Award-winning software that makes printed or electronic text accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired.

Kurzweil 1000 incorporates communication and productivity tools to ease and enhance their reading, writing, and learning experience.

• The software speaks text aloud in a variety of natural-sounding voices that can be modified to individual preferences.
• In addition, the software gives users the ability to write and edit documents, and to complete simple forms independently. It includes features for note taking, summarizing content, and outlining text.
• Kurzweil 1000 delivers quick access to virtually any content, including online books, magazines, dictionaries, and encyclopedias, so readers can pursue the interests they want.
• They can also take their reading wherever they go by sending files to Braille note takers and embossers, and to portable devices such as DAISY and MP3 audio players.

Kurzweil 1000 is easy to use for beginners, yet powerful and flexible for advanced users. Its wide array of features will save users time and help them gain independence - whether at home, at school, or at work.

Kurzweil 1000 at its best

• Read more about Kurzweil 1000 features and benefits
• Find out what's new since version 14
• System requirements

Kurzweil 1000 version 14 Features

Study Tools

Professionals and students find Kurzweil 1000's comprehensive time-saving study tools extremely useful. Add bookmarks, text notes, voice notes and annotations; skim, summarize, and create outlines for your work, and have your documents open to the last position read. Plus, you'll have access to eighteen bilingual dictionaries.

Accurate Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Two OCR engines, ABBYY FineReader Version 11, and OmniPage© Version 19, provide the most accurate OCR available. For the best possible scanning results, Kurzweil 1000 also has the ability to correct many errors. A noise filter option lets users ignore regions near the edge of a page that were incorrectly identified as text.

Simple Forms Recognition and Completion

Our software provides easy access to most printed forms and presents them with the fields, labels, boxes, and text areas in the appropriate reading order. Fill in the fields, edit, save, or even insert your handwritten signature into any Kurzweil 1000 document, once it's scanned into your computer.

State-of-the-Art Speech Options

Clear, natural-sounding VoiceTextTM voices from Neo Speech and ETI-EloquenceTM voices from Nuance deliver the highest quality text-to-speech (TTS), making your reading a pleasure to hear. Microsoft Speech Platform delivers access to more than a dozen additional voices in a variety of languages. You can choose and adjust our many voice options to suit your individual preference.

Appointment Calendar with Audible Reminders

Keep track of your schedule with our easy-to-use calendar application. You can add, edit, and delete your calendar entries simply from the desktop taskbar, as well as set audible reminders that will play any sound file on your computer you choose.

Online Information Search and Retrieval

Enjoy quick access to information from a variety of sources, including e-books, magazines, encyclopedias, and the Merriam-Webster medical dictionary. Based on your criteria, Kurzweil 1000 will search select Internet repositories such as Bookshare.org, NLS Web Braille, AccessWorld, Talking Newspaper Association of the United Kingdom, NFB Publications, and Wikipedia (in multiple languages), and present you with your download choices.

Read Files Away From Home & Burn CDs

Kurzweil 1000 can send your files to a wide variety of hand-held devices so you can read and reference important material when away from your home or office computer. You can also create CDs of your files within Kurzweil 1000 if you have a CD burner.

Broad Range of File Access

Any file type that you can print through an application installed on your computer can be opened with Kurzweil 1000 — including PDF, ePub, and PNG files-which greatly expands your reading choices.

Back to features overview

Kurzweil 1000 Version 14 Highlights

Here are just a few enhancements available with the latest release of Kurzweil 1000.

• New Voice Notes Feature
• New Proofreading Shortcut
• New Scanning Mode
• "Read Current Note" is a New Menu Item
• Extract Images into PDF Files
• Now Supports PNG Files

Product Enhancements

• OCR Upgrades to ABBYY FineReader Version 11, and OmniPage^© Version 19
• Upgraded spell checker in Nine Languages and Dialects
• Updated American Heritage Dictionary
• Enhanced Navigation and Editing within Documents
• More Ways to Copy, Cut, and Paste Text

Back to features overview

System requirements

• Processor: 2 GHz or faster.
• Minimum Memory: 2 GB.
• Hard Disk Space: At least 4 GB of available hard disk space.
• Sound Card (onboard) with speakers.
• DVD-ROM drive: for installation
• Full-size keyboard and/or 17-button keypad.
• Kurzweil 1000 is designed to work with scanners that meet the TWAIN standard for image capture devices, which includes the vast majority of scanners available today. If you buy a flatbed scanner that is marked with the TWAIN logo you should have no trouble using that device with Kurzweil 1000. If you are looking to use Kurzweil 1000 with a high-speed scanning device the easiest way to determine 100% compatibility is to order a Trial Edition of Kurzweil 1000 to test with your scanner. If you should find a device that doesn't work, please contact Technical Support.
  Additionally, Kurzweil 1000 will support image acquisition from the following cameras AbiSee Zoom-Ex^®, AbiSee Eye-Pal^®, HoverCam^® (Version 5), or Kodak Sceye^®. To learn more about these devices, please contact the manufacturer or a Kurzweil 1000 Reseller.
• MP3 File Playback on Other Devices: MP3 player capable of playing multiple sampling rates.
• Operating System: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 (SP1) (K1000 is not compatible with tablets with operation system Windows 8 RT, Windows 10 Mobile or Windows 10 IoT)