Change spoken words in text to speech?
  • Vote Up0Vote Down CliffHangerCliffHanger
    In Navigator Free for Android, is it possible to change some of the spoken words in the text to speech?

    Some examples:
    Can I change  "carry on straight ahead" to "continue straight ahead"?
    Can I change "slip road" to "exit"?
    Can I change "roundabout" to "rotary"?

    I've tried to edit the "navigation.xml" and "tts.xml" files but it doesn't change.  Does the TTS engine actually read and speak the printed text in these files or is the speech stored somewhere else? 

    I read the questions and answers about "Direction change: say the distance at the beginning of the driving instruction" (http://forum.mapfactor.com/discussion/7002) but I can't seem to make changes.

    Thanks!
  • 9 Comments sorted by
  • Vote Up0Vote Down chattiewomanchattiewoman
    TTS.xml was correct to fix. But it seems you changed it in the wrong section. Please note the different languages and default one.
    But if you exchange ALL occurrences of slip road to exit, it should work fine for you.

    Another possible error could be you chose the wrong Navigator folder. Depending on your settings you could have two, whereas only one is used.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down CliffHangerCliffHanger
    Thanks for the response, chattiewoman.

    I did a find/replace on tts.xml so I think I got all in each section. I don't think I go the wrong Navigator folder because I did a search for tts.xml and found only one instance.

    This is on a Samsung S3, rooted but with stock ROM  Android version 4.4.2 Kitkat. The Navigator app has had installation moved to the SD card.

    TTS.xml may have been corrupted from a previous attempt. I made a copy of a backup and edited that and then overwrote the tts.xml in my phone. That may have fixed it but I will have to do further testing to know for sure.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down xPosTechxPosTech
    Cliffhanger are you using the UK English with USA maps? I found that voice really strange here in Texas. If you change to English (USA) it will make your changes for you.

    Ted
  • Vote Up0Vote Down CliffHangerCliffHanger
    xPosTech, I like the UK English sexy voice but am currently using Google TTS Engine Synthesized English (US).

    I thought that the TTS engine actually read the text in the tts.xml file as indicated by chattiewoman. If I was to run text though Ivona, that's what it does. So, I expected the same in Navigator.

    For a simple test, let's say I just edited all instances of "carry on straight ahead" to "continue straight ahead" in the tts.xml file.  I need further testing, but it seems that when using English (US) it reads "continue" -  whereas when I use English (UK) it changes to "carry on". This suggests that the tts engine is NOT actually reading the text but is getting the verbiage from somewhere else. If so, where?

    I know this isn't a big deal. I'm just trying to understand what's happening here. Navigator is a great little app. Thanks for the response.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down chattiewomanchattiewoman
    Is TTS really activated in the Navigator settings? Default value is recorded voice.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down CliffHangerCliffHanger
    My current settings:

    Settings > Languages
    Application Language: English
    Voice Engine: Google Text-to-speech Engine
    Voice Language: English: Synthetized English (US)
  • Vote Up0Vote Down chattiewomanchattiewoman
    Your settings are fine. Does navigator use street names during navigation inside towns? I'm asking because that's the last proof the TTS voice is really used.
    Wait, another one would be to check the logs file. When TTS is used, the spoken commands are written there. Check whether you can find them.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down hvdwolfhvdwolf
    There is one more setting in the general Android Text to Speech settings in the "options text to speech". you also need to set the language for the preferred TTS-engine (the little gear icon behind it). If that one uses either British english or US english or another english variant, you also get differences.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down CliffHangerCliffHanger
    Chattiewoman wrote :
    "Does navigator use street names during navigation inside towns? I'm
    asking because that's the last proof the TTS voice is really used."

    I'm really embarrassed that I did not think of this. Some IT guy I am. Missed basic troubleshooting.
    Me >   L-)
    And, yes, I did find the logs and the street names are listed there.

    So far, I have tested these combinations in "Simulate Route" mode, not on the actual road yet. Restarted Navigatoer after each change. This is with a newly revised copy of tts.xml from an original backup.

    These settings DO read the street names:
    Voice Engine: Google Text-to-speech Engine
    Voice Language: English: Synthetized English (US)
    Voice Language: English: Synthetized English (GB)

    These settings DO NOT read the street names:
    Voice Engine: Recorded Voices
    English: MapFactor - Lotta
    English: MapFactor - Carla

    hdvwolf wrote:
    "the general Android Text to Speech settings in the "options text to speech"......either British english or US english "

    I tried both settings, doesn't seem to make a difference to what I wrote above.

    This is not a critical issue as it seems to be working for me now. I'm still interested in what was happening and why. Sort of scratching my head and thinking that understanding this might help other people, too.Thanks for those responses.


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