Apple is one of the biggest technology companies in the world with over 1.8 billion active devices as of 2022. VoiceOver is an in-built screen reader that was first introduced by Apple in 2009. It is now available on all their devices like Macs, iPhones, iPads, and so on. So as an accessibility tester, knowing to use VoiceOver for testing is mandatory. Being a leading web accessibility testing services provider, we have written this VoiceOver Quick Reference Guide that will help you in using VoiceOver for your accessibility testing. So we will be covering the various VoiceOver shortcut keys you’ll need to know when it comes to Macs and the various VoiceOver gestures when it comes to iPhones & iPads.
How to Get VoiceOver Started?
So let’s start this VoiceOver Quick Reference Guide by seeing how to start VoiceOver across all the devices. On a Mac, you can start VoiceOver by either using the shortcut keys (Command + F5) or by Settings -> General Section -> Accessibility Menu -> VoiceOver.
If you are using an iPad or iPhone that is supported by Siri, then you could also boot it up using Siri. You can also triple press the side button or the home button to start VoiceOver, or turn it on by Settings -> Accessibility -> VoiceOver.
Rotor
One unique feature in VoiceOver is the rotor, which can be described as a wheel of commands that is dependent on the context. So the user can choose what settings or navigation options that have to appear in the rotor. The rotor is highly customizable as the user can assign different navigation options such as headings, window spots, links, and so on as shown.
You can define the settings you want to display in the rotor by navigating to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Voiceover -> Utility -> Web -> Web Rotor.
When it comes to devices such as iPads and iPhones, you can also turn Rotor on by swiping two fingers on the touchscreen like how you would dial with a rotating dial pad. And you will get a similar functionality where you can define the navigation options you need and use them by performing the appropriate gestures.
Accessibility Testing Using VoiceOver
Screen readers are accessibility testing tools that are primarily assistive technologies used by people with disabilities to access the content. So knowing the basic VoiceOver keyboard shortcuts to operate it is a must. In addition to that, there are a few checkpoints that every accessibility tester should validate to ensure that the content is accessible. So in this VoiceOver Quick Reference Guide, we have categorized the VoiceOver keyboard shortcuts with reference to those checkpoints.
- Content Navigation
- Reading Content
- Interactive Element Navigation
- Table Navigation
VoiceOver Keyboard Shortcuts for macOS:
iMacs and Macbooks are the Apple devices where VoiceOver can be controlled using various keyboard shortcuts. Since devices like iPads and iPhones have a touch screen for the input, they will be using touch gestures to control VoiceOver. We will be covering those gestures later on the blog once we have seen the keyboard shortcuts.
Functional :
| S. No | Actions | Commands |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start Or Stop VoiceOver | Command + F5 |
| 2 | VoiceOver Activation Keys (Or VO Keys) | Control + Option (Referenced As VO) |
| 3 | Lock (Or Unlock) VO Keys | Control + Option + ; |
| 4 | Open Rotor | Control + Option + U |
| 5 | Choose Speech Setting Options Such As Speaking Rate, Voice, Pitch, Etc. | Control + Option + Command + Right Arrow / Left Arrow |
| 6 | Modify The Chosen Speech Setting | Control + Option + Command + Up Arrow / Down Arrow |
| 7 | Toggle Screen Curtain On/Off | Control + Option+ Shift +F11 |
Content Navigation
| S. No | Actions | Commands |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Go To The Top Of The Page (IMacs) | Control + Option + Home |
| 2 | Go To The Top Of The Page (Macbooks) | Control + Option + Fn + Left Arrow |
| 3 | Navigate To The Bottom Of The Page (IMacs) | Control + Option+ End |
| 4 | Navigate To The Bottom Of The Page (Macbooks) | Control + Option + Fn + Right Arrow |
| 5 | Go To The Next Heading | Control + Option + Command + H |
| 6 | Go To The Next Table | Control + Option + Command + T |
| 7 | Go To The First Item On Page | Control + Option + A |
| 8 | Scroll (Vertically Or Horizontally) | Shift Key + Scroll |
| 9 | Go To Previous (Heading, Table, Etc.) | Control + Option + Shift + Command + (H, T, Etc.) |
Reading Content:
| S. No | Actions | Commands |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start Reading | Control + Option+ A |
| 2 | Stop Reading | Control |
| 3 | Start Reading Continuously From This Point On | Control + Option + Down Arrow |
| 4 | Read The Entire Page | Control + Option + Up Arrow / Down Arrow |
| 5 | Read The Next Line, Word, Character | Control + Option + Right Arrow |
| 6 | Read The Previous Line, Word, Character | Control + Option + Left Arrow |
| 7 | Repeat The Last Spoken Phrase | Control + Option + Z |
| 8 | Read The Selected Paragraph | Control + Option + P |
| 9 | Read The Selected Sentence | Control + Option + S |
| 10 | Read The Selected Word | Control + Option + W |
| 11 | Spell The Selected Word Alphabetically | Control + Option + W + W |
| 12 | Spell The Selected Word Phonetically | Control + Option + Shift + Command + (H, T, Etc.) |
| 13 | Read From Top To Current Location | Control + Option +B |
Interactive Elements Navigation:
If you are unsure of what interactive elements are, they are what the name suggests. They are web elements that a user can interact with or elements that respond to inputs from the user.
