We’re pleased to announce the latest release of DocsPlus Desktop. This is a free update for all subscribers and includes some exciting new features.

New neural voices

We’re introducing two new voices to DocsPlus – Caleb and Chloe. These are based on the latest neural voice technology and have been very well received in testing. Our Rachel and Rhona voices have also had an upgrade and sound even smoother and more realistic.

Text-to-speech is one of the most popular features with students. The instant feedback allows them to improve their work immediately and independently.

Caleb

Sound sample

Chloe

Sound sample

You can choose your preferred voice from the ‘Speak Text’ drop-down menu in the Document, or by navigating to the ‘Options’ tab, clicking the ‘Speech’ button, and selecting an option from the ‘Voice’ drop-down in the pop-up window.

DocReader improvements

Our new voices work brilliantly with our improved DocReader. Having a PDF of a text or exam paper alongside a document is a very powerful teaching tool. With this release, we’ve widened the range of PDFs that are compatible with the DocReader, improving text-to-speech functionality for PDFs with columns as well as exam papers. The DocReader is now compatible with OCR readers, meaning you can improve your PDF readability even further.

Exam Mode improvements

In our opinion, DocsPlus is the best tool to support students across their time in secondary school. Using the supportive features in class helps students make accelerated progress, while Exam Mode lets them take this familiar support with them when they need it most.

Exam Mode now allows invigilators to enable ‘copy and paste’, depending on the individual’s access arrangements. This can help students arrange their ideas in examinations and reflects their normal way of working.

Those overseeing exams will also be pleased to hear that DocsPlus now allows you to set an Exam Mode password for multiple networked computers. 

If you have questions about using these features, you can book an exam support meeting for personalised advice and guidance.

Regular updates

As with all our updates, we’ve made many changes behind the scenes to give users a smoother experience when using DocsPlus. 

These updates are available to all our current DocsPlus subscribers. To begin using these new features, simply update DocsPlus on your Windows or Mac device(s). 

Visit DocsPlus downloads to download the latest version.

For a reminder of how to install, visit How do I install DocsPlus?