Audiobook resuming at the correct position after audio interruption.
-Fixed: Bookmark icon always visible in PDF original layout.
-Changed all icons to white-on-black (blue on black is difficult for low vision users).

Note: Voice Dream Reader will not longer be updated for iOS 5. Because of the new devices with different resolutions being introduced, it is simply too
difficult to continue to support iOS 5. If you must remain on iOS 5, Voice Dream Reader version 3.1.1 will continue to be available in the App Store.

Hi, I noticed this as well, as well as when you try to buy new voices. Each button to purchase the voice is labeled as "unavailable". Is there a possible fix?

I, too, have had this problem. I still try and click on the buttons for the voices and it seems to work okay.

I'm sorry you had a hard time with the app, but I think I can clear up a lot of your confusion.

1. To fast forward or rewind, find the Play button, and do a one-finger flick down or up, respectively.
2. To control the increment by which the fast forward/rewind moves, flick right once from the Play button. You'l find a picker to choose 15 to 60 seconds, chapter, sentence, and so on.
3. Bookshare's reading list is not supported, as you found out, but I don't think Bookshare offers that support in their API. Voice Dream can only implement the features that Bookshare allows, and if you look at Bookshare's API documentation for searching books there's nothing about a user's reading list. VDR can't, therefore, do this, Bookshare has to allow it first.

If you have any other problems with the app, post here and we can try to help. It's a really great app once you get used to it, though the help documentation is in need of a major update. Oh, as to books, remember that you can also import from Dropbox; you could therefore download books on a computer, toss them in your Dropbox folder, and then use VDR to import them that way.

First of all, if you double tap on the percent bar, you can then enter the percent of your file that you wish to go to. Second, if you want to read a book in Voice Dream from Bookshare, you will, indeed, have to download it from Bookshare first, but only once. Also, it should not take long to download and be ready for use in Voice Dream. As for rewinding and such, I don't know about that. The way I do it in a Daisy file (once again using Bookshare), is to make sure that the book portion of the screen is highlighted, then, if I want to go back a sentence or two, drag my finger up the screen to find the line I want to read again. Otherwise, I either enter a percentage, which you can find from the home screen that lists all of your files, or I will use the three finger scrolling gestures which works great. Play around with Voice Dream a little more. Like you said, Read2Go hasn't been updated in a long time, is double the price, and only has a couple of Acapella voices to choose from, and, as I recall, it chews through battery pretty fast. Voice Dream certainly has a few issues, but in general, once you get used to it, I think you will find it very user friendly and quick to use. Good luck.

First, as others have indicated, the application is called "Voice Dream Reader" -- three words, not "VoiceStream Reader" -- two words.

Second, I find the Search button very useful. Put in a phrase and you'll get a list of locations where that phrase occurs in the book. Just tap on the one you want and you're there.

Let Voice Dream Reader come to you on its own terms; it operates a bit differently from what you may be used to. But it's about the only app I use to read Bookshare books anymore.

The book is always in view, once it is opened. The top of the screen has some buttons and indicators, then most of the screen is part of the book, then the rest of the controls (these for payback and positioning) are on the bottom. Touch the center of the screen to focus on the book's contents, or three-finger gestures won't do much of anything. I tend to like to navigate by fifteen-second increments instead of bothering with scrolling, but that's just my personal preference.

This app is far and away the best book reading app I've used, including Read2Go and some on other platforms. The ways you navigate are different at first, but they are ingenious and really speed things up once yo get to know them. My only complaint is that, as you found, the help documentation can be confusing; it might be god if the app included two help files, one for sighted users and one detailing the ways VoiceOver users can interact with the app.

