iPad - About VoiceOver

When you go to a new screen, VoiceOver plays a sound and automatically selects and speaks
the first element of the screen (typically, the item in the upper-left corner). VoiceOver also lets
you know when the display changes to landscape or portrait orientation, and when the screen is
locked or unlocked.

Note: VoiceOver speaks in the language specified in International settings, which may be
influenced by the Region Format setting (Settings > General > International > Region Format).
VoiceOver is available in many languages, but not all.

Setting up VoiceOver

Important:

VoiceOver changes the gestures you use to control iPad. Once VoiceOver is turned on,

you must use VoiceOver gestures to operate iPad—even to turn VoiceOver off again to resume
standard operation.

Note: You can’t use VoiceOver and Zoom at the same time.
Turn VoiceOver on or off: Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver. You can also set
Triple-click Home to turn VoiceOver on or off. See “Triple-click Home” on page 116.

Turn spoken hints on or off

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver. When Speak Hints
is turned on, VoiceOver may tell you the action of the item or provide
instructions for you—for example, “double-tap to open.” You can also
add Hints to the rotor, then swipe up or down to adjust. See “Using the
VoiceOver rotor control” on page 111.

Set the VoiceOver speaking rate

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver and drag the Speaking
Rate slider. You can also add Speech Rate to the rotor, then swipe up or
down to adjust. See “Using the VoiceOver rotor control” on page 111.

Change typing feedback

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Typing Feedback.

Use phonetics in typing feedback

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Use Phonetics. Text
is read character-by-character. Voiceover first speaks the character, then its
phonetic equivalent—for example, “f” and then “foxtrot.”

Use pitch change

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Use Pitch Change.
VoiceOver uses a higher pitch when entering a letter, and a lower pitch
when deleting a letter. VoiceOver also uses a higher pitch when speaking
the first item of a group (such as a list or table) and a lower pitch when
speaking the last item of a group.

Set the rotor options for
web browsing

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Rotor. Tap to select
or deselect options, or drag up to reposition an item.

Change VoiceOver pronunciation

Set the rotor to Language and then swipe up or down. The Language rotor
position is available when you select more than one pronunciation.

Select the pronunciations
available in the language rotor

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Language Rotor. To
change the position of a language in the list, drag up or down.

Change the language for iPad

Go to Settings > General > International > Language. Some languages
may be affected by the Region Format setting in Settings > General >
International > Region Format.

Skip images while navigating

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Navigate Images.
You can choose to skip all images or only those without descriptions.

Speak notifications when you
unlock iPad

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Speak Notifications.
If this is off, iPad speaks only the time when you unlock it.

108

Chapter 24

Accessibility

Using VoiceOver

Select items on the screen: Drag your finger over the screen. VoiceOver identifies each element
as you touch it. You can move systematically from one element to the next by flicking left or right
with a single finger. Elements are selected from left to right, top to bottom. Flick right to go to the
next element, or flick left to go to the previous element.

Enable vertical navigation

Add Vertical Navigation to the rotor, use the rotor to select it, then swipe
up or down to move to the item above or below. See “Using the VoiceOver
rotor control” on page 111.

Select the first or last element
on the screen

Flick up or down with four fingers.

Unlock iPad

Select the Unlock button, then double-tap the screen.

Select an item by name

Triple-tap with two fingers anywhere on the screen to open the Item
Chooser. Then type a name in the search field, or flick right or left to move
through the list alphabetically, or tap the table index to the right of the list
and flick up or down to move quickly through the list of items.

Change the name of a screen
item so it’s easier to find

Tap and hold with two fingers anywhere on the screen.

Speak the text of the selected element: Flick down or up with one finger to read the next or
previous word or character (twist the rotor control to choose characters or words). You can include
the phonetic spelling. See “Setting up VoiceOver” on page 108.

Stop speaking an item

Tap once with two fingers. Tap again with two fingers to resume speaking.
Speaking automatically resumes when you select another item.

Change the speaking volume

Use the volume buttons on iPad, or add volume to the rotor and swipe up
and down to adjust. See “Using the VoiceOver rotor control” on page 111.

Mute VoiceOver

Double-tap with three fingers. Double-tap again with three fingers to turn
speaking back on. To turn off only VoiceOver sounds, set the Side Switch to
Mute. If an external keyboard is connected, you can also press the Control
key on the keyboard to mute or unmute VoiceOver.

Change the reading voice

Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Use Compact Voice.

Speak the entire screen from
the top

Flick up with two fingers.

Speak from the current item to
the bottom of the screen

Flick down with two fingers.

Speak the iPad status information

Tap the top of the screen to hear such information as the time, battery life,
Wi-Fi signal strength, and more.

