VoiceOver macOS

Intro

VoiceOver is a built-in screen reader installed on all Apple devices. Follow this guide to learn how to use it for accessibility testing.

Note: depending on macOS version settings may look different on your machine.

"Shut Up" Key

Important: perceiving information with sound may be overwhelming at the beginning. Use the following shortcut for pausing/resuming a screen reader to reduce your tension.
Shortcut Action
Control Stop VoiceOver talking.

Turning On/Off

There are several ways of starting VoiceOver on macOS:

From VoiceOver Settings

Activate the switch in System Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver:

Screenshot: Starting VoiceOver from System Settings.
Starting VoiceOver from System Settings.

With VoiceOver Shortcut

Shortcut Action
Command + F5 VoiceOver on/off with a keyboard shortcut.

VoiceOver Shortcut can be remapped in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Accessibility:

Screenshot: Setting VoiceOver shortcut in Keyboard settings.
Setting VoiceOver shortcut in Keyboard settings.

With Touch ID

Shortcut Action
Command + Touch ID Button (tripple click) VoiceOver on/off with a keyboard shortcut on Macbook Pro with a touch bar.
Screenshot: Starting VoiceOver with Touch ID button.
Starting VoiceOver with Touch ID button.

VoiceOver Key

VoiceOver Modifier is a key combination which is highly used in combinations with other keys to run other VoiceOver commands.

Shortcut Action
Control + Option VoiceOver modifier or VO.

VoiceOver modifier key can be set in VoiceOver Utility > Commands:

Screenshot: Setting VoiceOver modifier key in VoiceOver Utility.
Setting VoiceOver modifier key in VoiceOver Utility.

Rotor (Navigation Tool)

Rotor is a navigation tool in VoiceOver designed for easy navigation through groups of elements, such as headings, links, images, etc.

Shortcut Action
VO + U Open Rotor.
Arrow Right, Arrow Left (while Rotor is opened) Navigate through element groups.
Esc (while Rotor is opened) Close Rotor.

Element groups which appear in the Rotor can be set in the VoiceOver Utility > Web > Web Rotor:

Screenshot: Rotor settings in VoiceOver Utility.
Rotor settings in VoiceOver Utility.

Headings Navigation

Info: according to the screen reader survey majority of screen reader users use heading to navigate web pages.
Shortcut Action
VO + Command + H Find the next heading.
VO + Command + H + Shift Find the previous heading.
VO + U (Rotor) Navigate through headings with Rotor.

Tab Navigation

Tab key allows keyboard and screen reader users to navigate through interactive elements (links, buttons, form controls, etc.) on the page.

Shortcut Action
Tab Find the next interactive element.
Tab + Shift Find the previous interactive element.

Landmarks Navigation

If properly developed, landmarks are a very convenient way for screen reader users to bypass large content blocks.

Shortcut Action
VO + U (Rotor) Navigate through landmarks with Rotor.

Images Navigation

Hint: navigating through images could be very useful for testing alternative text.
Shortcut Action
VO + Command + G Find the next image.
VO + Command + G + Shift Find the previous image.
VO + U (Rotor) Navigate through images with Rotor (images may not be checked by default in the Rotor settings).

Items Navigation

Important: items amount, order and their meta info may be pronounced differently by different screen readers. It also may depend on user settings.
Info: accessibility items are the elements of accessibility tree and may differ from items in a DOM tree.
Hint: use items navigation for quick reading content of different types (e.g. text, links, images, etc.)
Shortcut Action
VO + Arrow Right Read next item.
VO + Arrow Left Read previous item.

Practice

You can practice your screen reader skills on a Practice Page.

Hint: use Practice Page for regular refreshing your screen reader skills.