Patent US 5,699,486

A system for speaking structured files such as computerized help files thereby reducing the amount of on-screen clutter and allowing an operator to receive help while simultaneously viewing the screen generated by a computer application program. In response to commands to process such files, a help engine is instantiated and, in accordance with parameters set by the operator, is set to give spoken help and/or visual help. When giving spoken help, hypertext links to other topics in the structured file are detected and stored, and in response to operator commands, the help engine jumps to those other topics and begins speaking the jumped-to topic. Likewise, as the help file is spoken, the hierarchical structure, if any, of topics in the file is detected and stored and in response to operator commands the help engine jumps to specified topics. Preferably, as the hypertext links and the hierarchical structure are spoken, they are spoken with aural cues such as a voice that is different from the voice used for the remainder of the topic. When other topics are jumped to, those other topics may be spoken in the same voice or in the different voice so as to assist the operator in navigation through the file.