This feature is available starting in NeatBot 3351T

TTSConfig.txt is an optional file that can be created and edited using any text editor (like Notepad) and placed in the bot's directory. It is used to give instructions to all bots ran from that directory on what TTS system to use for the Say command. The say command allows the bot to speak custom text outloud using a Text-To-Speech engine. Microsoft has such an engine built into some versions of Windows, but not all. Since the bot cannot rely upon the user having one of those versions of Windows, it uses an external TTS engine in order to talk.

Prior to version 3351T, the bot uses Google's free public TTS engine. Unfortunately (probably because of us!) Google has put a CAPTCHA on the use of their TTS engine, which renders it pretty useless for the bot. You can now register for, and utilize, other websites that offer TTS services. We are recommending, for now, the VoiceRSS website ( http://www.voicerss.org ) TTS engine. It is free for up to 350 messages per day if you register on their website. Once the bot gets a TTS message it saves it, so if it's repeating the same message it won't count against your 350 times that day.

The bot has built in support for Google, VoiceRSS and most other online TTS services already. An example of how you could use TTSConfig.txt for VoiceRSS would be:

• voicerss
  -key YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

You would get the above API key from the VoiceRSS website after you register.

An example of how to use Google's TTS engine would be:

• google

If you find and like another TTS engine, you can still set it up with this file. Here's a sample TTSConfig.txt contents for custom TTS engines:

• http://service_url/and_path
  -text textfield
  -language langfield=default_language
  -requires field1,field2
  -field1 value1
  -field2 value2

textfield is name of the field to use for passing text
if optional -language line is specified, the langfield will be used to pass language information (e.g. as specified in "say" command)
-requires specifies list of additional mandatory fields (e.g. for API keys, voice type, speed, etc.) that need to be passed to the service url
value1, value2, ... are the values to be passed to the TTS service (if specified in -requires part)

All parameters and values can be specified on a single line if desired. Values with spaces should be quoted. You would get the above information from the website you're using. Please let us know on the forums or Skype if you find any engines that work well with the bot, we can add built-in support for them too!

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