Read Text-0.8.84

Extension:
Extension ID:
ca.bc.vancouver.holgate.james.readtextextension
Release date:
30/08/2024 - 15:34
Version:
0.8.84
Operating system:
Linux, Linux x86-64, MacOS X, System Independent, Windows
Compatibility:
3.4
Binary type:
OpenOffice extension (.oxt)
Release Notes: 

## All

+ Enables playback on a wider variety of architectures and platforms.
+ The *Test* button plays a background sound if the application has system
permission using the BASIC `uno` platform, otherwise it is disabled.

## Windows

* When you click the *Test* button in the *About* dialog, the extension plays
a test sound without opening it using an external application. This change
makes the button behave like it does on other platforms.
* The [Piper][1] text-to-speech options in the main dialog previously included
items that might not work reliably on Windows if the command contained a
percent sign (`%`). These items have been renamed to use the word `percent` on
Windows. Additionally, the Piper Windows options now include an
`--update False` option to preview the current voice model information without
triggering an update.

## Linux

+ Attempts to find `libav` and `gstreamer` libraries on recent unofficially
supported Linux architectures.
+ Piper text to speech can use `gst-launch-1.0` to play audio for platforms
that require it as a playback method.
+ If you install Pied speech manager you can still update the extension
piper speech resource folder.
+ Update the multilingual Snap welcome dialog to show a link to [Mimic 3
speech synthesis][2] information.
+ When using a Windows version of the office application in Linux using a
default installation of [Wine][3], when you clicked the *Test* icon in the
*About* dialog to check sound playback, the application would freeze. The
extension now disables the sound playback test when using Wine.
+ The extension now disables the sound playback test when using an
[AppImage][4] because the current security settings do not allow playing
a sound file located in the AppImage temporary working directory.

## MacOS

* The *Test* button uses the BASIC `uno` platform for the sound playback
test.

[1]: https://github.com/rhasspy/piper/blob/master/README.md
[2]: https://github.com/rhasspy/mimic3
[3]: https://appdb.winehq.org/index.php
[4]: https://discourse.appimage.org/