“Tap” the selected item when VoiceOver is on: Double-tap anywhere on the screen.

“Double-tap” the selected item
when VoiceOver is on

Triple-tap anywhere on the screen.

Adjust a slider

With a single finger, flick up to increase the setting or down to decrease
the setting.

Scroll a list or area of the screen

Flick up or down with three fingers. Flick down to page down through the
list or screen, or flick up to page up. When paging through a list, VoiceOver
speaks the range of items displayed (for example, “showing rows 5 through
10”). You can also scroll continuously through a list, instead of paging
through it. Double-tap and hold. When you hear a series of tones, you can
move your finger up or down to scroll the list. Continuous scrolling stops
when you lift your finger.

109

Chapter 24

Accessibility

Use a list index

Some lists have an alphabetical index along the right side. The index can’t
be selected by flicking between elements; you must touch the index
directly to select it. With the index selected, flick up or down to move along
the index. You can also double-tap, then slide your finger up or down.

Reorder a list

Some lists, such as Rotor and Language Rotor in Accessibility settings can
be reordered. Select on the right side of an item, double-tap and hold
until you hear a sound, then drag up or down. VoiceOver speaks the item
you’ve moved above or below, depending on the direction you’re dragging.

Rearrange the Home screen

On the Home screen, select the icon you want to move. Double-tap and
hold the icon, then drag it. VoiceOver speaks the row and column position
as you drag the icon. Release the icon when it’s in the location you want.
You can drag additional icons. Drag an item to the left or right edge of the
screen to move it to a different page of the Home screen. When you finish,
press the Home button .

Turn the screen curtain on or off

Triple-tap with three fingers. When the screen curtain is on, the screen
contents are active even though the display is turned off.

Unlock iPad

Select the Unlock switch, then double-tap the screen.

Learning VoiceOver gestures

When VoiceOver is turned on, the standard touchscreen gestures have different effects. These and
some additional gestures let you move around the screen and control individual elements when
they’re selected. VoiceOver gestures include two- and three-finger gestures to tap or flick. For best
results when using two- and three-finger gestures, relax and let your fingers touch the screen with
some space between them.

You can use standard gestures when VoiceOver is turned on, by double-tapping and holding your
finger on the screen. A series of tones indicates that normal gestures are in force. They remain in
effect until you lift your finger. Then VoiceOver gestures resume.

You can use different techniques to enter VoiceOver gestures. For example, you can enter a
two-finger tap using two fingers from one hand, or one finger from each hand. You can also use
your thumbs. Many find the “split-tap” gesture especially effective: instead of selecting an item
and double-tapping, you can touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with
another finger. Try different techniques to discover which works best for you.

If your gestures don’t work, try quicker movements, especially for double-tapping and flicking
gestures. To flick, try quickly brushing the screen with your finger or fingers. When VoiceOver is
turned on, the VoiceOver Practice button appears, which gives you a chance to practice VoiceOver
gestures before proceeding.
Practice gestures: Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver, then tap VoiceOver Practice.
When you finish practicing, tap Done.
If you don’t see the VoiceOver Practice button, make sure VoiceOver is turned on.

Here’s a summary of key VoiceOver gestures:

Navigate and read

Â

Tap: Speak item.

Â

Flick right or left: Select the next or previous item.

Â

Flick up or down: Depends on the Rotor Control setting. See “Using the VoiceOver rotor
control” on page 111.

Â

Two-finger tap: Stop speaking the current item.

Â

Two-finger flick up: Read all from the top of the screen.

110

Chapter 24

Accessibility

Â

Two-finger flick down: Read all from the current position.

Â

Two-finger “scrub”: Move two fingers back and forth three times quickly (making a “z”) to
dismiss an alert or go back to the previous screen.

Â

Two-finger triple tap: Open the Item Chooser.

Â

Three-finger flick up or down: Scroll one page at a time.

Â

Three-finger flick right or left: Go to the next or previous page (such as the Home screen, Stocks,
or Safari).

Â

Three-finger tap: Speak additional information, such as position within a list or whether text
is selected.

Â

Four-finger tap at top of screen: Select the first item on the page.

Â

Four-finger tap at bottom of screen: Select the last item on the page.

Activate

Â

Double-tap: Activate the selected item.

Â

Triple-tap: Double-tap an item.

Â

Split-tap: An alternative to selecting an item and double-tapping is to touch an item with one
finger, then tap the screen with another to activate an item.

Â

Touch an item with one finger, tap the screen with another finger (“split-tapping”): Activate the item.

Â

Double-tap and hold (1 second) + standard gesture: Use a standard gesture.
The double-tap and hold gesture tells iPad to interpret the subsequent gesture as standard.
For example, you can double-tap and hold, then without lifting your finger, drag your finger to
slide a switch.

