The Tips - Mac Kung Fu - page 310

make your Mac read entire text ( .TXT ) files. Just type the following, replacing
FILENAME.TXT with the name of your file:
SAY -F FILENAME.TXT
You can also use the SAY command to make your Mac say anything. For
example, you could type the following:
SAY THE MAC IS THE BEST COMPUTER THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN
Finally, you can convert any text you type (or a text file) into an AIFF audio
file for playing within iTunes or QuickTime Player. The following adapts the
previous command to create an audio file called FILENAME.AIFF :
SAY -O FILENAME THE MAC IS THE BEST COMPUTER THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN
...while the following will convert TEXTFILE.TXT into a spoken audio file called SPO-
KENWORD.AIFF :
SAY -O SPOKENWORD -F TEXTFILE.TXT
Tip 291
Get the Most from the Mac Dictionary App
Your Mac includes a fantastic Dictionary application that you can find in the
Applications folder of Finder.
Reading the Front and Back Matter
The Dictionary app relies on the prestigious Oxford Dictionary for its word
definitions, but the app also contains all of the dictionary's pages, including
introductory chapters and reading guides. To access these, open the applica-
tion, and click Front/Back Matter at the bottom of the Go menu. Then click
the hyperlinks to individual sections within the Dictionary program window.
Adding New Languages and Variations
You can also search a British version of the English dictionary and thesaurus,
plus Spanish, German, and Simplified Chinese dictionaries, as well as
Japanese and a Japanese/English dictionary. To activate these, click Prefer-
ences on the Application menu and select them in the list within the dialog
box that appears. You can click and drag entries in the list to define which
results are shown first when you search for words.