Using BrowseAloud speech software on the V&A website

All our websites are speech-enabled using a free software download called BrowseAloud. By following simple instructions, you can install BrowseAloud on to your computer and have this site (and others that are speech enabled, such as the BBC, Google and many local authority sites) read aloud to you.

Visit the BrowseAloud website to download the latest version

Why we have speech enabled our site

The V&A is committed to making all our websites accessible to as many people as possible. By speech enabling our sites, we can extend our content to people who find it hard to read online, such as those who have limited English proficiency, mild visual impairment, whose primary language is not English or those with Dyslexia or a similar learning disability. It is not designed to replace other screen readers.

How BrowseAloud works and how to download it

BrowseAloud works by installing software on to your computer. It is free to website users with the cost of the software being covered by the website owner. It is a Windows application designed for use on a PC or Mac.

For BrowseAloud to work on a computer running Windows it will need the following:

View the BrowseAloud PC user guide for computers running Windows

For BrowseAloud to work on your Mac it will need the following:

• Operating System X 10.3.9 or later
• 256 Mb RAM (512 Mb is preferable)
• Compatibility with Power PC or Intel processor

View the BrowseAloud Mac user guide

Creating MP3s with BrowseAloud

BrowseAloud allows you to save text as an MP3. The advantage of transferring text onto a portable player is that you can then listen to it on the move.

Reading PDFs with BrowseAloud

If you have Adobe Reader version 6.0 upwards, BrowseAloud will also read PDF documents to you.

Download a free copy of the latest version of Adobe Reader.