| S. No | Actions | Commands |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Go To The Next/Previous Focusable Item (Link, Button, Input, Etc.) | Tab / Shift + Tab |
| 2 | Next Link | Control + Option + Command + L |
| 3 | Next Visited Link | Control + Option + Command + V |
| 4 | Next Form Element | Control + Option+ Command + J |
| 5 | Next List | Control + Option + Command + X |
| 6 | Next Graphic | Control + Option+ Command + G |
| 7 | Activate A Link Or Form Control | Control + Option Enter (Or) Space Bar |
| 8 | Interact With (Go Into/Out Of) Objects (Like Iframes, Menus, Application Regions, Etc.) | Control + Option + Shift + Down Arrow / Up Arrow |
Table Navigation:
| S. No | Actions | Commands |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Next Table | Control + Option + Command + T |
| 2 | Read Column Header | Control + Option + C |
| 3 | Read Row From VO Cursor Location To End Of Row | Control + Option + R |
| 4 | Read Column From VO Cursor Location To The Bottom Of Column | Control + Option + R + C |
| 5 | Move Up Or Down In A Column | Up Arrow Or Down Arrow |
| 6 | Move To The Left Or Right In A Row | Left Arrow Or Right Arrow |
iOS VoiceOver gestures
Apart from the way VoiceOver is controlled on these touch-enabled devices, it does provide a very uniform experience across the Apple ecosystem. So let’s take a look at the various gestures in the same categorized view as before.
- Functional
- Content Navigation
- Reading Content
- Interactive Element Navigation
- Text Editing
- Table Navigation
Apart from the gestures that you will be seeing in this VoiceOver Quick Reference Guide, you will also have the option to enable typing feedback for VoiceOver to read out the words or characters that have been typed by Settings -> General -> VoiceOver -> Typing Feedback. Since VoiceOver changes the way gestures work on an iPad or iPhone, make sure to disable them in the Settings.
Functional:
| S. No | Action | Command |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start Or Stop VoiceOver (When It Is Enabled) | Triple-Press Home Button Or Side Button (IPhone X +) |
| 2 | Gesture Help | 4-Finger Double-Tap |
| 3 | Split Tap Quick-Activation | Select And Hold With One Finger, Tap With Another |
| 4 | Double-Press Button | Triple-Tap |
| 5 | Next/Previous App | 4-Finger Swipe Right/Left |
| 6 | Drag Mode | Tap Twice And Hold |
| 7 | Toggle Screen Curtain On/Off | Three-Finger Triple-Tap |
| 8 | Item Chooser: | Two-Finger Triple-Tap |
| 9 | Choose Speech Setting Options Such As Speaking Rate, Voice, Pitch, Etc. | VO + Command + Right/Left Arrow Key |
| 10 | Modify The Chosen Speech Setting | VO + Command+ Up/Down Arrow Key |
| 11 | Open Rotor | Rotate Two Fingers |
Content Navigation
| S. No | Action | Gesture |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Go To The Top Of The Page | Two-Finger Swipe Up |
| 2 | Navigate To The Bottom Of The Page | Two-Finger Double-Tap One-Finger Tap |
| 3 | Go To The Next Heading | Set Headings On Rotor And Swipe Down |
| 4 | Go To The Next Table | Rotor, Swipe Down |
| 5 | Go To Previous (Heading, Table, Etc.) | Swipe Up |
| 6 | Go Back, Close A Popup, Or Cancel The Last One. | Two-Finger Scrub |
| 7 | Go To The First Item On The Page | 4-Finger Tap On The Upper/Lower Half Of The Screen |
| 8 | Scroll (Vertically Or Horizontally) | 3-Finger Swipe Up, Down, Left, Or Right |
| 9 | Go Back To One Link, List, Table, Landmark, Heading, Etc. | Swipe Up |
Reading Text:
| S. No | Action | Command |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start/Stop Reading | Two-Finger Tap |
