Read & Write

Layout

Read & Write is software installed on all Humber and University of Guelph-Humber lab computers that can be used to read text from Word documents, PDFs, and online content. It can be used to convert audio to text, collect highlighted notes, and more. Some of the features included in this guide are highlighted below: 

The top bar contains an audio control panel along with a screenshot reader, translator, PDF reader and a variety of highlighters. 

In order to use any of the audio or recording features, you will need to have your own set of headphones/microphone and plug into the Humber lab computer. There are too many features available in Read & Write to include in this guide. The software has extensive support in the way of spelling, grammar, translation, and vocabulary. 

You can find more at the Read & Write website.

Getting Started

You will need to launch Read & Write and log in with your humbermail.ca or Gryph e-mail.

1. In the search area, type ‘Read’ to quickly find the software, or using the Start Button, click TextHelp, then Read & Write. This will open a window asking you to log in. Humbermail is a Google product, so Humber students click on ‘Sign in with Google’ and enter credentials for humbermail.ca to continue. University of Guelph-Humber students log in with Microsoft and log in with GH credentials. A Windows Security Alert may open. Ensure that the first checkbox is on (workplace network) and click ‘Allow Access’.
2. The Read & Write toolbar will now be open and ready to use. If you do not see the Read & Write toolbar, but you do see this icon, just click on it. This icon toggles between the hide/show features with the Read & Write toolbar.

Using with Word Document

Reading

1. Ensure that Read & Write has been launched. See the ‘Getting Started’ section for instructions.
2. Launch Word and navigate to the Word document you wish to open. The Read & Write toolbar should appear at the top of your Word document. Place the cursor at the beginning of the text you want to hear and click the ‘Play’ icon in the Read & Write toolbar. Use the other audio controls to pause, rewind etc.

Highlighting and Collecting

1. Use the mouse to capture any text you want to highlight, then click on the Highlight colour you want until you are finished. Use different colours to organize your notes.
2. Click on the Collect Highlights icon and a new document will open with just your highlights. This is a very useful tool for studying.
3. Save the new document that has all your highlighted notes.

Using with PDF’s

Reading

1. Click on the PDF Reader icon located in the Read & Write toolbar.
2. A file explorer window will open, and you need to navigate to the PDF document you wish to open.
3. Click at the start of the text in the PDF and click the play button.

Highlighting and Collecting

1. Use the mouse to capture any text you want to highlight, then click on the Highlight colour you want until you are finished. The Hand icon located in the top left corner of the PDF Reader window must be off to enable the highlight tool.
2. Click on the Collect Highlights icon and a new document will open with just your highlights. This is a very useful tool for studying.
3. Save your new document.

Using with Online Content

Reading

1. Ensure that Read & Write has been launched. See the ‘Getting Started’ section for instructions.
2. Launch a browser and navigate to the web page you wish to open. The Read & Write toolbar should appear at the top of the web page. Using the mouse, highlight the first sentence of the content you want to hear and click the ‘Play’ icon in the Read & Write toolbar. Use the other audio controls to pause, stop, rewind etc. 

NOTE: If the text doesn't read, use the Screenshot Reader icon to capture the text, be careful not to include any ads or other text you do not wish to hear. The software will convert the text, and you need to click the ‘play/stop’ button in the new window.

Highlighting and Collecting

1. Use the mouse to capture any text you want to highlight, then click on the Highlight colour you want until you are finished.
2. Click on the Collect Highlights icon and a new document will open with just your highlights. This is a very useful tool for studying.
3. Save your new document.

Translator

Highlight the text you want to translate and click on the Translate icon in the toolbar. 

French is set as the default language. If you wish to translate into a different language, click on the 3 horizontal lines located at the top right to get to Settings, Show More Settings, then Translator and choose from the many languages available.