Read TextEdit Aloud — With Word-Level Highlight
Select any paragraph in your TextEdit document. A floating ▶ button appears next to your selection. One click starts natural-voice playback with a highlight that glides word-by-word across the real TextEdit window.
macOS native app · Free · No login · Works in 40+ languages
Select any paragraph in TextEdit and press the play button to hear it aloud.
Highlight follows each word in your real document.
One App Covers Every Native Mac Editor
Same gesture, same word-level highlight — across every Mac text editor that exposes its text natively.
TextEdit
Plain / RTF documents
Stickies
Yellow sticky notes
Notes
Apple Notes
Script Editor
AppleScript IDE
BBEdit
Pro text & code editor
CotEditor
Open-source editor
TextMate
GPL code editor
Terminal
zsh / bash shell
Three Steps — No Setup
CastReader runs as a menu-bar app. TextEdit stays exactly as it is.
Install
Download CastReader for Mac (.dmg). Grant Accessibility permission once — this is how it reads the selected text from TextEdit.
Select
Open any .rtf or .txt document in TextEdit. Drag to select a sentence, paragraph, or the whole page.
Click ▶
A small play button appears next to your selection. One click — audio starts with a highlight that tracks each word inside the TextEdit window.
When TextEdit Readers Use CastReader
TextEdit is the Mac's built-in writing canvas. CastReader turns it into a proofreading and learning tool.
Proofread your own writing
Hear your drafts back in a natural voice. Ears catch what eyes miss — typos, missing words, awkward rhythm.
Practice a second language
Paste foreign text into a .txt, select any sentence, and hear native pronunciation. 40+ languages auto-detected.
Listen to long documents
Research notes, long essays, transcribed interviews — select any section and listen while your hands do something else.
Accessibility & dyslexia support
TextEdit alone has no read-aloud. CastReader adds word-level follow-along that's essential for readers with dyslexia.
Study with your own notes
Paste textbook excerpts into TextEdit, select a paragraph, listen while reviewing — the highlight stays anchored to your text.
Rehearse speeches & scripts
Write your speech in TextEdit, hit play, hear the flow. Adjust your rate 0.5×–2× to practice at presentation tempo.
Why CastReader Beats TextEdit's Built-in Speech
macOS has a Start Speaking menu item — but it reads without highlight, without speed control, without voice choice. CastReader fixes every gap.
Word-level highlight on your real document
A transparent overlay tracks each spoken word directly inside the TextEdit window. Your eyes follow the voice — not a separate reader pane.
40+ natural AI voices
Auto-detects the language of your selection. Kokoro-quality voices for English, Mandarin, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and more — not the robotic macOS voices.
Adjustable rate, re-read any paragraph
Change speed on the fly. Click any paragraph to jump playback. Works with keyboard shortcuts that macOS Speech doesn't offer.
Zero cost, zero signup
No account, no credit card, no daily limits. CastReader is completely free — unlike Speechify or NaturalReader.
Common Questions
How do I read text aloud in TextEdit on Mac?▾
macOS has a basic Start Speaking item under Edit → Speech, but it has no highlight, no speed control, and only the old system voices. For natural voices with word-level highlight overlaid on your TextEdit window, install CastReader for Mac. Select any text, click the floating ▶ next to your selection, and audio plays with a highlight that tracks each word.
Does CastReader modify my TextEdit document?▾
No. CastReader reads your selection through macOS Accessibility APIs and overlays a transparent highlight on top of the real TextEdit window. Your .rtf or .txt file is never opened, modified, or copied anywhere. TextEdit behaves identically whether CastReader is running or not.
Why does CastReader need Accessibility permission?▾
The Accessibility (AX) API is the only way a Mac app can read the currently selected text from another app's window. CastReader uses it to capture your TextEdit selection and to compute pixel-level bounds for the word-by-word highlight. No other data is accessed.
Does it work with RTF formatting, tables, and fonts?▾
Yes. TextEdit's RTF documents expose their text through the same AX API as plain text. CastReader reads the selected character range regardless of font, size, color, or table formatting. Tables are read row by row.
Can it read Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text in TextEdit?▾
Yes. CastReader auto-detects the language of your selection. For CJK text it uses a native Mandarin / Japanese / Korean voice. Mixed-language paragraphs switch voices automatically at sentence boundaries.
What's the difference between this and Speechify?▾
Speechify is a paid subscription that requires you to paste text into its own reader window. CastReader is free, runs inside the real TextEdit window you're already using, and overlays the highlight directly on your document — you never leave TextEdit.
Which other Mac text editors work the same way?▾
Every AppKit-native editor with exposed text: TextEdit, Stickies, Notes, Script Editor, BBEdit, CotEditor, TextMate — all with identical word-level highlight. Terminal also works (manually verified). Electron-based editors like VSCode, Cursor, and Obsidian are not supported because they don't expose text through AX.
Is there a keyboard shortcut?▾
Yes. After installing, open CastReader's menu-bar icon → Preferences to bind a global hotkey to 'Read Selection'. The floating ▶ button is optional if you prefer pure keyboard control.
Does this work on macOS 14 / 15 / 26?▾
CastReader for Mac supports macOS 13 Ventura and later, including macOS 26. TextEdit's AX behavior is stable across all these versions, so the reading + highlight path works identically.
Is it really free?▾
Yes. 100% free. No account, no credit card, no premium voice gate, no daily word limit. Download the .dmg and use it forever.
Ready to Hear Your TextEdit Documents?
Install once. Select any text in TextEdit. Click ▶. Listen.