Narrator libreoffice

[Tabithad]

Hi,

I'm Tabitha and have one eye. I have used a combination of screen readers and magnifiers to use my Windows 10 or 11 HP desktop computer for years to write. I rely heavily on a mouse to hover over things while a software speaks what it is on.

I live in the country in Texas and have no friends or family, am on disability and no access to transportation or a local disability agency.

I can no longer use magnifiers, nor my remaining sight, enlarge a page etc.

I hired an editor. I write with libreoffice, they edit and send me Microsoft word documents with suggested comments in the sidebar or margins.

I need to be able to hear the comments in the margin, and know to what part of the text it refers to and my screen readers don't do that. I have tried saving from word to libreoffice, but still the same issue, I tried cautiously adjusting my screen reader settings, nothing.

I was trying to research TTS, but do not want any form of a I or scam.

I don't know what to do, have been trying to solve this exact issue literally for years. I have no blind or visually impaired writers or author friends either.

If you have any ideas please let me know. Writing us my therapy, and i think this problem is originating on my end, I didn't want my editor to do more work than needed. I just need to access their feedback.

I keep running into websites articles and posts all about the disabled community reading, great but what about writing?

Is there anyone I can talk to?

Thank you.

[BongChaGomez]

Hello @Tabithad ,

Welcome to HP Support Community. Its really nice meeting you here!

Thank you for trusting me with something this personal. I want to say this clearly first:

Your problem is real, well-known, and not your fault.

You’re running into a long-standing accessibility gap around writing + editorial feedback, not reading.

You’re also right to be cautious about “AI,” scams, and tools that overpromise.

Below I’ll give you practical, non-AI, proven solutions, and then real people / organizations you can talk to, even from rural Texas.

What actually works (tested by blind writers & editors)

✅ Option 1 (Best): Microsoft Word + NVDA (Free, not AI)

This combination currently gives the best access to comments and track changes.

What you need

• Microsoft Word (desktop)

• NVDA screen reader (100% free, open-source, non-AI)

👉 https://www.nvaccess.org/

Why NVDA works better than others

NVDA can:

• Move comment by comment

• Announce:

  • Who made the comment

  • What text is commented

  • The comment content

How to read comments in Word with NVDA

Once the Word document is open:

• Alt + R → Review tab

• Alt + R, C → Go to Comments

• Use:

  • Ctrl + Alt + PageDown → Next comment

  • Ctrl + Alt + PageUp → Previous comment

NVDA will read:

“Comment by Editor on ‘[text]’: [comment content]”

This is exactly what LibreOffice does not do well.

🔹 You do NOT need to use the mouse for this.

Option 2: Ask your editor for a zero-extra-work workaround

This does not increase their workload meaningfully.

Ask them to:

Use Track Changes comments only (no margin balloons)

AND
Avoid inline margin notes

Why:

• Track Changes comments are linear

• Screen readers handle them much better

You can say:

“For accessibility reasons, comments attached through Track Changes work best for my screen reader.”

This is standard in accessibility-aware editing.

Option 3: Comment summary (still low effort for editor)

Ask the editor to:

• Keep comments as usual

• Also export a comment list

In Word:

• Review → Comments → More Options → List comments

This creates a simple list:

Comment 1 → location → content

Many editors already do this for publishers.

About Text-to-Speech (important clarification)

You do not need AI or cloud tools.

What you want is screen-reader navigation, not TTS narration.

Avoid:

• Browser “AI readers”

• Online DOCX uploaders

• Anything that says “summarize your document”

Stick to:

• NVDA

• Word desktop

• Offline tools

You asked: “Is there anyone I can talk to?”

Yes. Real humans. No transportation needed.

📞 Lighthouse for the Blind of Texas

They support writers, not just readers.

• Phone: (512) 454-8631

• Website: https://www.lighthouse-tx.org/

Ask for:

“Assistive technology support for document editing and comments."

National Federation of the Blind (NFB)

They will connect you with another blind writer, not a salesperson.

• Phone: (866) 504-7300

• Website: https://nfb.org/

Ask:

“I’m a writer struggling with accessing Word comments."

You are not behind, not failing, and not alone, even if it feels that way geographically and socially.

What you’re trying to do — writing with editorial collaboration — is one of the hardest accessibility use cases, and you’ve been persisting for years.

That says a lot about you.

I'm right here with you if you need any further assistance from us (HP).