Alice Writes Help

Alice Writes is an online editor that allows you to write, edit, and save text and HTML files. It also has features for translating text, and uploading and saving files to Google Drive. The program is at https://alicereads.org.

Instructions:

Click on READ or STORY to read a story. It will start automatically. You can use STOP to stop reading and START to resume.

To continue reading using the MeloTTS ai voice, click on "hop_ahead_ai_read" or to read the current page with the same reader "ai_read." 

A bunny gif will pop up while the ai is generating a wav file, which will start playing when it is done. You can only use START and "hop_ahead_ai_read" when the editor is in JSON mode, not HTML mode.

If you create your own story in HTML mode, the default, you can convert it to JSON by clicking on the "Convert" button further down the page. It shows the mode for Window 1 and Window 2.

In JSON mode the screen will show something like "Page 1 of 30." In HTML mode it will show "Page 0 of 0." In JSON mode you can do all the things on top of the Window and also use the search box.

The ai reader only does English right now. The other "Read" button can do other languages. The AI engine can do other languages, but we have not implemented this feature yet in Alice Writes.

To translate the text on any screen to another language click on the blue "Option" menu and pick something like "Trans=>Spanish." If the text is already in a different language pick "Translate/Read" of "Translate/Read-by-Line."

The translation will appear in "Window 2" below. Pinyin will appear in "Window 3" if you are translating Chinese.

If you see Chinese text on the screen in WIndow 1, you can press the "Add Pinyin" button (below the window) and it will add the pinyin to the same window. Then you can see both at the same time on the screen.The program does not read the pinyin when you press the "Read" button. It only reads the Chinese characters. This is intentional because pinyin is just a romanization of Chinese character pronunciation.

If you want to input Chinese characters into the window, it is easiest to use your smart phone in Chinese input mode and then speak the Chinese words. They will automatically be recognized by Google-speech to-text and deposited on the screen in character form. Then you can press the "Read" button to hear them. To verify what you said, you can use the translate button to see what you really said.This is a good way to practice your Chinese speaking.

You can also move the text between windows by "Switch" in the blue "EDIT" button. This is designed for HTML mode primarily. Better to do editing in the HTML mode. You can go back and forth using the "Convert" button.

To save your story of changes, click the blue "Keep" button. To load your JSON file use "Load JSON Story" in the blue "File" button. To load and HTML file use "Open File" in the same blue "File" button.

If you want to change the color of the text, scroll down to colors and double click a color. The program will say the color. Then select some text and click on "Change-Selection-Color."

If you double-click on any word in the text, the program will read the word aloud and change its color to purple.

You can also add background to the text window by click on "New Background." To clear the background, click "Clear Background."

You can also switch the reading voice by clicking on "US-Voice" or "UK-voice." You can also toggle through some voices by clicking on "Voice."

You can add bold, italic, or underline in the EDIT menu. Font and point size are in the Style menu. If you have unruly HTML, just click the 'Clear Style" button in the blue Style menu. There are other features there you can play with.

If you are writing a story on your phone, you can press the blue "Keep" button to save your work periodically. Note the file name in the box. That is what it will be saved to. If you want to play your story as a JSON, click the "Convert" button. Then it will save as a JSON file when you press "Keep" again. You can save it as each type, HTML and JSON. If you want to load your saved JSON file, remember to "Load JSON Story" in the blue file menu. 

You can't just use "Open File" if it is a JSON. If it is a JSON, you have to use "Load JSON Story." If you open JSON with "OpenFIle," it will show you all the JSON formatting. Then you would be opening it as an HTML file, which would not do you any good (unless you really want to see the formatting).

There is also a "SpeedRead" button that plays the JSON story with each page displayed for one second. The time can be increased by pressing the " +  " button and decreased by the " - "  button.This speed reader only works if you have  loaded a JSON story. I use this to check the story content quickly, hence: "Speed Read."

This is most of it. Enjoy your writing and reading aloud!

Remember, there are two Reading systems, the default one (Read) and the AI one. The AI one is just for English and has a lag. That is when the bunny pops up to entertain you while the output wav file is being created. To minimise the lag, use the "hop_ahead_ai_read" if you are reading a JSON story, which have multiple pages. The next page is processing while the current page is playing.

(There is quite a lot of technology in this little program. The purpose of the program is to write stories that can be played back using some interesting TTS methods. It tries to make listening to TTS not so boring!  You can use TTS to read more stories.)

Key Features

• Read and edit HTML code.

• Write your own text and save it to a file.

• Apply bold, underline, and italics formatting.

• Choose a font style and point size.

• Paste a picture into a window.

• Switch between two windows.

• Edit or create new text styling.

• Translate text from one language to another.

• Upload and save files from Google Drive.

• Change voices between British and American accents.

• Receive audio feedback of actions.

• Enable autosave.

• Change the autosave file name and location.

• Recover work if the browser is closed before saving.

• Change fonts.

Available Fonts

• Arial: A sans-serif font that is popular for body text.

• Verdana: Another sans-serif font that is similar to Arial.

• Times New Roman: A serif font that is popular for documents and books.

