You can set up your computer to use spoken alerts when a popup window opens or when an application requires your attention. These two settings are helpful if you have limited peripheral vision that could cause you to miss alerts that open outside of your range of vision.


  1. Choose Apple, System Preferences, Speech.
  2. System Preferences window with Speech option highlighted.

  3. Select the Text to Speech pane.
    Speech window with Text to Speech pane selected.
  4. Check the boxes next to “Announce when alerts are displayed” and “Announce when an application requires your attention.”
    Text to Speech Pane with Announce alerts options highlighted.
  5. Choose “Set Alert Options.”
    Set alert options button in Text to Speech pane.
  6. Select a Voice using the Voice pull down menu, and the phrase the phrase the computer will speak at the beginning of an alert from the Phrase menu, then use the slider to choose the Delay before the alert starts.
    Alert options window.
  7. Click on Play to preview your settings. When you?re happy with your settings, click on OK.
Bookmark and Share