Introduction to Flutter TTS
Flutter TTS is a versatile Text-To-Speech plugin that integrates with Flutter applications to offer speech synthesis capabilities across multiple platforms including Android, iOS, Web, Windows, and macOS. The plugin allows developers to convert text into spoken words, providing an immersive user experience in applications requiring voice feedback.
Features
Cross-Platform Functionality
Flutter TTS supports major operating systems like Android, iOS, Web, Windows, and macOS, ensuring broad compatibility and flexibility for developers. Basic features across these platforms include the ability to start and stop speech, manage languages, adjust speech rate, volume, and pitch.
Platform-Specific Capabilities
- Android, iOS, Web, & macOS: Developers can check if a particular language is available.
- Android, iOS, Web, & Windows: This robust plugin allows fetching and setting of different voices.
- Android, iOS: Unique features such as speech marks for better synchronization and synthesizing speech directly to a file are available.
- Android, iOS, Web, & Windows: Pause functionality allows for smoother control over speech flow.
- Android Exclusive: Additional capabilities include setting silence intervals, checking language installations, managing speech engines, and determining speech input limits.
- iOS Specific: Audio management features like setting audio session categories help fine-tune the audio experiences.
Usage and Integration
macOS and iOS Integration
On macOS, a sample app demonstrates integration. For iOS, consider Swift compatibility if your Flutter project originated from an Objective-C template. The plugin can be added to your Flutter project through the pubspec.yaml file, and you can tailor the plugin's audio session to include background and in-app audio.
Android Configuration
To fully utilize Flutter TTS on Android, ensure the minimum SDK version in your project settings is set to 21 or higher. Furthermore, updating the Kotlin Gradle Plugin to version 1.9.10 is required. If targeting Android 11, it's important to declare necessary intents for text-to-speech services in your app manifest.
Pausing on Android
Android presents a unique challenge, as native support for pausing speech does not exist. Flutter TTS implements a workaround using the onRangeStart() method, useful for developers looking to maintain seamless audio handling even when paused, available on SDK versions 26 and above.
Practical Examples
Basic Operations
Flutter TTS empowers developers to perform essential tasks such as:
- Speaking text output and terminating speech
- Querying available languages and confirming language support
- Adjusting speech parameters like speed, volume, and pitch
File Synthesis and Pause Management
Developers have the option to synthesize speech to an audio file on supported platforms (Android and iOS only) and manage text-to-speech operations with robust pause and resume handling.
Error and Progress Management
Flutter TTS furnishes handlers to monitor the state and progress of text-to-speech processes effectively. This includes setting handlers for start, completion, errors, and pause/resume events, fostering dynamic and responsive applications.
Getting Started
New users can dive into the Flutter documentation for comprehensive guidance and support. Additional reference materials are also available for editing plugin code, facilitating in-depth customization and enhancement of the Flutter TTS capabilities within your projects.
By leveraging the power of Flutter TTS, developers can create interactive and accessible applications, providing voice-driven feedback and communication seamlessly across devices.