This appendix lists VoiceOver commands and gestures, organized into categories.
Use these commands to turn VoiceOver on and off, get help, change basic settings, and enable and disable Commanders.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
Turn VoiceOver on or off
Command-F5
Lock and unlock the VO (Control and Option) keys
VO-;
Open VoiceOver Utility
VO-F8
Open the VoiceOver Help menu
VO-H
Open the VoiceOver Quick Start
VO-Command-F8
Open VoiceOver online help
VO-?
Start keyboard help
VO-K
Hear a description of the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-Shift-N
Open the Commands menu
VO-H-H
Open the Find menu
VO-Shift-F
Close a menu or rotor, stop an action, or exit a mode
Escape
Tell VoiceOver to ignore the next key combination you press
VO-Tab
Open the verbosity rotor
VO-V
Then press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key to choose the setting. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to change the level for the setting.
Magnify the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-}
Shrink the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-{
Temporarily hide or show the VoiceOver cursor and the caption or braille panels
VO-F11
Hide or show the caption panel only
VO-Command-F10
Resize or move the caption panel
VO-Shift-F10
Press again to cycle through these actions. Then use the arrow keys to resize the panel or move it. Press the Shift key with the arrow keys to move in smaller increments.
Hide or show the braille panel only
VO-Command-F9
Resize or move the braille panel
VO-Shift-F9
Press again to cycle through these actions. Then use the arrow keys to resize the panel or move it. Press the Shift key with the arrow keys to move in smaller increments.
Tile visuals (dim the screen, highlight the caption or braille panel, and show the item in the VoiceOver cursor in the center of the screen).
VO-F10
Press again to return to the normal view.
Enable or disable the NumPad Commander
VO-Clear
Enable or disable the Keyboard Commander
VO-Shift-K
Enable or disable the Trackpad Commander
Press the VO (Control-Option) keys and rotate two fingers on the trackpad clockwise (enable) or counterclockwise (disable)
Turn the screen black (screen curtain)
VO-Shift-F11
Cycle through speech settings (rate, pitch, volume, intonation, voice)
VO-Command-Right Arrow or Left Arrow
Change the current speech setting (rate, pitch, volume, intonation, voice)
VO-Command-Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Press and release mouse button
VO-Shift-Space bar
Use these commands to interact with items on the screen.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
Interact with an item
VO-Shift-Down Arrow
Stop interacting with an item
VO-Shift-Up Arrow
Perform the default action for the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-Space bar
Select a menu or list item
VO-Return
Select multiple items
VO-Command-Space bar
Turn off cursor tracking to use this command.
Perform a sticky mouse down or mouse up (for use when dragging an item from one location to drop in another location)
VO-Command-Shift-Space bar
Click the item under the mouse cursor
VO-Shift-Space bar
Press once for a single mouse click and two times to double-click.
Open or close a disclosure triangle
VO-\
Read a row in a table
VO-R
Read a column in a table
VO-C-C
Read the column header in a table
VO-C
Read row and column numbers in a table
VO-Shift-T
Sort a column in a table
VO-|
Interact with scroll bars
VO-Shift-S
Then use the arrow keys to scroll up or down or side to side. Use Page Up and Page Down to scroll vertically one page at a time. Use Shift-Page Up and Shift-Page Down to scroll horizontally one page at a time.
Resize a window or an object
VO-~
Move a window or an object
VO-`
Then use the arrow keys to move the window. Use Shift with the arrow keys to move in smaller increments.
Stop scrolling or resizing
Escape
Use these commands to move around the screen, move inside windows and webpages, and control cursor tracking.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
Move up
VO-Up Arrow
Move down
VO-Down Arrow
Move to previous
VO-Left Arrow
Move to next
VO-Right Arrow
Move to the top of the visible area (such as a window or text area) where the VoiceOver cursor is located
VO-Home
On some keyboards, press VO-Fn-Left Arrow.
Move to the bottom of the visible area (such as a window or text area) where the VoiceOver cursor is located
VO-End
On some keyboards, press VO-Fn-Right Arrow.
Move to the top of the area (such as a window or text area) where the VoiceOver cursor is located, scrolling if necessary
VO-Shift-Home
On some keyboards, press VO-Shift-Fn-Left Arrow.
Move to the bottom of the area (such as a window or text area) where the VoiceOver cursor is located, scrolling if necessary
VO-Shift-End
On some keyboards, press VO-Shift-Fn-Right Arrow.
