ClaroRead

Spot missing words or awkward phrasing by listening to your draft read aloud, and convert scanned PDFs into readable text.

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026 · Applies to: ClaroRead Windows, ClaroRead Mac & Chrome Extension

These instructions were checked against official ClaroRead documentation on the review date. Toolbar buttons, OCR utilities (such as Scan from Screen) and default function-key shortcuts vary between Windows, macOS and Chrome editions.

Reading support, with genuinely useful OCR

ClaroRead provides text-to-speech with synchronised highlighting, homophone and spell-checking support, screen tinting and study tools. What makes it particularly helpful in many workplaces is how well its scanning tools handle documents that arrive as locked or scanned images.

Listening back to your own writing makes skipped words and repeated phrases stand out immediately—errors your eye often glides past when you read your own draft silently.

Getting Started

  • Read text aloud (Play / Stop): Place your cursor in a document or select a passage and click Play on the ClaroRead toolbar (on Windows, default function-key shortcuts such as F7 to Play and F8 to Stop can also be configured in Settings → Speech).
  • Turn on Read on Select or Read under Mouse: In Settings → Speech, choose whether ClaroRead speaks automatically when you highlight text or hover the pointer over a paragraph.
  • Customise voice speed and highlighting colours: Adjust the speaking rate and word/sentence highlight colours in Settings so the visual tracking matches your reading speed.
  • Use Scan from Screen / Scan File (OCR): When a PDF or image cannot be selected with the mouse, use Scan → Scan from Screen to draw a box around the text and have it read aloud or copied to the clipboard, or Scan from File to convert a scanned PDF into a searchable Word or PDF document.

Making inaccessible documents readable

  • Scan from Screen solves locked regions quickly. Capturing a paragraph on screen and hearing it read aloud gets you past image-only tables, diagrams or locked PDF pages in seconds.
  • Scan quality decides accuracy. A straight, clear PDF recognises far more accurately than a skewed phone photograph.
  • Check multi-column pages after conversion. When converting a two-column article to Word, check that paragraphs run in the right reading order and Scan one column at a time if a layout is unusual.
  • Save the converted file. Once you have converted a scanned PDF into an accessible Word or tagged PDF file, save the clean copy so you never have to re-scan it.

Common problems, and what to do

  • ClaroRead starts speaking every time you select text to copy it. If Speak When Selected gets in the way while editing, untick it in Settings → Speech and use the Play button (or shortcut key) only when you want speech.
  • The voice sounds rushed or unnatural. Open Settings → Speech to switch between the installed vocalisers and adjust the speed slider slightly lower for proofreading.
  • Highlighting clashes with a screen reader. ClaroRead is a visual literacy toolbar rather than a full screen reader; use one speech tool at a time for a given task so two voices do not speak over each other.
  • Windows vs Mac toolbar differences. Some companion utilities (such as ClaroView screen overlays or specific Word ribbon add-ins) differ between Windows and macOS editions; check the toolbar settings on your machine to see which modules are installed.

Short practice exercise

  1. Open a short draft email or Word document and launch the ClaroRead toolbar.
  2. Place your cursor at the start of a paragraph and click Play to listen while watching the synchronised word highlight, then click Stop.
  3. Open Settings → Speech and adjust the speaking speed until it feels comfortable for proofreading.
  4. Click Scan → Scan from Screen, drag a rectangle around an image or heading on your screen, and listen to ClaroRead read the recognised text aloud.

Official ClaroRead help links

Need more detailed guidance?

This quick guide covers the basics. Get practical, one-to-one training for ClaroRead and other reading and writing tools.

View Reading & Writing training →

Using this as part of a dyslexia or ADHD toolkit? See our dyslexia & ADHD training.

← Back to software quick guides