Submitted by David Woodbridge on and last modified on 18 July, 2012 - 08:16
VO+keystroke = Control+Option+keystrokeGetting StartedBasicsTurn VoiceOver on or off:Command+F5Stop speech:CtrlRepeat the last spoken phrase:VO+ZHelpVoiceOver Quick Start tutorial:VO+Command+F8Open the VoiceOver Help menu:VO+HVoiceOver Commands Help menu:VO+HHStart keyboard help:VO+K (Esc to exit keyboard help)ConfigurationTyping Echo (verbosity):VO+VOpen VoiceOver Utility:VO+F8Cycle through speech attributes:VO+Command+LeftArrow (or RightArrow)Change current speech attribute:VO+Command+UpArrow (or DownArrow)Close a menu or rotor, stop an action, or exit a mode:Escape Lock and unlock the VO (Control and Option) keys:VO+;Orientation CommandsHear the application summary:VO+F1Hear the window summaryVO+F2Describe the item in the VoiceOver cursor:VO+F3Describe the item that has the keyboard focus:VO+F4Describe the selected item:VO+F6Navigation CommandsGeneralMove VO cursor left, right, up or down:VO+Arrow keysMove to start of list or document:VO+Shift+HomeMove to end of list or document:VO+Shift+EndMove to top/start of window, Dock, etc:VO+Command+HomeMove to bottom/end of window, Dock, etc:VO+Command+EndDirectly Accessing ItemsMove to the menu bar:VO+M (Control-F2)(NB: VO+Shift+M opens context menu)Move to the Dock:VO+D (or Control-F3)Move to the desktop:VO+Shift+DOpen the Item Chooser (to go to item on the screen or in a window):VO+IJump to a linked item (for example, from a Mail message in the Inbox to its message text):VO+JHot SpotsSet or remove a hot spot:VO+Shift+[number key]Open the Hot Spot Chooser (to browse and jump to hot spots):VO+[number key]+[number key] (i.e. VO & same number key twice)Jump to a hot spot:VO+[number key]Hear a description of a hot spot:VO+Command+[number key]QuickNavToggle QuickNav on/off:LeftArrow+RightArrowMove VoiceOver cursor:Cursor keys (equals VO+Arrow keys)Perform action:Up+Down (equals VO+Spacebar)Interact with item:Right/Down (equals VO+Shift+DownArrow)Stop interacting with item:Left/Down (equals VO+Shift+UpArrow)VoiceOver Cursor Visual CommandsMagnify item in VoiceOver cursor:VO+Shift+[ Shrink item in cursor:VO+Shift+]Toggle VoiceOver focus rectangle (& other visuals):VO+F11Displays Caption panel (of where VO cursor is):VO+Command+F10FindingFind text:VO+FFind next (after using VO+F):VO+GFind previous:VO+Shift+GFind the next misspelled word:VO+Command+EReading commands (TextEdit, Safari, etc)Before you can use most of these commands, you must interact with text in a text area.GeneralRead from VoiceOver cursor to end:VO+ARead from beginning to cursor:VO+BSpeak text attributes:VO+TSpeaks line number, word and character in VoiceOver cursor:VO+F3CharactersRead character in VoiceOver cursor:VO+CRead next character:VO+Shift+Right ArrowRead previous character:VO+Shift+Left ArrowWordsRead word in VoiceOver cursor:VO+WSpell word:VO+WWSpell word phonetically:VO+WWWRead next word:VO+Right ArrowRead previous word:VO+Left ArrowLinesRead line in VoiceOver cursor:VO+LRead next line:VO+Down ArrowRead previous line:VO+Up ArrowSentencesRead sentence in VoiceOver cursor:VO+SRead next sentence:VO+Command+Page DownRead previous sentence:VO+Command+Page UpParagraphsRead paragraph in VoiceOver cursor:VO+PRead next paragraph:VO+Shift+Page DownRead previous paragraph:VO+Shift+Page UpTablesRead a row in a table:VO+RRead a column in a table:VO+C+CRead the column header in a table:VO+CInteraction commandsGeneralInteract with an item:VO+Shift+DownArrowStop interacting with an item:VO+Shift+Up ArrowPerform the default action for the item in the VoiceOver cursor (e.g. open active item):VO+SpacebarOpen application, documents or download folders on Dock:VO+Spacebar, down arrow, EnterQuickNavPerform action:Up+Down (equals VO+Spacebar)Interact with item:Right/Down (equals VO+Shift+DownArrow)Stop interacting with item:Left/Down (equals VO+Shift+UpArrow)Web commands (Safari)Navigation - GeneralMove to next heading:VO+Command+HMove to next heading of the same level:VO+Command+MMove to next plain text:VO+Command+PMove to next link:VO+Command+LMove to next visited link:VO+Command+VMove to next control:VO+Command+JMove to next table:VO+Command+TMove to the next column:VO+Command+YMove to the next frame:VO+Command+FMove to the next auto web spot:VO+Command+NTo move to a previous item, use Shift with above commands.e.g. VO+Command+Shift+H to move to next headingNavigation - Web SpotsSet a web spot:VO+Command+Shift+}Remove a web spot:VO+Command+Shift+{Set the sweet spot:VO+Command+Shift+}+}Move to the next web spot:VO+Command+]Move to the previous web spot:VO+Command+[Navigation - GeneralNavigation - Web Item RotorOpen the Web Item rotor:VO+UNavigate lists:Left & right arrow keysNavigate items in selected list:Up & down arrow keysIn Headers List, list only headings of a particular levelType level numberMiscellaneousRead a link address (URL):VO+Shift+URead webpage statistics:VO+Shift+I

3 Comments
Laptop key equivalents
Submitted by Esther on
Laptop users should use the key equivalents for "Home" and "End" using the Fn key combinations:
Fn+Left Arrow "Home"
Fn+Right Arrow "End"
So for navigation commands, these would be:
VO+Fn+Shift+Left Arrow to move to the start of a list, table, document, or web page
VO+Fn+Shift+Right Arrow to move to the end of a list, table, document, or web page
I'll add these and other laptop key equivalencies, which are part of the Mac OS X, as a comment to the list of Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts.
Also, for navigating in the dock, I use Fn+Left arrow and Fn+Right arrow to move to the first and last elements (where the last element is "Trash"). To navigate through the three sections of the dock, for applications, files and folders, and Trash, I use Fn+Up Arrow and Fn+Down Arrow, the laptop equivalents of "Page Up" and "Page Down", where Fn+Down Arrow cycles me through the applications, files and folders, and trash sections in that order, and Fn+Up Arrow reverses the direction of navigation. You can also reverse the direction of either of these key combinations by pressing the shift key in combination. This works for Mac OS X independent of VoiceOver, although I've never seen this particular shortcut documented anywhere outside of my own posts.
Finally, I would add the VO+Shift+C "copy last spoken phrase to clipboard" shortcut as an all-purpose, useful, VoiceOver shortcut that allows you to paste what VoiceOver has spoken anywhere.
Thank you, David
Submitted by Chris Coulter on
Thank you for putting this list of keyboard commands and shortcuts here on the forum. I am also new to Mountain Lion and need to learn a lot of key strokes that weren't in Leopard. I never upgraded to Snow Leopard or Lion. I'm sure that after reading your post I'll be better able to go back to the Getting Started Guide and begin getting to know the new features such as quickNav.
Thanks David
Submitted by Ekaj on
Thanks for this David. A sister of mine just got a Mac Book Air on Sunday, and uses Voiceover. I seem to be the only one in this area who uses Vo on a laptop, and yesterday I spent some time showing her some things, and I'm going to do it a few more times.