Merle

Dear Merle,

I am not aware of any programs that would change MP3 files to text, and I am guessing that there is probably not any direct or easy way to make this conversion. Here is why…

An MP3 file is a type of audio file. It takes sound waves and converts them into a digital file. When the file is read, it is converted back into sound waves and played on your speakers or headphones. If there are words in the sound waves, they are never recorded in the file as actual text, only the sound of the words is recorded.

A text file is a file that has digital codes for each keystroke you type on your computer. The text file does not know what the text sounds like, and it can only display it on your screen as text.

There is software that will take a text file and “read” it to you. This software has been programmed to know what each letter and word sounds like and with modern technology it does a pretty good job of reading text. Microsoft Narrator does a good job of reading text on your computer. YOu can find it in your program files under “Accessories” and then “Ease of Access”.

There is also speech recognition software that will take the words that you speak into a microphone and type what it “hears”. This type of software usually takes some training, and is prone to make mistakes.

At this point, the only sure way to make the conversion you are looking for is to hire a real human to transcribe the MP3 files.

Elizabeth

Dear Computer Lady,

How does one enlarge the text to print on Word? Please.  I have tried select all and then increased text size, tried to print and it still comes out too small. I’m probably missing an obvious step–that’s why I get a senior discount!! Appreciate any help you have to offer.  

Thanking you in advance, 

Martha

Dear Martha,

I suspect that you are probably increasing the view of your Word document and not the actual text size. I will give you step by step directions for increasing the text size, and your problem should be fixed.

1. Open your word document and select the whole thing by clicking once inside the document. Click on “Edit” in the menu bar, then click on “Select All”. The entire text of your document will be highlighted.

2. Click on “Format” in the menu bar, and then on “Font”. A small font window will appear with options for making changes to your fonts. You want to go to the section labeled “Size” and select the desired size for your font. Just for practice, click on the number 14 and you will see the text in the preview section (down at the bottom of the font window) change in size.

3. Select the size of font that you are looking for and when you are done, click the button at the very bottom of the font window that says “OK”. This will save your changes. Do not close the window using the X at the top, this will discard any changes you have made.

4. Now you should be able to print your document with the larger font size.

Elizabeth