Â

Two-finger double-tap: Play or pause in Music, Videos, YouTube, Voice Memos, or Photos.
Take a photo (Camera). Start or pause recording in Camera or Voice Memos. Start or stop
the stopwatch.

Â

Two-finger double-tap and hold: Open the element labeler.

Â

Two-finger triple-tap: Open the Item Chooser.

Â

Three-finger double-tap: Mute or unmute VoiceOver.

Â

Three-finger triple-tap: Turn the screen curtain on or off.

Using the VoiceOver rotor control

The rotor control is a virtual dial that you can use to change the results of up and down flick
gestures when VoiceOver is turned on.
Operate the rotor: Rotate two fingers on the iPad screen around a point between them.

Change the options included in the rotor: Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver >
Rotor and select the options you want to be available using the rotor.

The effect of the rotor depends on what you’re doing. When you read text in an email, you can use
the rotor to switch between hearing text spoken word-by-word, character-by-character, or line-
by-line when you flick up or down. When you browse a webpage, you can use the rotor setting to
hear all the text (either word-by-word or character-by-character), or to jump from one element to
another of a certain type, such as headers or links.

111

Chapter 24

Accessibility

Reading text
Select and hear text by:

Character, word, or line

Â

Speaking
Adjust VoiceOver speaking by:

Volume or rate

Â

Use of typing echo, pitch change, or phonetics (using Apple Wireless Keyboard)

Â

See “Controlling VoiceOver using an Apple Wireless Keyboard” on page 114.

Navigating
Select and hear text by:

Character, word, or line

Â

Heading

Â

Link, visited link, non-visited link, or in-page link

Â

Form control

Â

Table or row (when navigating a table)

Â

List

Â

Landmark

Â

Image

Â

Static text

Â

Items of the same type

Â

Buttons

Â

Text fields

Â

Search fields

Â

Containers (screen regions such as the dock)

Â

Zoom in or out

Entering text
Move insertion point and hear text by:

Character, word, or line

Â

Select edit function

Select language

Using a control
Select and hear values by:

Character, word, or line

Â

Adjust the value of the control object

112

Chapter 24

Accessibility

Entering and editing text with VoiceOver

When you select a text field with VoiceOver, you can use the onscreen keyboard or an external
keyboard connected to iPad to enter text. You can use the editing features of iPad to cut, copy, or
paste in the text field.

There are two ways to enter text in VoiceOver—standard typing and touch typing. With standard
typing, you select a key, then double-tap the screen to enter the character. With touch typing, you
touch to select a key and the character is entered automatically when you lift your finger. Touch
typing can be quicker, but may require more practice than standard typing.

VoiceOver also lets you use the editing features of iPad to cut, copy, or paste in a text field.
Enter text: Select an editable text field, double-tap to display the insertion point and the
onscreen keyboard, and type characters.

Â

Standard typing: Select a key on the keyboard by flicking left or right, then double-tap to enter
the character. Or move you finger around the keyboard to select a key and, while continuing
to touch the key with one finger, tap the screen with another finger. VoiceOver speaks the key
when it’s selected, and again when the character is entered.

Â

Touch typing: Touch a key on the keyboard to select it, then lift your finger to enter the
character. If you touch the wrong key, move your finger on the keyboard until you select the
key you want. VoiceOver speaks the character for each key as you touch it, but doesn’t enter a
character until you lift your finger.
Note: Touch typing works only for the keys that enter text. Use standard typing for other keys
such as Shift, Delete, and Return.

Move the insertion point: Flick up or down to move the insertion point forward or backward
in the text. Use the rotor to choose whether you want to move the insertion point by character,
by word, or by line. VoiceOver makes a sound when the insertion point moves, and speaks the
character, word, or line that the insertion point moves across.

When moving forward by words, the insertion point is placed at the end of each word, before
the space or punctuation that follows. When moving backward, the insertion point is placed
at the end of the preceding word, before the space or punctuation that follows it. To move the
insertion point past the punctuation at the end of a word or sentence, use the rotor to switch
back to character mode. When moving the insertion point by line, VoiceOver speaks each line as
you move across it. When moving forward, the insertion point is placed at the beginning of the
next line (except when you reach the last line of a paragraph, when the insertion point is moved
to the end of the line just spoken). When moving backward, the insertion point is placed at the
beginning of the line that’s spoken.

Choose standard or touch typing

With VoiceOver turned on and a key selected on the keyboard, use the
rotor to select Typing Mode, then flick up or down.

