Read a PDF aloud, without the references and page numbers.

What does narration leave out of a PDF?

A paper read aloud word for word spends minutes on things nobody wants to hear: a list of 60 references, a footnote block on every page, page numbers, and a citation in the middle of every other sentence. Omphalis leaves these out of what it narrates:

• References, Bibliography, and Works cited sections that start with their own heading
• Footnotes and Endnotes sections
• Front and back matter such as the cover, copyright page, contents, foreword, preface, acknowledgements, and index
• Numbered citations such as [12] or [3, 4], and author and year citations such as (Kingma and Ba, 2014)
• Page numbers

It is careful on purpose. A section is only dropped when its heading says what it is, and the drop stops at the next heading, so an appendix after the references is still read. Nothing is removed from the reading page: open the text and every footnote and reference is where it was.

How does it read abbreviations and broken words?

Text pulled out of a PDF carries the marks of its layout. A word split across two lines comes out as "ade- quately", and a narrator reads it as two words. Omphalis joins those words back together before it reads them.

Common shorthand is read the way you would say it: "et al." as "and colleagues", "e.g." as "for example", "i.e." as "that is", and "Fig. 3", "Eq. 5", or "Sec. 2" as "Figure 3", "Equation 5", and "Section 2". Shorthand that could mean two things, such as "St.", is left as written.

Which PDFs can you listen to, and on which plans?

Any PDF that Omphalis has turned into a reading page: research papers, reports, book chapters, course readings, and long manuals. Every plan above Free, including the 30-day trial, reads PDFs up to 90 MB on current plans. Free keeps a PDF with its name and page count but does not turn it into a readable page.

Everyday voices come with every plan. Premium and Scholar add HD and Lifelike voices in the web app, and the trial includes them too. Word-by-word follow-along is on every plan above Free. Listening draws on the same monthly units that process new sources, 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.

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, so a long paper works on a flight. Every player goes up to 2x.

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

What happens when a passage needs a second look?

Say you listen to a 30-page paper on a walk and the methods section loses you. Back at your desk, open the same PDF in your Library and use the section map to go straight to the methods. Select the paragraph that lost you and open an explanation beside it, so the sentence 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 paper 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.

What else should you know about listening to PDFs?

Can I listen to a PDF on the free plan?

No. Free keeps a PDF with its name and page count but does not turn it into a readable page, so there is nothing to narrate yet. PDFs are read on paid plans and during the 30-day trial. Articles, podcast transcripts, and YouTube talks can be narrated on every plan, including Free.

Does it read the references at the end of a paper?

No. A References, Bibliography, or Works cited section that starts with its own heading is left out of the narration, and so are Footnotes and Endnotes sections. The reading page keeps all of it, so you can open the text and check any reference.

Does it read citations like [12] or (Smith et al., 2019)?

No. Numbered citations in square brackets and author and year citations in parentheses are left out of what you hear. When a sentence names an author followed by a year in parentheses, you hear the name without the year.

Will it read tables, figures, and equations?

Do not count on it. The reading page is extracted text, so figures, tables, and equations stay in the original PDF. Keep the original open for those parts.

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 a PDF 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.