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Speech.Speak

Speaks text.

Component Version macOS Windows Linux Server iOS SDK
Speech 6.3 ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ❌ No ❌ No ✅ Yes
MBS( "Speech.Speak"; Text { ; Voice; Wait; Volume; Rate } )   More

(old name: Text.Speak)

Parameters

Parameter Description Example Flags
Text The text to speak "Hello World"
Voice The voice to use.
Can be empty to use default voice.
On macOS and iOS, this is identifier, not name.		 "Agnes" Optional
Wait Whether to wait for completion.
Pass 1 to wait or 0 to speak while your script continues.
Default is 0.		 1 Optional
Volume Available in MBS FileMaker Plugin 7.2 or newer.
The volume to use.
Default is full volume.
Range from 0.0 (silent) to 1.0 (full).		 1.0 Optional
Rate Available in MBS FileMaker Plugin 7.2 or newer.
The speak rate.
Default 1.0 for normal speed.
Range from 0.0 to 2.0.
2.0 would be double speed while 0.5 is half speed.
If the voice doesn’t support rate, you hear no difference!		 1.0 Optional

Result

Returns OK or error.

Description

Speaks text.
This is a function doing similar work as the speak script step in FileMaker.

If called with empty text, you can pass voice to test if voice exists. You get back OK if voice exists or an error if not.
If called without text, you stop existing speech.

Due to a bug in FM 13/14/15, the speak script step may freeze. This function is a suitable workaround until FileMaker fixes the issue.

You can use Speech.IsSpeaking to check if asynchronously speaking is in use.

Examples

Say Hello

MBS( "Speech.Speak"; "Hello World")

Count to 100:

Set Variable [$i; Value:0]
Loop
    Set Variable [$i; Value:$i + 1]
    Set Field [Speak Test::Counter; $i]
    Set Variable [$r; Value:MBS( "Speech.Speak"; $i; ""; 1)]
    Commit Records/Requests []
    Exit Loop If [$i > 100]
End Loop

Speak with Windows voice:

MBS( "Speech.Speak"; "Hello World"; "Microsoft Hedda Desktop - German"; 1)

Speak with half volume:

MBS( "Speech.Speak"; "Hallo Leute"; ""; 0; 0,5 )

Using embedded text commands on Mac:

# literal speaking
MBS( "Speech.Speak"; "Hello [[char LTRL]] cat [[char NORM]] cat."; ""; 1)
# use emphasis:
MBS( "Speech.Speak"; "Do [[emph +]] not [[emph -]] over tighten the screw.")

# see
# https://developer.apple.com/library/content/documentation/UserExperience/Conceptual/SpeechSynthesisProgrammingGuide/FineTuning/FineTuning.html

See also

Release notes

  • Version 11.0
  • Version 8.3

Example Databases

Blog Entries

This function checks for a license.

Created 30th May 2016, last changed 28th December 2020


Speech.Resume - Speech.Stop