Listen to an article, then come back to the passage that stopped you.

Which articles and web pages can you listen to?

Any article you have saved to Omphalis. Save a URL in the web app, or open a supported page with the Chrome or Firefox extension, then choose Listen on the item in Inbox, Library, or Today, or in the iOS and Android reader. The pricing page lists listening in the extension on any page, on every plan.

Podcast episodes and YouTube talks are narrated from their transcripts, and PDFs have their own page, because they are read on paid plans and during the trial. Your own notes are not narrated.

What does narration leave out of an article?

A long article read word for word spends minutes on things you would skim past. Omphalis leaves these out of what it narrates:

• References, Bibliography, and Works cited sections that start with their own heading
• Footnotes and Endnotes sections
• Numbered citations such as [12], and author and year citations such as (Kingma and Ba, 2014)
• Code, images, and URLs
• Page numbers

Common shorthand is read the way you would say it: "e.g." as "for example", "i.e." as "that is", and "et al." as "and colleagues". Nothing is removed from the reading page: open the article and every footnote, link, and reference is where it was.

Can you listen on your phone and offline?

Yes. In the iOS and Android apps, audio keeps playing in the background, with controls on the lock screen and from your headset, and 15-second skips forward and back. Choose Make available offline and the app downloads the text and the audio, on every plan, so a flight or a tunnel does not stop you. Every player goes up to 2x.

To keep a file, choose Download full audio from a narrated article's menu in the Library and save it as an MP3.

What happens when a line in the article stops you?

Say a long essay on your commute loses you at one argument. Back at your desk, open the same article in your Library and use the section map to go straight to that part. Select the sentence and open an explanation beside it, so the passage stays in view. Highlight it, tag it Confusing, and write the question you still have. Opening that mark later brings you back to the paragraph with your note beside it.

When the article is one of several on the same question, put them in a notebook and ask across them. The answer draws on your sources, not a web search, and each numbered citation opens the passage it used.

Which plan do you need to listen to articles?

Every plan can listen to articles. Everyday voices come with every plan, and Premium and Scholar add HD and Lifelike voices in the web app and the Mac app, which the 30-day trial includes too. Word-by-word follow-along is on every plan above Free. Narration draws on the same monthly units that process new sources, replaying audio you already generated uses no new units, and the pricing page shows what each plan includes.

30-day trial, no card required. Includes 600 comprehension units, 200 Ask voice minutes and 15 assistant answers a day.

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What else should you know about listening to articles?

Can I listen to articles on the free plan?

Yes. Everyday listening is on every plan, including Free. Listening draws on the same monthly units that process new sources, so a paid plan gives you more room. Replaying audio that has already been generated uses no new units.

Does it read the whole web page?

It reads the readable copy Omphalis makes of the page, not the raw page. References, footnote sections, citations, code, images, and URLs are left out of what you hear, and the reading page keeps all of it. If a page's text does not come through in that copy, there is nothing to narrate for it.

Can I listen to an article from the browser extension?

Yes. In the Chrome and Firefox extension, Listen sits above the article in the reading view, on every plan. The extension narrates with the standard voices, and every player goes up to 2x.

Can I follow the words while it reads?

Yes, on every plan above Free and during the trial. Word-by-word follow-along shows where the narration is in the text.

Can I keep the audio?

Yes. Once an article has been narrated, choose Download full audio from its menu in the Library to save it as an MP3 file. In the iOS and Android apps, Make available offline downloads the text and audio, on every plan.

Can I ask questions about an article I listened to?

Yes. Ask answers from the item you are reading, a notebook, a Space, or all your Spaces, and each numbered citation opens the passage it used. Ask does not search the web.