Calibre 7.18 released with local text-to-speech, enhanced PDF conversion, and more

Calibre, the widely-used e-book management software, has released version 7.18. This update introduces a new feature to the e-book viewer, enabling text-to-speech functionality via a neural network-based engine called Piper, which operates locally without requiring cloud services. Users can still opt to use their OS's text-to-speech engine if preferred.

Version 7.18 also debuts an experimental PDF conversion engine with automatic header/footer removal. Additionally, the update supports word-by-word tracking during read-aloud sessions, compatible with certain browser and voice combinations such as Chromium on Windows, Firefox on Android, and Safari on macOS.

Other enhancements include displaying the number of data files on the data files button, new and improved news sources, and several minor improvements and bug fixes.