VoiceOver basics
On this page:
Get started
Before getting started with VoiceOver, full keyboard accessibility needs to be enabled.
In the System Preferences, select
, and then . Under "Full Keyboard Access: In windows and dialogs, press Tab to move keyboard focus between:", select .In the Safari web browser:
- Open Safari .
- Select .
- In "Accessibility:", check the box next to "Press Tab to highlight each item on a webpage".
To start (or stop) VoiceOver, press Command-F5
.
To navigate with VoiceOver, a VoiceOver modifier key (VO) is used in combination with other keys. The default VO keys are Control-Option
. You can change the VO keys in . Open the VoiceOver utility. In General, "Keys to use as the VoiceOver modifier", choose from , , or the option that allows either Control-Option
or Caps Lock
to be used.
It's a good idea to turn on the caption panel, which allows you to see on screen what VoiceOver announces. To turn on the caption panel, open the VoiceOver utility. In
, check the box for "Show caption panel".Key combinations
There are many key combinations to use VoiceOver in a variety of applications. Following are key combinations that are useful for getting started.
General VoiceOver commands
Command-F5
: Turn VoiceOver on or off- VO-
H
: Open the VoiceOver help menu - VO-
F8
: Open the VoiceOver Utility to change settings
Reading commands
A
: Start reading from the current locationControl
: Stop readingP
: Read paragraphCommand-X
: Find next list (VO-Command-Shift-X
for previous list)Command-G
: Find next graphic (VO-Command-Shift-G
for previous graphic)Command-L
: Find next link (VO-Command-Shift-L
for previous link)Command-H
: Find next heading (VO-Command-Shift-H
for previous heading)Interaction commands
- VO-
U
: Open the rotor Esc
: Close rotorTab
: Move to the next interactive element- VO-Spacebar: Perform the default action for an interactive item
- VO-
Return
: Select a menu or list item - VO-
Shift
-down arrow: Interact with an item - VO-
Shift
-up arrow: Stop interacting with an item
Table commands
- VO-
R-R
: Read a table row with headers - In a table, VO-arrow keys: Move row by row
- In a table, arrow keys: Move cell by cell
For a full list of keyboard combinations, see the VoiceOver Commands chart.
VoiceOver rotor
The VoiceOver rotor is a quick way to explore and navigate a web page. The rotor presents all items of a particular type in a list. Using the rotor is an easy way to hear, for example, all the links on a page. It can also be used to move quickly to a particular place on a website, such as a specific heading or landmark.
The types of items that appear in the rotor can be changed in the VoiceOver
.
This is document atgb in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2021-09-20 16:42:49.