Please read Program Help and the FAQ before requesting technical support

All help refers to version 3.0. Previous versions are no longer supported.

I'm concerned about my privacy. Does FMReader track what I read?

To a limited degree, yes. But program usage information is only used internally and IS NOT DISTRIBUTED TO ANY OTHER ORGANIZATION. FMReader.com doesn't know, for instance, what pages you've read, the contents of any of your emails, or with whom you correspond. It does know which words and web domains are read most often. This information is compiled to check the word pronunciation of common words and know for which sites FMReader needs to be optimized.

What is debug.txt? Can this file be used to track my web browsing or compromise my security?

Each time the program is run, it creates a text file named debug.txt that tracks program usage. If the program crashes, before the next time FMReader is loaded, you can email that file to FMReader.com so program problems can be better understood. Previous versions did this automatically, but the current version does not. All information sent to FMReader.com is only used internally to improve the program's operation. No information is shared with any other organization.

FMReader didn't read the right window. How does it decide which window to read?

FMReader will choose the first page, beginning with the current page, that has selected text. If no page has selected text, it reads the current page. If you want to read a different page than the one FMReader chooses, deselect the text by clicking on an empty space in any other page that might be open. Or simply close the pages that you don't want to read.

Why does FMReader crash when it tries to read certain pages?

FMReader has problems with certain types of sites that contain frames, though not all of them. In fact, FMReader reads virtually all web sites correctly. If you have repeated problems reading a particular page that contains frames, right-click on the frame you want to hear and choose “Open in a new window.” This will load just that frame in a new Internet Explorer window and should read fine.

If this doesn't solve the problem, copy the text you want to hear to the clipboard. You can then press the Clipboard toolbar button to open and read this text.

How do I know when there are FMReader program updates available?

FMReader is self-updating. Each time you run the program, it checks to see if there are any updates. If so, the next time you run FMReader, it will ask you if you want to install the update.

How can my website become an Internet Radio Station?

Again, listen to the introduction to the "Add Your Page to the Library". You would just add a URL parameter to the custom HTML code to read that page once the current page is finished. Following this process, you can string together a series of pages that are read aloud one after the other like a news broadcast. "The Chrislip College Journal", also in the FMReader Library is an example of how to accomplish this.

What do I do if FMReader appears to be reading but there is no sound?

If the Reader's mouth is moving, then check your speaker's connection, etc. Try rebooting your computer. It may be that your sound card is incapable of playing multiple simultaneous sounds, and another program is using the sound card. Closing other programs may solve this problem. Otherwise it is likely that the speech engine is not working properly. Try restarting FMReader. Try rebooting your computer. If all else fails, run c:\program files\FMReader\tv_enua.EXE (assuming that you chose to the default installation folder). This will reinstall the speech engine.

Why doesn't FMReader support Netscape? Why do I need Internet Explorer if I use Netscape for browsing.

FMReader is a specialized version of Internet Explorer, as is AOL. Internet Explorer is a necessary component and FMReader will not run without it.

You can read text from Netscape via the Clipboard.

However, FMReader cannot grab the URL from the Netscape window like with Internet Explorer. This is because FMReader uses DDE and recent versions of Netscape has chosen not to support DDE.

How do I read while not on the Internet?

You can't. FMReader needs access to the Internet to run properly. Since you are reading web pages, this shouldn't be a problem.

You could connect to the Internet, run FMReader, open all of the pages that you want to hear, start reading, and then disconnect from the Internet.

I've uninstalled FMReader, but there is still a blank "Read" button on Internet Explorer.

Right click on the Internet Explorer toolbar and choose "Customize". In the dialog that pops up, you can select the Read button and remove it.