Feature Request: Pause and resume

[aliron19]

Hi there!,

First of all, I want to thank you for the time and effort you've spent to develop this program, as I find it really useful.

I think it would be great to have an option to pause and resume the current reading. For example, it could be implemented as a new button next to the stop icon which would pause the reading the first time you press it, and it would resume it with the next press. Or, you could transform the play button after pressing it into a pause icon, and once you've pressed the pause icon change it back to a play icon.

In a second iteration, maybe this could be implemented by syncing the current playback with a moving cursor in the text box, so it would move forward as it reads the text. With this feature it would be possible to go some words (or paragraphs) backward (or forward) just by pausing, replacing the cursor to a previous (or following) position, and then resuming the play.

Thank you very much.

[drmfinlay]

Hello @aliron19, Thank you for opening this issue, and for your complements on my work. I am glad you find TTS Util useful. Funnily enough, a pause and resume playback mechanism is already on my list of new features to add, I just hadn't opened an issue yet. (The feature came up in a private discussion with another user.) The first option you mention — a single Pause/Resume button — is the best of the two, I think. The queueing behaviour of the Play button makes it less suited to act as a Resume button. I should be able to add this feature in the next version of the app. Regarding the synchronisation of the playback and cursor position, this is certainly possible. I have received a similar request to this one: an additional button for reading from the cursor position instead of from the start. For the moment, I'll go with an additional Play from Cursor button, since it would be easier to implement. I do like your idea though. I should be able to add an option in the settings menu for having the cursor follow along.

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On Sun, 04 Sep 2022 14:14:19 -0700 aliron19 ***@***.***> wrote: Hi there!, First of all, I want to thank you for the time and effort you've spent to develop this program, as I find it really useful. I think it would be great to have an option to pause and resume the current reading. For example, it could be implemented as a new button next to the stop icon which would pause the reading the first time you press it, and it would resume it with the next press. Or, you could transform the play button after pressing it into a pause icon, and once you've pressed the pause icon change it back to a play icon. In a second iteration, maybe this could be implemented by syncing the current playback with a moving cursor in the text box, so it would move forward as it reads the text. With this feature it would be possible to go some words (or paragraphs) backward (or forward) just by pausing, replacing the cursor to a previous (or following) position, and then resuming the play. Thank you very much. -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #29 You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. Message ID: ***@***.***>

[drmfinlay]

Related to these things is issue #1. A pause and resume playback mechanism is mentioned there, which I had forgotten about. In addition to moving the cursor forward, highlighting the text as it is read should also be possible.

[aliron19]

Great news! Please, let me know if I can help you to beta test these features.

By the way, I'd like to translate your App to Spanish. I've found these resources translated to Chinese:

/README_CN.md
/app/src/main/res/values-zh-rCN/*
/metadata/zh-rCN/*

Would it be enough to translate the English equivalent versions of those files and folders to Spanish? How should I proceed?

Thank you.

[drmfinlay]

All right then, I'll let you know about beta testing. Thank you for offering to translate TTS Util into Spanish (#30). The files and folders you mention are indeed the ones necessary for translations. I would hold off on translating for a little while, however. The features mentioned above will require adding more text to the files you mention. In addition, the strings.xml file is poorly structured. I need to add more comments to it, specifically for the lines which are put together at run-time, from other resources, before being displayed. If you were wondering about the screenshots, I handle those when releasing a new version. Creating screenshots for Spanish, too, would not be difficult.

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On Thu, 15 Sep 2022 13:48:51 -0700 aliron19 ***@***.***> wrote: Great news! Please, let me know if I can help you to beta test these features. By the way, I'd like to translate your App to Spanish. I've found these resources translated to Chinese: ``` /README_CN.md /app/src/main/res/values-zh-rCN/* /metadata/zh-rCN/* ``` Would it be enough to translate the English equivalent versions of those files and folders to Spanish? How should I proceed? Thank you. -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #29 (comment) You are receiving this because you commented. Message ID: ***@***.***>

[drmfinlay]

I've run into some technical problems in trying to implement some of these features, mainly the Pause/Resume mechanism. That will be added in a later version, once I've ironed out these problems. I might add fast-forward and rewind controls at that point, too, which would be useful for longer input. I have in mind for the next version: 1. An additional button for reading from the cursor position (as above). 2. An option in the settings for placing the cursor after the last text segment read to completion. 3. Making the app "remember" the last cursor position (or selection) in the main input fields, where appropriate.

[aliron19]

Next version features sound great!

I'll wait until you release a beta to translate the App to Spanish, as you suggest.

Thanks a lot.

[luke-2136]

Came here to suggest these very things [pause/resume - read from cursor position] - see they are already in the works. Nice surprise. When these features are added they will be super useful. Great app thanks

[drmfinlay]

Related to these things is issue #1. A pause and resume playback mechanism is mentioned there, which I had forgotten about. In addition to moving the cursor forward, highlighting the text as it is read should also be possible.

[luke-2136]

(2nd comment this issue) re: Wondering on the pause button status

TTS Util such a great app, very useful - use it quite a bit.. and on that just want to say again it would be super to be able to pause and resume. That alone even with no other changes would make a big difference - especially reading longer text documents etc.

As it is now if i need to pause I'll stop the app at whatever spot and then delete everything (already read) up to that point, and then restart. This works but is of course not ideal.

The other things mentioned in this thread like cursor placement, highlighting, etc. can wait imo if just the pause button could be added it would be good enough til whenever (imo)

thanks again TTS Util

[drmfinlay]

Hello Luke, Thank you for commenting again. What you suggest makes sense to me. I'll focus on implementing a pause and resume feature to be released in the next version. The absence of such a feature is certainly TTS Util's main deficiency. The other stuff can wait.

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On Sat, 15 Apr 2023 13:36:58 -0700 luke-2136 ***@***.***> wrote: (2nd comment this issue) re: Wondering on the pause button status TTS Util such a great app, very useful - use it quite a bit.. and on that just want to say again it would be super to be able to pause and resume. That alone even with no other changes would make a big difference - especially reading longer text documents etc. As it is now if i need to pause I'll stop the app at whatever spot and then delete everything (already read) up to that point, and then restart. This works but is of course not ideal. The other things mentioned in this thread like cursor placement, highlighting, etc. can wait imo if just the pause button could be added it would be good enough til whenever (imo) thanks again TTS Util -- Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub: #29 (comment) You are receiving this because you commented. Message ID: ***@***.***>