| 2 | Start Reading Continuously From This Point On | Two-Finger Swipe Down |
| 3 | Read The Entire Page | Two-Finger Swipe Up |
| 4 | Read Next Line, Word, Character | Rotor, Swipe Down |
| 5 | Read The Previous Line, Word, Character | Rotor, Swipe Up |
| 6 | Read The Selected Paragraph | Swipe Down – Two Fingers |
| 7 | Read The Selected Sentence | Swipe Down – Two Fingers |
| 8 | Read The Selected Word | Read The Selected Word |
| 9 | Read From Top To Current Location | VO + B |
| 10 | Toggle Speech On/Off | Three-Finger Double-Tap |
Interactive Elements Navigation:
| S. No | Action | Command |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Go To The Next/Previous Focusable Item (Link, Button, Input, Etc.) | Swipe Right |
| 2 | Next Link | Rotor, Swipe Down |
| 3 | Next Visited Link | VO + Command +V |
| 4 | Next Form Or Button Element | VO + Command + J |
| 5 | Select And Deselect Checkboxes, Radio Buttons | Double-Tap |
| 6 | Next Checkbox. Combo Box, Radio Button | Rotor (Same Item Or Form Controls), Swipe Down |
| 7 | Open Combo Box | Double-Tap |
| 8 | Hear Combo Box Options: | Drag Finger Through The List/td> |
| 9 | Activate The Link Or Button | Double-Tap |
| 10 | Next List | Rotor, Swipe Down |
| 11 | Next Graphic | Rotor, Swipe Right |
| 12 | Interact With (Go Into/Out Of) Objects (Like Iframes, Menus, Application Regions, Etc.) | VO + Shift + Down/Up Arrow |
Text Editing:
| S. No | Actions | Gestures |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Select/Deselect Text | Pinch Out/In |
| 2 | Copy The Last Spoken Text To The Clipboard | Three-Finger Quadruple-Tap |
| 3 | Change Case | Three-Finger Swipe Up/Down* |
| 4 | Insert Space | Two-Finger Swipe Right* |
| 5 | Backspace | Two-Finger Swipe Left* |
Table:
| S. No | Actions | Command |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Next Table | Rotor, Swipe Down |
| 2 | Move Up In A Column | Swipe Up |
| 3 | Move Down In A Column | Swipe Down |
| 4 | Move To The Left In A Row | Swipe Left |
| 5 | Move To The Right In A Row | Swipe Right |
Advantages of VoiceOver:
- The layout and gestures of VoiceOver are universal across all devices making the shift from one device to another seamless.
- The curtain mode enables users to turn off the screen when the screen reader is being used to enable a more private user experience.
- Users will also be able to change the speech rate if they wish to speed things up.
- Numerous voice options with different accent options such as UK, Ireland, Australia, and South Africa.
- Users can also determine what information has to be read by the screen reader such as punctuation, emojis, hyperlinks, and so on.
Disadvantages of VoiceOver
- VoiceOver will not read any content from Microsoft Office for Mac.
- Likewise, it will also not read any content from Adobe Acrobat.
Related Articles
How to use the ChromeVox Screen Reader for Accessibility Testing?
How to do Accessibility Testing? A Complete Guide
The Definitive Mobile App Accessibility Testing Checklist for Android & iOS
Conclusion:
So as stated earlier, knowing how to use VoiceOver across all Apple devices is very crucial for an accessibility tester. The categorized tables can serve as an effective VoiceOver keyboard shortcuts guide for macOS or as a VoiceOver gestures cheat sheet for iOS. So we hope this VoiceOver Quick Reference Guide improves your accessibility testing skills. Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with such informative content.
Comments(0)