I think the app takes a little time to get used to, especially to really get the best way to use all the features. I'm someone who always skips the documentation, learns by trial and error, and then maybe checks the documentation if I can't figure something out. For people who do actually read documentation, I think it isn't that great and is a bit confusing because the app is so very different using VoiceOver versus without it. Perhaps that's something for the developers - if you are reading this - what about just having separate documentation for with or without VO?
In the iPhone world, there seems to be a premium on apps that are so simple that there is no learning curve. I think that's a loss - so I encourage you to hang in with this app, that it's really worth it.
I've been particularly impressed with Voice Dream Reader because when I first discovered it, it didn't really support VoiceOver - it was, I guess, designed to be an app for sighted people with learning disabilities or who otherwise did things visually but needed to read with text-to-speech. I remember thinking it's value lay in that I might be able to use it to read Bookshare books in Spanish, or if I wanted to work on my pitiful French, as the Read2Go app does not support other languages. So, I put it aside, and then read about on AppleVis, gave it another try, and the app had been thoroughly re-designed from a VoiceOver perspective. And they kept adding new VoiceOver features. I really like being able to change the reading speed while I'm reading. And I remember at one point wanting to be able to read with the iOS voices, and other blind people were saying "why would you want to do that?" and I thought, oh, well, most people prefer the more human voices so it's not going to be worth it for them to support the iOS voices, but then they added that support. And it's better than any other app I've used if you want to select text, in order to copy it for your notes or some other purpose. because you're not confined to the somewhat cumbersome VO system. Ididn't get it at firsst, how well it works, even though the hints built into the control really do tell you what to do. I guess I didn't really believe it would work, so it is only recently I've used it, and it's quite nice.
Anyway, the controls you are saying don't work, should work and they work for other people, and they work very consistently. It's a very stable app. so maybe we are not understanding the problem?
I'm not clear why the size of the controls should matter, if you can't see them. Perhaps, if you are exploring the screen by running a finger over it, you migh miss some controls - try swiping right and left to find them all. Then, when you know where they are in relation to each other, they will be easier to find at their exact location. Also, if you can't see the text, why would you bother with full screen mode or worry about hilighted text. Those are really features for visual readers.

If you tap in the middle ofthe screen while reading is stopped, you should hear Voiceover reading the line of text you touched. Remember, though, the reading portion of the screen is only about the middle ... hmm ... 60% of the screen, but it is plenty of room to be able to tap on a line of text, then recognize the text that you just heard, and take appropriate action from there. Good luck, and as you saw, the developer is very active on these forums and works hard to answer questions and help us with any issues.

Hello,
As I said, I agree that the documentation needs to be updated and clarified. However, to suggest that this app is not made with VoiceOver users in mind is to do a huge disservice to the app developer. He has addressed countless VoiceOver bugs in updates, and has added VO-specific features not seen in any other media player on iOS. If you enable hints, which is suggested for every new app you try, you are told what the different controls do. I understand the frustration of not getting an app to work the way you were told it would, but saying the app is not made with VoiceOver in mind is simply not accurate.

I bought Read to Go when it first came out, and was frustrated by some issues I was having. I decided to switch, and without reading help files or seeking assistance, I was immediately able to use this app efficiently. It works great for all my Bookshare needs. Thanks to the developer for a very VO friendly app that just works.

I'm a VoiceOver user, with no vision, and I found Voice Dream to be the most useful reading app on my phone. Navigation and selection of text takes a bit of getting used to, but once you have it, this becomes one of the most feature-rich apps out there. I love all the others; Bard, Kindle, Read to Go, etc., but Voice Dream seems to be my "go to" app for everything.