Move to the top of a window, the first item in the Dock, or the first item on your desktop, depending on your location
VO-Command-Home
On some keyboards, press VO-Command-Fn-Left Arrow.
Move to the lower-right corner of a window, the last item in the Dock, or the last item on your desktop, depending on your location
VO-Command-End
On some keyboards, press VO-Command-Fn-Right Arrow.
Move to the front the window where the VoiceOver cursor is located and make it active
VO-Shift-F2
Close the window where the VoiceOver cursor is located
VO-Command-F2
Open the Item Chooser
VO-I
Move to the Dock
VO-D
Move to the desktop
VO-Shift-D
Move to the menu bar
VO-M
Move to the first status menu in the menu bar
VO-M-M
Open the Spotlight menu
VO-M-M-M
Open a shortcut menu
VO-Shift-M
Jump to a linked item (for example, from a Mail message in the Inbox to its message text)
VO-J
Temporarily disable or enable the cursor tracking options you selected in VoiceOver Utility
The command doesn’t change the settings in VoiceOver Utility.
VO-Shift-F3
Move VoiceOver cursor to keyboard focus
VO-Shift-F4
Move keyboard focus to VoiceOver cursor
VO-Command-F4
Move VoiceOver cursor to mouse cursor
VO-Shift-F5
Move mouse cursor to VoiceOver cursor
VO-Command-F5
Jump command (used with the next four commands)
VO-Shift-J
Jump to the edge of an area
VO-Shift-arrow keys
Jump to the visible edge of an area
VO-arrow keys
Jump to the area that precedes a horizontal or vertical splitter
VO-[
Jump to the area that follows a horizontal or vertical splitter
VO-]
Find text
VO-F
While finding text, cycle through search item history
VO-Up Arrow or Down Arrow
Navigate in given direction, wrapping when necessary
VO-Command-Shift-arrow keys
Set or remove a hot spot
VO-Shift-[number key]
Open the Hot Spot Chooser
VO-[number key]-[number key]
Jump to a hot spot
VO-[number key]
Hear a description of a hot spot
VO-Command-[number key]
Monitor a hot spot
VO-Command-Shift-[number key]
Jump back to a parent folder
VO-Command-\
Use these commands to hear where the cursors are located and what is open on the screen.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
Hear the application summary
VO-F1
Open the Application Chooser
VO-F1-F1
Hear the window summary
VO-F2
Open the Window Chooser
VO-F2-F2
Describe the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-F3
Describe the size of the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-Command-F3
Describe the position of the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-Command-F3-F3
Describe the item that has the keyboard focus
VO-F4
Describe the location of the insertion point (from upper-left corner of screen)
VO-F4-F4
Describe the item under the mouse cursor
VO-F5
Describe the location of the mouse in x, y coordinates (from upper-left corner of screen)
VO-F5-F5
Describe the location of the mouse (from upper-left corner of window)
VO-F5-F5-F5
Describe the selected item
VO-F6
Read everything in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-A
Read everything visible in the window or the Dock, or on your desktop, depending on your location
VO-Shift-W
Repeat the last spoken phrase
VO-Z
Copy the last spoken phrase to the Clipboard (also called the “Pasteboard”)
VO-Shift-C
Save the last spoken phrase and the crash log to a file on the desktop for troubleshooting
VO-Shift-Z
Use these commands to search for text attributes, graphics, controls, and other items in text documents and webpages.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
Find
VO-F
Find the next searched text
VO-G
Find the previous searched text
VO-Shift-G
Find the next list
VO-Command-X
Find the previous list
VO-Command-Shift-X
Find the next bold text
VO-Command-B
Find the previous bold text
VO-Command-Shift-B
Find the next style change
VO-Command-C
Find the previous style change
VO-Command-Shift-C
Find the next italic text
VO-Command-I
Find the previous italic text
VO-Command-Shift-I
Find the next color change
VO-Command-K
Find the previous color change
VO-Command-Shift-K
Find the next font change
VO-Command-O
Find the previous font change
VO-Command-Shift-O
Find the next table
VO-Command-T
Find the previous table
VO-Command-Shift-T
Find the next underlined text
VO-Command-U
Find the previous underlined text
VO-Command-Shift-U
Find the next control
VO-Command-J
Find the previous control
