Using the voiceover with iPad

Here is an article on using the voiceover with the iPad that we have written. This will surely be one that helps you getting more comfortable in using your iPad like any other laptop. The keyboard used for this article review is, ‘Logitech ultra-thin keyboard cover’.

The VoiceOver within the iPad is more comprehensive than in the iPhone and is a halfway house between what’s possible on an iPhone or on a Mac. VoiceOver is essentially the same no matter what keyboard layout you use, and if you don’t have a keyboard, you can still use the touch screen gestures to control the iPad. The CTRL and Option keys towards the bottom left corner are collectively referred to as the VoiceOver or VO keys, therefore if I was to say CTRL + Option, I can just say VO for short and many references use this conversation as it also helps to understand similarities between Jaws and VoiceOver.


Here’s a list of what works on the iPad:

VO + i equals Item chooser (select from the list of items displayed on the page)

VO + a equals Say all (read from present position to the end)

VO + s equals Toggle speech on or off

VO + f equals Find items with a given text

VO + g equals Find next item with the given text

VO + Shift + g equals Find previous item with the given text

VO + h equals Activate the Home button

VO + k equals Start keyboard help (VoiceOver training or practice mode)

VO + b equals Read from beginning of the page

VO + m equals Go to the status bar on the top

VO + Shift + m equals Touch and hold on the current element

VO + Shift + s equals Toggle screen curtain on or off

VO + / equals Set custom label for an item

VO + – equals Toggle the current action on or off, for example pause video playback

Up arrow + down arrow equals Select the default action for a particular item

Left arrow + right arrow equals Toggle quick navigation on or off

Up arrow + left arrow equals Select previous rotor setting

Up arrow + right arrow equals Select next rotor setting

VO + Spacebar equals Select the given item (single / double tap)

Here’s a few iPad shortcuts:

CMD + a equals Select all

CMD + z equals Undo

CMD + Shift + z equals Redo

CMD + x equals Cut

CMD + c equals Copy

CMD + v equals Paste

Some other gestures youmight want to consider with VoiceOver:

Two finger flick up equals Read from beginning

Two finger flick down equals Say all

Four finger flick left equals Go to the next app

Four finger flick right equals Go to the previous app

Four finger flick up equals Go to app switcher

Three finger flick up equals Scroll down one page

Three finger flick down equals Scroll up one page

Three finger flick left equals Scroll right one page

Three finger flick right equals Scroll left one page

Three finger double tap equals toggle VO speech

Three finger triple tap equals toggle screen curtain

Five finger pinch close equals Close the current window (action similar to rolling a paper into a ball)

You may also like to note that for entering special characters such as certain mathematical symbols or other Latin or Germanic characters, you can press the Option key together with any other key.

Here are some specific keyboard shortcuts for my keyboard (they all require the Function FN key:

FN + 1 equals Bring up search field

FN + 3 equals Hide keyboard/Eject external device

FN + 4 equals Move to previous item

FN + 5 equals Move to next item

FN + 6 equals Cut

FN + 7 equals Copy

FN + 8 equals Paste

FN + 9 equals Play/Pause

FN + 0 equals Mute

FN + – equals Volume down

FN + = equals Volume up

FN + Backspace equals Lock screen

We know that this is an overwhelming list and don’t worry if you can’t remember all of it. At any point and on any screen, it is possible to activate training mode by pressing VO + k and try out your desired key combination or touch gesture. To escape training mode, just press ESC.

If you want any more information on the VoiceOver screen reader there are plenty of articles on the Apple website as well as on AppleVis.

*alt key = option key

We have described the full keyboard for iPad with retina display! Try practicing the keys & gestures by using VO+k! By the way remember to turn quick navigation on for performing some tasks – left & right arrow keys together.

This entry was posted in Assistive Resources on May 4, 2013 by Fram3.

Using VoiceOver 2 5/24/2013