On a
Windows 10 64-bit PC running calibre 64-bit, for any Voice to appear in this plugin's Voice list it needs to be installed in the Windows registry under this key (
see second screenshot):
Code:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Speech\Voices\Tokens]
Update October 2020:
On a Windows 10 PC running calibre 32-bit (including Calibre Portable) the Voices you can access will depend on which version of this plugin you're using:- All TTS to MP3 versions <v0.5.4, which run on calibre v3.41- v5.3 inclusive can only access one Voice, i.e. your PC's default Voice which probably varies by Windows locale.
- TTS to MP3 v0.5.4 or above, which needs calibre v5.4 or above, can access all voices installed in the Windows registry under this key (see third screenshot):
Code:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\SPEECH\Voices\Tokens]
Attached at the end of this post is a zip file for the old version of TTS to MP3 which works on calibre v3.41-v5.3 inclusive.
If you are new to this plugin and are running a version of calibre <v5.4 then you can download this zip file and install it manually via calibre:
Preferences > Plugins > Load plugin from file
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Windows users can install additional Voices, both Microsoft (and 3rd-party purchases). For details
see this website. For my testing I was able to install all these MS English dialect voices quite easily using standard Windows settings options:
Voices marked with * are Cortana Speech Assistant voices.
English - GB: Hazel, Susan, George, Sarah*
English - US: Zira, David, Mark, Eva*
English - Canada: Linda, Richard, Eva*
English - Australia: Catherine, James, Matilda*
English - India: Heera, Ravi, Koyal*
English - Ireland: Sean
N.B. Cortana Eva (US) and Cortana Eva (Canada) are stored as separate files so don't assume they are the same thing.
The installed MS Voice files are stored in
C:\Windows\Speech_OneCore\Engines\TTS\
Each language/dialect has its own sub-directory e.g. English US voices are stored in
C:\Windows\Speech_OneCore\Engines\TTS\en-US\
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Now comes the tricky part. Just because you
installed some voices doesn't necessarily mean this plugin (or the Sigil one) can automatically
see them. Unfortunately, solving this problem requires editing your Windows Registry.
*** This is most definitely not something you should undertake lightly ***
There is a tutorial here which tells you how to enable the English US voices Mark and Eva. Windows Registry (.reg) update files are provided. Before you run them you should make sure that your directory C:\Windows\Speech_OneCore\Engines\TTS\en-US actually contains files for Mark and Eva (
see first attached screenshot)
Using the Eva/Mark .reg files and a bit of Sherlock-ian extrapolation I was able to create similar .reg files to enable all the voices listed above for this plugin and the Sigil one.
For anyone who is comfortable with Windows Registry editing and its potential risks I'm happy to share all the .reg files I created. You need to PM me as I'm not happy posting them in public without a lot more testing by others.