How to Use Portable Balabolka: Quick Setup and Best Features

How to Use Portable Balabolka: Quick Setup and Best Features

Quick setup (5 steps)

1. Download the portable package from a trusted source and extract the ZIP to a USB drive or a local folder.
2. Run balabolka.exe from the extracted folder — no installation required.
3. Install or point to SAPI voices if you want Microsoft voices; alternatively add third‑party voices (e.g., SAPI5 or OpenTTS engines) by placing their installers on the same machine and selecting them in Balabolka’s Voice menu.
4. Set your preferred output settings: choose voice, rate, pitch, and volume in the Voice panel; select file format in File → Save Audio File (WAV, MP3, OGG, WMA).
5. Save configuration and shortcuts if desired: use Options → Save Settings to preserve your preferences on the portable drive.

Best features to use

• Wide voice support: Works with SAPI4, SAPI5, Microsoft Speech Platform, and third‑party voices for varied quality.
• Multiple export formats: Directly save speech to WAV, MP3, OGG, or WMA for offline listening.
• Batch conversion: Use File → Batch convert to generate audio files from many text documents at once.
• Text preprocessing: Auto-detect and remove extra whitespace, convert numbers to words, apply custom pronunciation rules via Options → Pronunciation.
• Reading controls: Adjustable rate, pitch, and pause durations; keyboard shortcuts for play/pause, skip, and repeat.
• Clipboard reading & drop support: Read text copied to clipboard automatically and drag text files into the window.
• Bookmarks and split text: Add bookmarks in long texts and split large documents into smaller audio files.
• Customization & scripting: Use syntax tags (e.g., [rate], [pitch]) and command-line options for automated workflows on the portable drive.

Practical tips

• Use a high-quality SAPI5 voice for natural output when portability allows installing voices on the host machine.
• For consistent behavior across machines, include a small config file (Options → Save Settings) on the portable drive.
• When sharing audio, export to MP3 at 128–192 kbps for good quality/size balance.
• Test voices and volume on the host PC before batch converting large libraries.

Shortcuts & commands (useful ones)

• Play/Pause: Ctrl+Space
• Stop: Ctrl+S
• Read clipboard: Ctrl+Shift+V
• Save audio file: Ctrl+S (from File menu)

If you want, I can generate a step‑by‑step portable setup checklist or provide command‑line examples for batch conversion.