My comments below are probably going to sound a bit rude, but I mean absolutely no disrespect whatsoever. I do agree that the help file isn't as intuitive as it should be. But to suggest that a help file specificly for VO users should be created in addition to the one that comes with the app is rather silly. You don't see any other app developer doing this, and I hope the trend doesn't start, because seriously, if you have VoiceOver hints turned on there is a wealth of specific VoiceOver help to be had. For example when you're on the play pause button, and you have hints enabled, VoiceOver will say, play button, adjustable. swipe up to rewind and swipe down to fast forward. swipe up or down with one finger to adjust the value. If you experiment just a little bit, you will figure out that the play pause button also acts as a rewind and fast forward button, and thenavigation unit i.e. how much time progresses when rewinding and fast forwarding can be adjusted by swiping once to the right from the play/pause button. VoiceOver says navigation unit, 15 seconds, adjustable. swipe up or down with one finger to adjust the value. you have a choice of 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 60 seconds, chapter, and bookmark. and I found all this out by simply listening to what VoiceOver told me, I didn't even need to read the documentation. Also, if you're going to mention an app, at least have the decency to get it's name correct. It is not "voice, stream, reader. It is Voice. dream. reader. There is no app that I'm aware of called Voice Stream reader. Voice Dream reader however, is a supurb app and if you take a few seconds and listen to the hints VoiceOver gives you, I think you'll find that you can learn it very quickly. If you haven't already done so, please go into your VoiceOver rotor settings and enable VoiceOver hints. and if you have them turned on, please listen to the hints. The developer took the time to put them in, and I'm very greatful for all his hard work. The app wasn't even designed for visual impaired people to begin with if I have the story right, but he's taken the time and energy to actually learn what VoiceOver is, and fine-tune the app so it gives the VoiceOver user specific hints about what to do when using the app. So I think he deserves a vote of thanks.

I get being protective of Voice Dream Reader and it's developers. I feel the same way - gratitude to people who really make something work for us. But I don't think they are going to stop supporting VoiceOver because an occasional person picks up the app and can't use it.
In case that's what all the reaction is about. The reality is that a lot of people can't easily learn to use an iPhone with VoiceOver at all, never mind different apps with different approaches to using the gestures. I'm a trainer who gets asked often for iPhone/iPad instruction instruction because a blind person, often a very intellegent one, couldn't figure out what to do with the device. And one of the smartest blind people I know keeps telling me he can't figure out what I love about Voice Dream Reader because he doesn't figure it out himself. Some day I'll get to sit down with it and him and he'll get it in five minutes, but what's obvious to one person is very individual.
Why do I suggest good documentation? Because for some that's how they learn, not through trial and error. That's true for some sighted people and that's also true for some blind people. This particular app has a whole gesture system that doesn't work with VoiceOver and an alternate gesture system for VO users, because it's an app that is meant to be customized for individual reading needs and there is a big difference in the reading needs of a learning disabled sighted person who is very visually oriented, despite having difficulty with purely visual reading, and those of a totally blind person whose reading needs are totally auditory. It's great that the developers get this. And it's also why there's a need for separate documentation. Because the two interfaces really diverge.
Are some here really saying that just because they can learn to use something *any* blind person can and if they can't ... what? They aren't trying hard enough? They don't deserve the product? The truth is that people who struggle more to learn to use technology are less likely to be commenting on this site in the first place, so if they make it here, we should be applauding. And using their struggles to help inform us, so we can do a better job of getting this technology into the hands of the everyday blind person and not just the exceptional ones. If that's a goal. It certainly seems to be a goal of the administration of this site. I think we'd learn a lot by listening to what people struggle with and figuring out how to address it. I don't think we accomplish anything by telling people they are silly or ought to be able to do something they clearly haven't figured out yet.

I consider Voice Dream Reader to be one of the finest accessible reading apps available and use it every day without sight to read PDF, RTF and DOC files on my iPhone. I appreciate the intuitive and comprehensive document reading and navigation controls, the seamless integration with google drive & dropbox, and the continual updates and improvements provided by the developer.

I also frequently recommend the app to folks who have low vision, dyslexia and other print disabilities because the Developer has done a fantastic job making the app accessible to Folks with various reading abilities.

Actually when I first started using voice ream there was specific help on voice over use. I just cant remember where it is since I deleted the what's new stuff. And I did read the help from cover to cover whilst washing dishes, about 6 months ago.

Hello,
I am attempting to help a friend who has a student using voice dream reader with a Braille display. Using one myself, I was unable to get the display to show the text within a document I had in voice dream. this was a pdf document and the student was attempting to use it with a bookshare document.

Are there current issues with the present version of this app and voiceover with Braille displays under the latest version of IOS, or are we doing something wrong in settings?

