Recording an Audio Version of a Document

Bonnie can use the Immersive Reader tool in Word to read a document aloud. She wonders, though, if there is a way to record the audio reading generated by Immersive Reader.

The short answer is that yes, you can do this. However, getting things set up properly is much longer than the short answer.

Let's look first at using Microsoft options. Windows has a built-in tool called Voice Recorder, and you might think that you could use it to record desktop audio. (Any audio playing on the computer is often referred to as "desktop audio" or even "system sounds.") All of the information I've been able to find, however, indicates that while you could use Voice Recorder in past versions of Windows, currently you cannot—it will not record system sounds correctly. See, for instance, the Microsoft answers page at this ridiculously long URL:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/how-do-i-make-the-voice-recorder-pick-up-computer/265f8a96-d376-491a-858d-2fe573897adf

Note that the "independent advisor" gave the traditional steps to record desktop audio using Voice Recorder, but then immediately came back and said you cannot use Voice Recorder; it won't work. I verified this by following the proper steps, and I could not, in over an hour of testing, get Voice Recorder to record any system sounds. It just won't do it.

The other Microsoft option is to use Sound Recorder. This is separate from Voice Recorder that used to be installed by default in Windows. It seems to have been renamed in the latest Windows installations, however, as Voice Recorder. In fact, if you go to the Microsoft Store and look for Sound Recorder, you can find it, but if you then try to install it, you are informed that it is already installed and Voice Recorder is launched. (Microsoft is nothing if not confusing.) The article about Sound Recorder at Wikipedia indicates that Sound Recorder is "known as Voice Recorder in Windows 10."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Recorder_(Windows)

The bottom line for Microsoft, then, is that unless you are using an older version of Windows, you cannot rely on their apps—specifically, Voice Recorder—to do the recording. This, then, means you need to look toward using a third-party audio program. A great choice is Audacity, which is available for free here:

https://audacityteam.org/

Once installed, you can set it up to record any audio that is playing on your system, such as the output of the Immersive Reader. You can find complete information on how to do this using Audacity here:

https://support.audacityteam.org/basics/recording-desktop-audio

You could also use OBS Studio to do the recording. It is another free software possibility, available here:

https://obsproject.com/

If you want to go this route, you should do a search for "using obs studio to record desktop audio" and you'll get a good number of sources that can help.

The downside to using a third-party program is that in addition to using Word, you'll need to become at least somewhat conversant with the third-party program. If you don't want to do that, then there is one other possibility you could try—use a separate device to do the recording. For instance, your phone may have an app that does audio recording, or you may have a dictation device that allows you to record information. Devices such as these could be used to record whatever is playing through your computer speakers. The drawback, of course, is that it will also record anything else that is making noise in your room, including ambient noises such as your refrigerator, the heater, a truck going down the street, or the dog barking next door.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (9412) applies to Microsoft Word 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Word in Microsoft 365.