VoiceOver Utility Basics

The VoiceOver functions of the Mac allow you to have screen text read by the computer.

Using VoiceOver is different from straight text to speech as when using the Speech settings (described on this page).

The VoiceOver Utility is part of Universal Access   which is found in the system preferences.


A you can see, VoiceOver can be turned on and off any time by pressing  fn + command +F5 

If you open the utility there are many adjustments that can be played with to customize the fit to the needs of the user.  A few key settings are looked at here.


The Speech settings address which voices will be used for what purpose as well as adjusting Rate, Pitch, Volume and intonation.


By using more than one voice as in this example, (General info is read by Alex  and content by Fred) the user may more easily differentiate different information.
You will also notice that the rate for Fred is faster and the intonation lower.  This facilitates "speed hearing" allowing the user to move through content faster.  As the user becomes comfortable with these settings the speeds could then be increased.

The Navigation settings let you customize how a page is navigated.  For sighted readers using Keyboard focus is more practical, as the settings below indicate.


For example, in Safari, where the cursor is placed on a page decides what text is read.  Simply moving the cursor to another paragraph will cause the reader to read the new paragraph.

Other browsers may not respond in the same way to Screen reading.

In Safari there are also many keyboard shortcuts that allow you to control how you read web content.  Below is a list of the main reading shortcuts. With these you should be able to read through most content (if the pages are well designed for Accessibility).


All of these shortcuts are activated using the Ctrl + option keys plus another key. 
The Ctrl + option is represented here by VO.