Complete Command Reference#

This chapter provides a comprehensive reference of VoiceOver commands, organized by category for quick lookup.

General Commands#

Action	Command
Toggle VoiceOver on/off	Command + F5
Open VoiceOver Utility	VO + F8
Open VoiceOver Tutorial	VO + Command + F8
Open VoiceOver Help menu	VO + H
Open Commands Help	VO + H + H
Keyboard Help (practice)	VO + K
Lock/unlock VO keys	VO + ; (semicolon)
Stop speech	Control
Repeat last phrase	VO + Z
Copy last phrase to clipboard	VO + Shift + C
Save last phrase to file	VO + Shift + Z

Action	Command
Move to next item	VO + Right Arrow
Move to previous item	VO + Left Arrow
Move up	VO + Up Arrow
Move down	VO + Down Arrow
Move to first item in area	VO + Home
Move to last item in area	VO + End
Move to top of window	VO + Shift + Home
Move to bottom of window	VO + Shift + End
Move to visible start	VO + Shift + Left Arrow
Move to visible end	VO + Shift + Right Arrow

Interaction Commands#

Action	Command
Interact (enter group)	VO + Shift + Down Arrow
Stop interacting (exit)	VO + Shift + Up Arrow
Jump to top level	VO + Shift + Escape
Click/activate	VO + Space
Double-click	VO + Space + Space
Right-click (context menu)	VO + Shift + M
Open Actions menu	VO + Command + Space
Select/deselect item	VO + Command + Return

Reading Commands#

Action	Command
Read current item	VO + F3
Read all from cursor	VO + A
Read character	VO + C
Read character phonetically	VO + C + C
Read word	VO + W
Spell word	VO + W + W
Read line	VO + L
Read sentence	VO + S
Read paragraph	VO + P
Read text attributes	VO + T
Read selected text	VO + F6
Read window contents	VO + Shift + W

Information Commands#

Action	Command
Application summary	VO + F1
Application Chooser	VO + F1 + F1
Window summary	VO + F2
Window Chooser	VO + F2 + F2
Describe current item	VO + F3
Describe keyboard focus	VO + F4
Describe mouse location	VO + F5
Describe selection	VO + F6
Speak time/date	VO + F7
Speak battery (press twice)	VO + F7 + F7
Speak Wi-Fi (press three times)	VO + F7 + F7 + F7
Item dimensions	VO + Command + F3
Window dimensions	VO + Command + F2
Read help tag	VO + Shift + H
Read hint	VO + Shift + N

Action	Command
Go to Menu Bar	VO + M
Go to Status Menus	VO + M + M
Go to Dock	VO + D
Go to Desktop	VO + Shift + D
Go to Notification Center	VO + O
Go to Control Center	VO + Shift + O

Action	Command
Next heading	VO + Command + H
Previous heading	VO + Command + Shift + H
Next heading level 1-6	VO + Command + [1-6]
Previous heading level 1-6	VO + Command + Shift + [1-6]
Next link	VO + Command + L
Previous link	VO + Command + Shift + L
Next visited link	VO + Command + V
Previous visited link	VO + Command + Shift + V
Next form control	VO + Command + J
Previous form control	VO + Command + Shift + J
Next table	VO + Command + T
Previous table	VO + Command + Shift + T
Next list	VO + Command + X
Previous list	VO + Command + Shift + X
Next graphic	VO + Command + G
Previous graphic	VO + Command + Shift + G
Next frame	VO + Command + F
Previous frame	VO + Command + Shift + F
Next landmark	VO + Command + M
Previous landmark	VO + Command + Shift + M
Next block quote	VO + Command + Q
Previous block quote	VO + Command + Shift + Q
Toggle navigation mode	VO + Command + =
Read webpage stats	VO + Shift + I
Read link URL	VO + Shift + U

Table Commands#

Action	Command
Read row header	VO + R
Read row to end	VO + R + R
Read column header	VO + C
Read column to bottom	VO + C + C
Read position	VO + Shift + T
Read table dimensions	VO + Shift + T + T
Sort column	VO + \|
Jump to parent (outline)	VO + Command + \

Rotor and Choosers#

Action	Command
Open Rotor	VO + U
Open Item Chooser	VO + I
Open Activity Chooser	VO + X
Switch to previous activity	VO + X + X
Open Hot Spot Chooser	VO + Shift + X

Hot Spots#

Action	Command
Set Hot Spot	VO + Shift + [0-9]
Jump to Hot Spot	VO + [0-9]
Describe Hot Spot	VO + Command + [0-9]
Monitor Hot Spot	VO + Command + Shift + [0-9]

Quick Nav#

Action	Command
Toggle Arrow-Key Quick Nav	Left + Right Arrow
Toggle Single-Key Quick Nav	VO + Q
Open Quick Nav Rotor	Up + Left Arrow or Up + Right Arrow

Cursor Commands#

Action	Command
Toggle cursor tracking	VO + Shift + F3
VO cursor to keyboard focus	VO + Shift + F4
Keyboard focus to VO cursor	VO + Command + F4
VO cursor to mouse	VO + Shift + F5
Mouse to VO cursor	VO + Command + F5

Panel Commands#

Action	Command
Toggle Braille Panel	VO + Command + F9
Toggle Caption Panel	VO + Command + F10
Toggle all panels and cursor	VO + Command + F11
Move/resize panel	VO + F10

Find Commands#

Action	Command
Open Find menu	VO + F
Find text	VO + Command + F
Find next	VO + G
Find previous	VO + Shift + G
Find next misspelled	VO + Command + E
Find previous misspelled	VO + Command + Shift + E

Speech and Verbosity#

Action	Command
Open Verbosity Rotor	VO + V
Navigate speech settings	VO + Command + Shift + Left/Right Arrow
Adjust speech setting	VO + Command + Shift + Up/Down Arrow

Text Selection#

Action	Command
Start/stop selection mode	VO + Return
Select all	Command + A

Labels#

Action	Command
Create custom label	VO + /
Read image description	VO + Shift + L

Quick Reference Card#

Most Essential Commands#

I Want To…	Press…
Turn VoiceOver on/off	Command + F5
Move to next item	VO + Right Arrow
Move to previous item	VO + Left Arrow
Activate item	VO + Space
Enter a group	VO + Shift + Down Arrow
Exit a group	VO + Shift + Up Arrow
Read continuously	VO + A
Stop reading	Control
Open Rotor	VO + U
Go to Menu Bar	VO + M
Go to Dock	VO + D
Next heading (web)	VO + Command + H
Next link (web)	VO + Command + L
Get Help	VO + H

Remember#

VO = Control + Option (or Caps Lock if enabled)
Add Shift to go to previous instead of next
Add Command to navigate to specific element types
Press commands twice for additional functions
Escape usually cancels or exits

15 Command Reference

Complete Command Reference#

General Commands#

Navigation Commands#

Interaction Commands#

Reading Commands#

Information Commands#

System Navigation#

Web Navigation#

Table Commands#

Rotor and Choosers#

Hot Spots#

Quick Nav#

Cursor Commands#

Panel Commands#

Find Commands#

Speech and Verbosity#

Text Selection#

Labels#

Quick Reference Card#

Most Essential Commands#

Remember#