Delete a character

Select

, then double-tap or split-tap. You must do this even when touch

typing. To delete multiple characters, touch and hold the Delete key, then
tap the screen with another finger once for each character you want to
delete. VoiceOver speaks the character as it’s deleted. If Use Pitch Change is
turned on, VoiceOver speaks deleted characters in a lower pitch.

Select text

Set the rotor to Edit, flick up or down to choose Select or Select All, then
double-tap. If you chose Select, the word closest to the insertion point is
selected when you double-tap. If you chose Select All, the entire text is
selected. Pinch apart or together to increase or decrease the selection.

Cut, copy, or paste

Make sure the rotor is set to edit. With text selected, flick up or down to
choose Cut, Copy, or Paste, then double-tap.

113

Chapter 24

Accessibility

Undo

Shake iPad, flick left or right to choose the action to undo, then double-tap.

Enter an accented character

In standard typing mode, select the plain character, then double-tap and
hold until you hear a sound indicating alternate characters have appeared.
Drag left or right to select and hear the choices. Release your finger to enter
the current selection.

Change the language you’re
typing in

Set the rotor to Language, then flick up or down. Choose “default language”
to use the language specified in International settings. The Language
rotor appears only if you select more than one language in the VoiceOver
Language Rotor setting. See “Setting up VoiceOver” on page 108.

Using VoiceOver with Safari

When you search the web in Safari with VoiceOver on, the Search Results rotor items lets you hear
the list of suggested search phrases.
Search the web: Select the search field, enter your search, then select Search Results using the
rotor. Flick right or left to move down or up the list, then double-tap the screen to search the web
using the current search phrase.

Using VoiceOver with Maps

You can use VoiceOver to zoom in or out, select pins, and get information about locations.
Zoom in or out: Select the map, use the rotor to choose zoom mode, then flick up or down to
zoom in or out.
Select a pin: Touch a pin, or flick left or right to move from one item to another.
Get information about a location: With a pin selected, double-tap to display the information flag.
Flick left or right to select the More Info button, then double-tap to display the information page.

Controlling VoiceOver using an Apple Wireless Keyboard

You can control VoiceOver on iPad using an Apple Wireless Keyboard. See “Using Bluetooth
devices” on page 37.

You can use VoiceOver keyboard commands to navigate the screen, select items, read screen
contents, adjust the rotor, and perform other VoiceOver actions. All the keyboard commands
(except one) include Control-Option, abbreviated in the table below as “VO.”

VoiceOver Help speaks keys or keyboard commands as you type them. You can use VoiceOver Help
to learn the keyboard layout and the actions associated with key combinations.

VoiceOver keyboard commands
VO = Control-Option

Read all, starting from the
current position

VO–A

Read from the top

VO–B

Move to the status bar

VO–M

Press the Home button

VO–H

Select the next or previous item

VO–Right Arrow or VO–Left Arrow

Tap an item

VO–Space bar

Double-tap with two fingers

VO–”-”

Choose the next or previous
rotor item

VO–Up Arrow or VO–Down Arrow

114

Chapter 24

Accessibility

Choose the next or previous
speech rotor item

VO–Command–Left Arrow or VO–Command–Right Arrow

Adjust speech rotor item

VO–Command–Up Arrow or VO–Command–Down Arrow

Mute or unmute VoiceOver

VO–S

Turn the screen curtain on or off

VO–Shift-S

Turn on VoiceOver help

VO–K

Return to the previous screen, or
turn off VoiceOver help

Escape

Quick Nav
Turn on Quick Nav to control VoiceOver using the arrow keys. Quick Nav is off by default.

Turn Quick Nav on or off

Left Arrow–Right Arrow

Select the next or previous item

Right Arrow or Left Arrow

Select the next or previous item
specified by the rotor setting

Up Arrow or Down Arrow

Select the first or last item

Control–Up Arrow or Control–Down Arrow

“Tap” an item

Up Arrow–Down Arrow

Scroll up, down, left, or right

Option–Up Arrow, Option–Down Arrow, Option–Left Arrow, or
Option–Right Arrow

Change the rotor

Up Arrow–Left Arrow or Up Arrow–Right Arrow

Single-letter Quick Nav for the web
When you view a web page with Quick Nav enabled, you can use the following keys on the
keyboard to navigate the page quickly. Typing the key moves to the next item of the indicated
type. Hold the Shift key as you type the letter to move to the previous item.

H

Heading

L

Link

R

Text field

B

Button

C

Form control

I

Image

T

Table

S

Static text

W

ARIA landmark

X

List

M

Element of the same type

1

Level 1 heading

2

Level 2 heading

3

Level 3 heading

4

Level 4 heading

5

Level 5 heading

6

Level 6 heading

115

Chapter 24

Accessibility