VO-Command-Shift-J
Find the next different item
VO-Command-D
Find the previous different item
VO-Command-Shift-D
Find the next item that’s the same type as the current item
VO-Command-S
Find the previous item that’s the same type as the current item
VO-Command-Shift-S
Find the next graphic
VO-Command-G
Find the previous graphic
VO-Command-Shift-G
Find the next heading
VO-Command-H
Find the previous heading
VO-Command-Shift-H
Find the next link
VO-Command-L
Find the previous link
VO-Command-Shift-L
Find the next heading of the same level
VO-Command-M
Find the previous heading of the same level
VO-Command-Shift-M
Find the next plain text
VO-Command-P
Find the previous plain text
VO-Command-Shift-P
Find the next visited link
VO-Command-V
Find the previous visited link
VO-Command-Shift-V
Find the next misspelled word
VO-Command-E
Find the previous misspelled word
VO-Command-Shift-E
Use these commands to read and edit text and tables. Before you can use most of these commands, you must interact with text in a text area.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
Read all text from the VoiceOver cursor to the end of the text
VO-A
Select all text in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-Shift-A
Start and stop text selection in a text field (text selection tracking must be on)
VO-Return
Speak text attributes
VO-T
Add a hot spot in text
VO-Shift-1
Jump to a hot spot in text
VO-1
Read paragraph in VoiceOver cursor
VO-P
Read next paragraph
VO-Shift-Page Down
Read previous paragraph
VO-Shift-Page Up
Read sentence in VoiceOver cursor
VO-S
Read next sentence
VO-Command-Page Down
Read previous sentence
VO-Command-Page Up
Read line in VoiceOver cursor
VO-L
Read next line
VO-Down Arrow
Read previous line
VO-Up Arrow
Read word in VoiceOver cursor
VO-W
Press twice to hear the word spelled; press a third time to hear the word spelled phonetically.
Read next word
VO-Right Arrow
Read previous word
VO-Left Arrow
Read character in VoiceOver cursor
VO-C
Press twice to hear the phonetic character.
Read next character
VO-Shift-Right Arrow
Read previous character
VO-Shift-Left Arrow
Move to first visible word
VO-Home
On a portable computer, press VO-Fn-Left Arrow.
Move to last visible word
VO-End
On a portable computer, press VO-Fn-Right Arrow.
Move to beginning of text, scrolling if necessary
VO-Shift-Home
On a portable computer, press VO-Shift-Fn-Left Arrow.
Move to end of text, scrolling if necessary
VO-Shift-End
On a portable computer, press VO-Shift-Fn-Right Arrow.
Add new tab stop (in TextEdit only when the VoiceOver cursor is on a tab stop in the ruler)
VO-Space bar
Delete the current tab stop (in TextEdit only when the VoiceOver cursor is on a tab stop in the ruler)
VO-Delete
Interact with tab stop (in TextEdit only when the VoiceOver cursor is on a tab stop in the ruler)
VO-Shift-Down Arrow
Then use the Left and Right Arrow key to move the stop.
Reads the current word and character in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-F3
Reads the total number of lines and the number of visible lines in a document
VO-F3-F3
Use these commands to navigate and interact with webpages.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
Move to the next column
VO-Command-Y
Move to the previous column
VO-Command-Shift-Y
Move to the next frame
VO-Command-F
Move to the previous frame
VO-Command-Shift-F
Move to the next auto web spot
VO-Command-N
Move to the previous auto web spot
VO-Command-Shift-N
Move to the next web spot
VO-Command-]
Move to the previous web spot
VO-Command-[
Open the Web Item rotor
VO-U
Read from the current location on a webpage to the end of the page
VO-A
Read from the beginning of a webpage to the current location
VO-B
Read a link address (URL)
VO-Shift-U
Read the next sentence
VO-Command-Page Down
Read the previous sentence
VO-Command-Page Up
Read webpage statistics
VO-Shift-I
Remove a web spot
VO-Command-Shift-{
Set a web spot
VO-Command-Shift-}
Set the sweet spot
VO-Command-Shift-}-}
Turn the grouping of items within a table on or off
VO-=
If you’re using a Multi-Touch trackpad, you can use VoiceOver gestures. VoiceOver provides a set of standard gestures for navigating and interacting with items on the screen. You can’t modify this set of gestures.
Note:Gestures that don’t mention a specific number of fingers are single-finger gestures.
