...
About Read&Write
...
Read&Write
...
is a literacy support tool from Everway that provides reading, writing, studying, and research tools
...
to help all learners engage with digital content more independently. Its text-to-speech feature reads digital content aloud with dual-color highlighting,
...
allowing users to follow along at their own pace. Additional features include speech-to-text dictation, simplified text rewording, picture dictionaries, audio maker, and highlighting tools for collecting and organizing key information.
Syracuse University maintains a site license for Read&Write for
...
The discrete, customizable toolbar works with commonly-used file types and applications including: Microsoft ® Word, Google Docs™, PDFs, Mozilla Firefox®, Internet Explorer®, Safari, and Chrome™, to make digital content accessible. The software can take scanned electronic documents and camera images into a format that enables interaction with the content.
Read&Write is especially helpful for those challenged with the increased demands of college, including:
- Those with learning disabilities, such as dyslexia
- Student athletes trying to balance the demands of sports with their course work
- First-generation college students
- English as a Second Language learners
- International students
- Adult learners with full-time jobs and families
- And all others who have difficulty reading and writing
Installing Read & Write
Go to the Texthelp webpage. (https://www.texthelp.com )
On the Texthelp homepage locate and select the Products link in the main menu.
Choose Read & Write.
Click Try Read & Write
...
Choose Windows, Android, iPad, Windows, Mac OS, Chrome, or Edge.
The install package will be downloaded to your device where you can install as you would any other program.
Note: when prompted to log in please choose the 'Sign in with Google' option and use your netID@g.syr.edu email address. This will authenticate you as a Syracuse University user.
Add the PDF Reader for Chrome
If you installed the Chrome extension, consider also downloading the PDF Reader Extension for Chrome which allows you to open and read PDF documents from Google Drive, from the web, or directly from your hard drive. As with the Read & Write Chrome extension, be sure you are logged in to your netID@g.syr.edu account in Chrome when downloading the extension. For instructions on using the PDF Reader with Google Drive please see Read&Write for Google Chrome: PDF Reader in G-Suite (YouTube).
Running Read & Write for the first time (Example from Windows)
1. Double click the Read & Write icon on your Desktop.
2. Click on the Read & Write tab at the top of your screen. 
3. Choose Sign in with Google and sign into Read & Write using your netID@g.syr.edu
Once installed, the Read & Write tab will expand to a toolbar when clicked.
Adding Additional Voices
Additional voices can be added to your Windows or Mac installation of Read & Write.
Windows Voices (Note: You must download the zipped file and extract the installer before attempting to run the executable file.)
- Australian Male Lee (.zip)
- Australian Female Karen (.zip)
- Chinese (Mandarin) Female Tian-tian (.zip)
- Dutch Female Claire (.zip)
- French Canadian Female Chantal (.zip)
- French Canadian Male Nicholas (.zip)
- German Female Anna (.zip)
- German Male Yannick (.zip)
- Indian English Female Veena (.zip)
- South African Female Tessa (.zip)
- Spanish Female Monica (.zip)
- UK Female Serena (.zip)
- US Female Allison (.zip)
Mac Voices (Note: All Mac voices are included in this download)
Additional Information and Training
...
Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, as well as
...
browser extensions for Chrome and Edge. The customizable toolbar works across commonly used platforms and file types, including Microsoft Word, Google Docs, PDFs, and web browsers.
Read&Write is available to all Syracuse University students, faculty, and staff, and supports a wide range of learning needs and preferences. It is especially useful for:
Students with ADHD or focus-related challenges
Students with low vision or visual processing conditions
Students using or exploring assistive technology more broadly
Multilingual learners and international students
Students managing heavy reading loads across multiple courses
Adult learners juggling full-time jobs and/or family responsibilities
Anyone who finds writing organization or proofreading challenging
Anyone who prefers processing information through listening rather than reading, or who otherwise benefits from hearing content read aloud
Installing Read&Write
Visit the Read&Write Software Downloads page and select the Group/Unlimited License (USA) option for your desired package: Windows desktop, Mac desktop, Chrome/Edge browser extension, or the iOS or Android app. This will launch the package installation.
When prompted to sign in, choose Microsoft 365 and log in using your Syracuse University email address and password.
Begin using the tool.
Tips for Launching the Read&Write Chrome Extension
If upon installation and selecting the extension icon you are not prompted to login, you may need to clear your browser cache, restart your machine, or download the Read&Write desktop application for Windows or Mac OS.
For best results when signing into Read&Write with Microsoft, please go to office.com and sign in using your Syracuse University email. Open a blank online Word file and select the Read&Write extension icon while in that document. This will ensure that Read&Write detects the Microsoft account properly and is able to prompt its own login page.
Add the OrbitNote Document Reader
OrbitNote is a web-based tool that lets you open, read, create, and interact with PDFs and other digital documents in an accessible, collaborative way. Users can access the reading, writing, studying, and research tools they need at school, home, or work. Having document text read aloud with dual color highlighting, along with additional support tools, helps every learner gain confidence and work independently at their own pace. Users can even upload static images with text to OrbitNote and turn them into accessible PDFs that can be read aloud with OrbitNote.
Key Features
Makes images with text and image-only PDFs into accessible and interactable text that can be read aloud, highlighted, etc., via its OCR (“Scan Text”) feature.
Enables text-to-speech so users can listen to the text in their document and follow along, as well as use foreign language translation, dictionaries, and other accessibility tools
Highlight text, leave comments, produce and insert voice notes, and draw or type annotations
Collaborate and share your documents in OrbitNote with others using Google Drive, OneDrive, Google Classroom, and more
Learn about how to use all of OrbitNote’s features by viewing the instructional videos and text-based guide they have available in the OrbitNote dashboard
How to Start
Go to the OrbitNote website / dashboard
Visit orbit.texthelp.com or the OrbitNote dashboard.Sign in
Sign in using a Google or Microsoft account. Granting OrbitNote certain permissions will be required (for access to Google Drive or OneDrive, etc.).Open PDFs
You can open PDFs from local files, from Google Drive, from OneDrive. You can drag & drop or select via file picker on the dashboard. If it’s a PDF in Google Drive, you can also use “Open with → OrbitNote.”Use the tools
Once the PDF is open, you’ll see the OrbitNote toolbar. From there, you can annotate (text, drawing, shapes), highlight, use text-to-speech, use vocabulary tools, leave comments or voice annotations, etc.Sharing / feedback / collaboration
You can share annotated PDFs via Drive, OneDrive, etc.
Additional Information
Everway has a number of free training resources including tutorials and videos in their Training
...
Guides repository, including:
...
2025)