Fun Stuff! - Text To Speech using Windows’ Powershell

[Prithak]

I created this code just for fun!

Code: QB64: [Select]

1. DO
2.     INPUT "Enter text: "; text$
3.     SHELL _HIDE "Powershell -Command " + CHR$(34) + "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('" + text$ + "');" + CHR$(34)
4. LOOP
5.  

-Prithak
[/font]

[Petr]

Nice :-D

[Prithak]

Nice :-D

:)

[bplus]

Yeah fun! Here is one liner robot comedian (for Windows users)
https://www.qb64.org/forum/index.php?topic=215.msg1080#msg1080

Perhaps your method is more successful than my code in different Windows systems.

EDIT Update:
Yep! substitution of Prithak's code works fine in my windows system with the code I was playing with.

Code: QB64: [Select]

1. SUB speak (message AS STRING)
2.     'modifed from "Code" at JB forum
3.     'OPEN "sound.vbs" FOR OUTPUT AS #1
4.     'PRINT #1, "Dim message, sapi"
5.     'PRINT #1, "message=" + CHR$(34) + message + CHR$(34) + " "
6.     'PRINT #1, "Set sapi=CreateObject(" + CHR$(34) + "sapi.spvoice" + CHR$(34) + ")"
7.     'PRINT #1, "sapi.Speak message"
8.     'CLOSE #1
9.     'SHELL "wscript sound.vbs"
10.     SHELL _HIDE "Powershell -Command " + CHR$(34) + "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('" + message + "');" + CHR$(34)
11. END SUB
12.  

[Bert22306]

Very impressive. A couple of lines only, and it works like a champ. Congrats, Prithak!!

[johnno56]

A few days ago I installed Google Speech on my Linux machine and used the Shell command in qb64 to add speech. Very cool. Could be used for interactive fiction or even as a compliment to message boxes. Cannot find out how to change to a male voice. But Google Speech comes with Sox Effects which can make the voice 'almost' sound like a male.

What are you guy going to use speech for? Just curious.

J

[Dimster]

Runs nicely in 32 bit, only get one go round in 64

[Pete]

It makes a nice clipboard reader for my Windows 10.

Code: QB64: [Select]

1. WIDTH 80, 3
2. _SCREENMOVE 0, 0
3. _CLIPBOARD$ = ""
4. LOCATE 2, 1
5. PRINT " Copy text to clipboard to have it read back by computer. Press [Esc] to quit.";
6. DO
7.     _LIMIT 10
8.     text$ = _CLIPBOARD$
9.     b$ = INKEY$
10.     IF b$ <> "" THEN
11.         IF b$ = CHR$(27) THEN SYSTEM
12.     END IF
13.     IF text$ <> "" THEN
14.         _CLIPBOARD$ = ""
15.         SHELL _HIDE "Powershell -Command " + CHR$(34) + "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('" + text$ + "');" + CHR$(34)
16.     END IF
17. LOOP
18.  

Very cool. Thanks!

Pete

[FellippeHeitor]

You don't need to erase the clipboard every run:

Code: QB64: [Select]

1. WIDTH 80, 3
2. _SCREENMOVE 0, 0
3. LOCATE 2, 1
4. PRINT " Copy text to clipboard to have it read back by computer. Press [Esc] to quit.";
5. DO
6.     _LIMIT 10
7.     text$ = _CLIPBOARD$
8.     b$ = INKEY$
9.     IF b$ <> "" THEN
10.         IF b$ = CHR$(27) THEN SYSTEM
11.     END IF
12.     IF text$ <> previousText$ THEN
13.         previousText = text$
14.         SHELL _HIDE "Powershell -Command " + CHR$(34) + "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('" + text$ + "');" + CHR$(34)
15.     END IF
16. LOOP

[Pete]

Dammit, I'm old and I have to have stuff repeated constantly. Your code doesn't allow that!

Pete and Re-Pete :D

[Prithak]

You don't need to erase the clipboard every run:

Code: QB64: [Select]

1. WIDTH 80, 3
2. _SCREENMOVE 0, 0
3. LOCATE 2, 1
4. PRINT " Copy text to clipboard to have it read back by computer. Press [Esc] to quit.";
5. DO
6.     _LIMIT 10
7.     text$ = _CLIPBOARD$
8.     b$ = INKEY$
9.     IF b$ <> "" THEN
10.         IF b$ = CHR$(27) THEN SYSTEM
11.     END IF
12.     IF text$ <> previousText$ THEN
13.         previousText = text$
14.         SHELL _HIDE "Powershell -Command " + CHR$(34) + "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('" + text$ + "');" + CHR$(34)
15.     END IF
16. LOOP

Found a simple little problem with the code.

Code: QB64: [Select]

1. WIDTH 80, 3
2. _SCREENMOVE 0, 0
3. LOCATE 2, 1
4. PRINT " Copy text to clipboard to have it read back by computer. Press [Esc] to quit.";
5. DO
6.     _LIMIT 10
7.     text$ = _CLIPBOARD$
8.     b$ = INKEY$
9.     IF b$ <> "" THEN
10.         IF b$ = CHR$(27) THEN SYSTEM
11.     END IF
12.     IF text$ <> previousText$ THEN
13.         previousText$ = text$ 'You forgot to put $ in previousText xD
14.         SHELL _HIDE "Powershell -Command " + CHR$(34) + "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('" + text$ + "');" + CHR$(34)
15.     END IF
16. LOOP
17.  

[Pete]

Hey lay off... because... apparently Fell's getting old, too! :D

Kidding aside, I was bummed out a bit yesterday when I discovered the pause key wasn't able to pause the text reader. I've thought about playing around with feeding the shell command sentences and making a pause function that way. At least that way you could pause at the end of a sentence with a mouse click or key input in the program window. I haven't tried going word for word, but wow, that would probably pile up so many shell calls that the system would start to slow down and the user would think his PC was having a stroke... No Bill, not a keystroke.

Pete

[Dimster]

Hello Prithak - I've been having a lot of fun converting some of my menus to voice. Thank you very much for this piece of code. I was wrong about the 64 bit only giving one go round on the do loop, seems I just need to add a CLS to it whereas the 34 bit works great without. I am thinking Powershell has some limitations to the characters it can and cannot convert to voice. I'm having no problem with it talking over a period (.) to get to the next sentence but  a comma or apostrophe do not do well. The sentence "How's life" doesn't seem to work but "How is life" works fine. I'm trying to find out more on what letters or symbols are problematic but so far no luck. Thinking I could just try them all one at a time but would you know of a website that may have a dictionary on Powershell syntax? 

[xra7en]

interesting... can this be reversed SPEECH -> TEXT?

[Pete]

Code: QB64: [Select]

1. LOOP
2.     END IF
3.         SHELL _HIDE "Powershell -Command " + CHR$(34) + "Add-Type -AssemblyName System.Speech; (New-Object System.Speech.Synthesis.SpeechSynthesizer).Speak('" + text$ + "');" + CHR$(34)
4.         _CLIPBOARD$ = ""
5.     IF text$ <> "" THEN
6.     END IF
7.         IF b$ = CHR$(27) THEN SYSTEM
8.     IF b$ <> "" THEN
9.     b$ = INKEY$
10.     text$ = _CLIPBOARD$
11.     _LIMIT 10
12. DO
13. PRINT " Copy text to clipboard to have it read back by computer. Press [Esc] to quit.";
14. LOCATE 2, 1
15. _CLIPBOARD$ = ""
16. _SCREENMOVE 0, 0
17. WIDTH 80, 3
18.  

Well it was worth a try!

Pete :D