BetterReader

A small macOS utility that fixes a common problem with Text-to-Speech when reading PDFs.

Many PDFs insert a newline at the end of every visual line. macOS Text-to-Speech interprets these line breaks as pauses, causing speech to stop at the end of each line and making listening difficult.

BetterReader acts as a thin layer between selected text and macOS Text-to-Speech, removing unnecessary newline characters before the text is spoken so sentences flow naturally.

Icon

Put the source icon image at icon.png in the repository root. Use a square 1024x1024 PNG.

• GitHub uses that same icon.png directly from the README.
• The macOS app icon is generated from it by running scripts/sync_icon.sh.

Usage

1. Select text in any application (PDF reader, browser, editor, etc.).
2. Press Option + P to start reading.
3. Press Option + O to stop.

Setup

Option 1: Download the BetterReader.app.zip file, unzip and move to your Applications folder.
Option 2: Download the project and build the binary yourself. Move the it to your Applications folder.

Then you may need to configure a few things in macOS settings:

• Trust the app: if macOS warns that it is from an unidentified developer. The exact procedure varies a bit depending on the macOS version. For Tahoe 26.3:
  Allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Allow apps from: App Store & Known Developers.
  Then add me to the list of trusted developers.
• Enable Accessibility permission so the app can read selected text.
  System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
• (Optional) Select a high-quality Siri voice for better speech.
  System Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → System Voice
• (Optional) Add the app to Login Items if you want it to run automatically at startup.
  System Settings → General → Login Items → Open at Login

License

This project is fully open source. You are free to use, modify, distribute, or incorporate the code into other projects without restriction.