• Courier New: A monospaced font that is popular for code and programming.

• Georgia: A serif font that is similar to Times New Roman, but has a more elegant look.

• Tahoma: A sans-serif font that is similar to Arial, but has a slightly narrower width.

• Impact: A display font that is designed for large headlines and posters.

• Garamond: A serif font that is popular for books and high-end publications.

• Trebuchet MS: A sans-serif font that is similar to Arial, but has a more playful look.

Font Size

The default font size is 14 pnt. You can change the font size to any value you like.

Th above is a summary by Bard. Below is my original help text.

Welcome to Alice writes. ..  Access Alice writes at: Alice Writes online editor

Key Features.

• Can cut and past HTML code into the top window and read it.  To avoid reading extraneous HTML tags choose Clear Style in the Style menu. This turns the Window contents into plain text. Try to avoid loading documents that are too long.

• Write your own text and save it to a file.  You can use  bold, underline and italics as well as choose point size and font style. Select the text you want to  change and click on the relevant button or menu item. Can also past a picture into a window.  There are two windows top and bottom. When you save, both windows are saved together in one document. You can also switch windows with the Switch button. 

• Can edit or create new text styling. It  is useful to clear the text style first and then add new styling. There is also code view and preview, using the two windows, as well as markdown. You can paste a picture or image into either windows. This program is designed mostly for HTML files.

• Translate from one language to another in the Option menu. This feature requires to run the editor.html file form the local hard drive,  for now. To do this, click on the Download Program button in the file menu. It will automatically download 4 files for you.  Then click on the editor.html file. You can run both local and web versions of the editor at the same time.

• Can also save as a PDF.

• Can upload and save text or HTML files form your Google drive using a phone. To save files to your phone, use Save to Phone in the File menu.  Can also do this using the same Save to Phone option on a laptop or desktop.

• Can change voices between British and American accents on the main screen.

• Gives audio feedback of things it is doing, when different buttons are clicked. This is for educational value and to let you know what it is doing.

• Has an autosave option that is off by default.

To turn on Autosave for your work, click on the  option in the File menu.

To change the Autosave file  name and location, click on Auto File.  This will automatically save any file you choose.

The keep you work, click on Keep and pick the file to save. You can also save in the File menu button.

If you close your browser before saving your work, you can use the Recover button to reload what was last saved automatically, if you had the Autosave on.

You can change fonts in the Style Menu. Here are the fonts available.

• Arial: A sans-serif font that is popular for body text. It is easy to read and has a modern look.

• Verdana: Another sans-serif font that is similar to Arial. It is slightly wider and has more open letters, which makes it easier to read on screens.

• Times New Roman: A serif font that is popular for documents and books. It has a classic look and is easy to read.

• Courier New: A monospaced font that is popular for code and programming. Each character takes up the same amount of space, which makes it easy to line up code.

• Georgia: A serif font that is similar to Times New Roman, but has a more elegant look. It is often used for magazines and newspapers.

• Tahoma: A sans-serif font that is similar to Arial, but has a slightly narrower width. It is often used for web pages and user interfaces.

• Impact: A display font that is designed for large headlines and posters. It has a bold, eye-catching look.

• Garamond: A serif font that is popular for books and high-end publications. It has a classic, old-fashioned look.

• Trebuchet MS: A sans-serif font that is similar to Arial, but has a more playful look. It is often used for children's books and websites.

Font Size

You can change point size. The normal size is 14 pnt.

Recording Audio:

You can record a story being read to an mp3 audio file. Load a JSON story or write some text in the top window and goto the Options Menu. Click on Record Speech  => mp3.  Follow alert prompts.

Special Note for Chromebook an d Android

• On Chromebooks, you will need to give your application permission to share system audio. You can do this by clicking the Extensions icon in the top right corner of the browser window, then clicking Manage extensions. Find your application in the list of extensions and click Details. Under Permissions, click the Toggle switch next to Share system audio.

• Chromebook Extensions page

• On Android devices, you will need to give your application permission to record audio. You can do this by going to Settings > Apps & notifications > Advanced > App permissions > Microphone. Find your application in the list of applications and toggle the switch next to Microphone to the On position.

• Android Apps & notifications settings page

• Once you have given your application the necessary permissions, you should be able to record system audio on both Chromebooks and Android devices.

Here are some additional tips for recording system audio on Chromebooks and Android devices:

• Make sure that the volume of your device is turned up.

• If you are recording system audio on a Chromebook, you may want to close any other applications that are running. This will help to reduce background noise.

• If you are recording system audio on an Android device, you may want to use a headset or microphone to improve the quality of the recording. 

What to do with creating mp3 files from text: 

Here are some ideas for what you can do with the MP3 creating capability:

• Create audiobooks or podcasts.

• Record lectures or presentations.

• Create sound effects or music for videos or games.

• Create personalized messages for friends and family.

• Transcribe interviews or conversations.

• Create language learning materials.

• Create marketing or promotional materials.

• Create educational materials.

• Create research materials.

• Create creative content.

The possibilities are endless!