Ok, I'm just gonna say this once and then i'll shut up. If you're gonna talk about an app, at least get the name right. The proper name for this app is voice. dream. reader. not stream, but dream, as in d. r. e. a. m. Please, Gene, stop calling it voice stream reader. There is no app with that name.

The previous poster did not call it Voice Stream. They called it by its appropriate name. Well, maybe they went back in and edited it, but I did not read Voice Stream anywhere. I agree with you 100% though. If you are going to post about an app, at least call it by its right name.

Oops, just ignore my previous post. Saw you were talking about someone else. Haha. Guess I should read things all the way through.

I'm in total agreement with Mike on this one for the exact reasons he mentioned. We were only trying to help, we didn't want you to look silly. That really is all it is, I promise. I'm sorry if you took it otherwise, I'm certain no offense was intended, at least on my end it wasn't. I try really hard to help folks, I think many people would tell you that I like helping folks, but when someone gives you a suggestion or a correction it's not always meant to be rude.

If I could only have one app, it ould be VoiceDream Raer. I do 90% of my reading in VoiceDream.

Agreed. The audio files rock. I also use it for playing audio files like a mozart piece I'm learning. lol!

hi there. i love this app, as i got it on the cheap the other day, i've loaded several audio books and PDF files into it. how ever, there is one huge, drawback. it's backed up in it's entire, massive size, to iCloud along with backups. now i don't know how many of you have paid for iCloud space, but I sure haven't. and to get an email saying that my iCloud is now full, when previously, it had 4.2 gb free, is a bit of a shock. now, that's the problem. here is my idea to solve it. in several file storage apps i have, they have a toggle, usually in the off position by default, that lets you choose whether or not the files stored within that app, are backed up along with it. this is handy, as it lets me keep the app itself in the backups, but it's contained data, which i can always put back on within minutes, is not backed up to iCloud. i'd like to see this option put into this app. as in the mean time, i have to go in and manually turn off the backup of this entire app.

Hi,
Yes, this is a major drawback as I also have just the basic 5 gb free plan. This needs to change.

Please explain whether extra voices bought with voice dream reader can be used with voiceover also or with only voice dream reader app?

Extra voices bought through Voice Dream Reader are only available for Voice Dream Reader.

I have books I purchased from iTunes on my iPhone 6. I want to read them with Voice Dream.

I can see them in iBooks.

In Voice Dream, I go to Add, and select iTunes.
The list of books for iTunes is blank. I hit Load, thinking it will then populate the list, but no such luck.

Can I read these books, and if so, how do I get them into Voice Dream?

I rather doubt you can read these books using voice Dream Reader as most are protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM).

First off, let me say how much I love this app. Thank you to the developer for making this app accessible to us, and so very nice to use.

I have a few questions, however. I'm using dropbox to load books into the app. Besides using iTunes, or any cloud service, can I download files directly from my computer to the app? Or must I use a cloud service?

Also, I have a ton of stuff I want to put on the app, and it's all arranged in folders. The way I'm doing it now is quite time consuming. I go into each folder with the books in it that I want to put on Voice Dream, then load each book manually. Is it possible to download entire folders on to the app without having to add each file manually? And if so, how would I go about doing it?

Thank you for any help, and a big thank you to the developer for creating and maintaining such a wonderful app!

Voice Dream Reader is shown under the apps you can load files on via iTunes.

I would love to add folders and folders of books, but as another poster stated, doing this will consume your entire iCloud storage and I really don't feel like upgrading to a paid account just to be able to load books into voice dream reader.

Why not just do it thorugh itunes. Zip the books, then create folders on voice dream. You can o of corse turn voice dream off in icloud prefs thereby making it easier to not have it take up space on icloud.

Hth.

Hi guys,
Hope you can help me. I have a paid version of voice dream reader linked with my dropbox account. When I copy zip folders with daisy audiobooks and from the meni I sellect add icon and dropbox, nothing is found. When I unzip folders and put them on to my dropbox account each file is displayed separately. Have you got an Idea what to do to add an audiobook with numerous files so that then they are played as one book? I’d be grateful for instructions.