Make Your Computer Talk: A Simple VBScript Tutorial

Have you ever wanted to give your computer a voice, just like in the movies? Well, with a little bit of VBScript magic, you can easily make your Windows computer speak anything you want! This fun trick is simple to set up and a great way to add some personality to your machine.

What is VBScript?

VBScript (Visual Basic Scripting Edition) is a scripting language developed by Microsoft. It’s designed to be easy to learn and use, and it can be used to automate tasks and add functionality to Windows applications – like making your computer speak!

Tutorial: Creating Your Talking Computer Script

  1. Open Notepad: On your Windows computer, open the Notepad application (Start Menu -> Search for “Notepad”).
  2. Copy and Paste the Code: Paste the following VBScript code into Notepad:
Code that lets Computer Talk with VBScript
  1. Save the Script:
    • Click “File” -> “Save As”.
    • Name your file something like “speak.vbs”.
    • Importantly, in the “Save as type” dropdown, select “All Files (.)”.
  2. Run the Script: Double-click on your newly saved “speak.vbs” file. An input box will appear.
  3. Make it Talk: Type in any text you want your computer to say and click “OK”. Your computer will now speak your words!

How the Code Works (Brief Explanation)

  • Lines 1: Declares variables used for receiving input and creating the speech object.
  • Line 3: Creates an input box where you type the text to be spoken.
  • Line 4: Creates a speech object (using the Microsoft Speech API).
  • Line 5: Makes the computer speak the text you entered.
Make Your Computer Talk: A Simple VBScript Tutorial

Conclusion

Ready to try more? With just a few tweaks to the code, you could change the voice, add sound effects, or even translate languages. The possibilities are exciting! Share your talking computer experiments in the comments below.