General
Enable the Trackpad Commander and VoiceOver gestures
VO-Two-finger rotate clockwise
Disable the Trackpad Commander and VoiceOver gestures
VO-Two-finger rotate counterclockwise
Turn the screen curtain on or off
Three-finger triple-tap
Mute or unmute VoiceOver
Three-finger double-tap
Navigation
Force the VoiceOver cursor into a horizontal or vertical line when you drag a finger across the trackpad
Hold down the Shift key and drag a finger horizontally or vertically
Move the VoiceOver cursor to the next item
Flick right
Move the VoiceOver cursor to the previous item
Flick left
Move content or the scroll bar (depending on the Trackpad Commander setting)
Three-finger flick in any direction
Go to the Dock
This gesture moves the VoiceOver cursor to the Dock wherever it’s positioned on the screen
Two-finger double-tap near the bottom of the trackpad
Go to the menu bar
Two-finger double-tap near the top of the trackpad
Open the Application Chooser
Two-finger double-tap on the left side of the trackpad
Open the Window Chooser
Two-finger double-tap on the right side of the trackpad
Jump to another area of the current application
Press Control while touching a finger on the trackpad
Interaction
Speak the item in the VoiceOver cursor or, if there isn’t an item, play a sound effect to indicate a blank area
Touch (includes tap or dragging)
Select an item
Double-tap anywhere on the trackpad
You can also split-tap (touch one finger and then tap with a second finger on the trackpad)
Start interacting with the item in the VoiceOver cursor
Two-finger flick right
Stop interacting with the item in the VoiceOver cursor
Two-finger flick left
Scroll one page up or down
Three-finger flick up or down
Escape (close a menu without making a selection)
Two-finger scrub back and forth
Increase or decrease the value of a slider, splitter, stepper, or other control
Flick up (increase) or flick down (decrease)
Text
Read the current page, starting at the top
Two-finger flick up
Read from the VoiceOver cursor to the end of the current page
Two-finger flick down
Pause or resume speaking
Two-finger tap
Describe what’s in the VoiceOver cursor
Three-finger tap
Change how VoiceOver reads text (by word, line, sentence, or paragraph)
Press the Command key while touching a finger on the trackpad
Rotor
Change the rotor settings
Two-finger rotate
Move to the previous item based on the rotor setting
Flick up
Move to the next item based on the rotor setting
Flick down
To customize other gestures by assigning VoiceOver commands to them, use the Trackpad Commander.
Assigning VoiceOver commands to gestures
If you need a reminder about what a gesture does, press VO-K to start keyboard help, and then use the gesture on the trackpad and listen to the description.
VoiceOver in Mac OS X introduces several new and changed commands.
Note:If your keyboard has an Fn key, press the Fn key when you press a function key.
New
Turn the Keyboard Commander on or off
VO-Shift-K
Speak the location of the insertion point
VO-F4-F4
Turn on or off the grouping of items within a table
VO-=
Move the VoiceOver cursor to the next column (only when items within tables are not being grouped)
VO-Command-Y
Move the VoiceOver cursor to the previous column (only when items within tables are not being grouped)
VO-Command-Shift-Y
Next auto web spot
VO-Command-N
Previous auto web spot
VO-Command-Shift-N
Next web spot
VO-Command-]
Previous web spot
VO-Command-[
Delete web spot
VO-Command-Shift-{
Set web spot
VO-Command-Shift-}
Set sweet spot
VO-Command-Shift-}-}
Next misspelled word
VO-Command-E
Previous misspelled word
VO-Command-Shift-E
Next sentence
VO-Command-Page Down
Previous sentence (in documents and webpages)
VO-Command-Page Up
Next page (documents only)
VO-Page Down
Previous page (documents only)
VO-Page Up
Size of item in VoiceOver cursor
VO-Command-F3
Position of item in VoiceOver cursor
VO-Command-F3-F3
Read webpage statistics
VO-Shift-I
Read an element’s help tag
VO-Shift-H
Read an element’s VoiceOver hint
VO-Shift-N
Open Web Item rotor
VO-U
Open Hot Spot Chooser
VO-[number key]-[number key]
Move a UI element
VO-Command-`
Open resize UI element menu
VO-Command-~
Changed
Open VoiceOver Online Help
VO-?
Open Commands Help menu
VO-H-H
VoiceOver adds support for gestures when using a Multi-Touch trackpad. You can use standard VoiceOver gestures, which you can’t change, and other gestures which you can customize by assigning VoiceOver commands to them.