Screen Reader
Screen readers are software programs that allow blind or visually impaired users to read the text that is displayed on the computer screen with a speech synthesizer or braille display. If you do not own a screen reader, your device should have one built-in. Windows comes with Narrator. MacOS and iOS has VoiceOver built-in. Android comes with TalkBack. We have included instructions for starting each program, along with basic reading commands for each one. If you do not need instructions, please continue to the screen reader activity.
We are only providing instructions for the reading functions with the screen readers, but they provide many more commands to assist users in navigating their devices. There are links in each accordion to get more information on using a screen reader.
Modifier keys
Each screen reader on a desktop or laptop computer has its own modifier key. It is the key used in combination with other keys to operate commands within the screen reader.
Narrator uses the caps lock or insert keys as the modifier key. They refer to the key as Narrator when giving instructions.
Voiceover uses either the caps lock key by itself or by pressing the control and option keys simultaneously. Mac refers to either option as VO when giving instructions.
Narrator on Windows 10 Accordion Closed
Two ways to start and stop Narrator
- Press the Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter together to start Narrator. Press these keys again to stop Narrator. (On older versions of Windows, the command was the Windows logo key + Enter.) On many keyboards, the Windows logo key is located on the bottom row of keys, to the left or right of the Alt key.
- Press the Windows logo key + Ctrl + N to open Narrator settings, and then turn on the toggle under Use Narrator.
Note: When you’re signing in or accessing some menus, the ease of access icon will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. Selecting the ease of access icon opens a menu with a toggle switch that you can use to turn Narrator on or off. Narrator will turn off once you sign in or exit the screen.
Use the Scan mode to read text
Scan mode is a feature of Narrator that lets you use just a few keys to move around your screen.
You turn scan mode off and on by pressing Caps lock + Spacebar.
When Scan Mode is turned on, press the up and down arrow keys to move to the next or previous line of text in an app or webpage. Press the right and left arrow keys to move to the next or previous character. To activate an item like a button, press the Spacebar.
You can also navigate by word or paragraph. Press Ctrl + Left arrow and Ctrl + Right arrow to move by word. Press Ctrl + Up arrow and Ctrl + Down arrow to move by paragraph.
You can enjoy the Complete Guide to Narrator to learn more about using Narrator.
VoiceOver on MacOS Accordion Closed
How to enable VoiceOver on a Mac
- You can press Command-F5 to enable VoiceOver.
-OR-
- Click the Apple menu button in the top left corner of your screen.
- Click System Preferences.
- Click Accessibility. It’s on the very bottom right of the System Preferences pane.
- Click VoiceOver.
- Click the checkbox next to Enable VoiceOver. If you have never enabled VoiceOver before, a narrator will welcome you to VoiceOver and tell you to press the V key on your keyboard if you’ve used VoiceOver before or press the Spacebar if you haven’t.
To read text
Use the VO (either the control and option keys together or the caps lock key by itself) along with the left and right arrows to read through the page. You can click items (links, buttons, etc.) by pressing the spacebar.
You can enjoy the VoiceOver User Guide to learn more about using VoiceOver
VoiceOver on an iPad Accordion Closed
To turn VoiceOver on or off, use any of the following methods:
- Summon Siri and say “Turn on VoiceOver” or “Turn off VoiceOver.”
- Triple-click the Home button (on an iPad with a Home button).
- Triple-click the top button (on other iPad models).
- Use Control Center.
- Go to Settings
> Accessibility > VoiceOver, then turn the setting on or off.
Explore and speak items on the screen
To explore the screen, drag your finger over it. VoiceOver speaks the name of each item you touch.
You can also use VoiceOver gestures to explore the screen in order, from top to bottom and left to right.
|
Action |
Gesture |
| Select and speak an item | Tap or touch the item |
| Select the next item | Swipe right |
| Select the previous item | Swipe left |
| Select the first item on the screen | Four-finger tap near the top of the screen |
| Select the last item on the screen | Four-finger tap near the bottom of the screen |
| Speak the entire screen from the top | Two-finger swipe up |
| Speak the entire screen from the selected item | Two-finger swipe down |
| Pause or continue speaking | Two-finger tap |
| Speak additional information, such as the position within a list or whether text is selected | Three-finger tap |
Scroll up, down, left, and right
Use VoiceOver gestures to move to another page.
|
Action |
Gesture |
| Scroll up one page | Three-finger swipe down |
| Scroll down one page | Three-finger swipe up |
| Scroll left one page | Three-finger swipe right |
| Scroll right one page | Three-finger swipe left |
Take action on an item
Use VoiceOver gestures to perform actions on an item.
|
Action |
Gesture |
| Select an item | Tap |
| Activate the selected item | Double-tap |
| Double-tap the selected item | Triple-tap |
| Drag a slider | Tap the slider to select it, then swipe up or down with one finger; or double-tap and hold the slider until you hear three rising tones, then drag the slider |
| Start or stop the current action (for example, play or pause music or a video, take a photo in Camera, start or stop a recording, start or stop the stopwatch) | Two-finger double-tap |
| Dismiss an alert or return to the previous screen | Two-finger scrub (move two fingers back and forth three times quickly, making a “z”) |
| Edit an item’s label to make it easier to find | Two-finger double-tap and hold |
Tip: As an alternative to selecting an item and double-tapping to activate it, touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another.
You can enjoy the iPad user guides section on VoiceOver to learn more about using VoiceOver.
VoiceOver on an iPhone Accordion Closed
To turn VoiceOver on or off, use any of the following methods:
- Summon Siri and say “Turn on VoiceOver” or “Turn off VoiceOver.”
- Triple-click the side button (on an iPhone with Face ID).
- Triple-click the Home button (on an iPhone with a Home button).
- Use Control Center.
- Go to Settings
> Accessibility > VoiceOver, then turn the setting on or off.
Explore and speak items on the screen
To explore the screen, drag your finger over it. VoiceOver speaks the name of each item you touch.
You can also use VoiceOver gestures to explore the screen in order, from top to bottom and left to right.
|
Action |
Gesture |
| Select and speak an item | Tap or touch the item |
| Select the next item | Swipe right |
| Select the previous item | Swipe left |
| Select the first item on the screen | Four-finger tap near the top of the screen |
| Select the last item on the screen | Four-finger tap near the bottom of the screen |
| Speak the entire screen from the top | Two-finger swipe up |
| Speak the entire screen from the selected item | Two-finger swipe down |
| Pause or continue speaking | Two-finger tap |
| Speak additional information, such as the position within a list or whether text is selected | Three-finger tap |
Scroll up, down, left, and right
Use VoiceOver gestures to move to another page.
|
Action |
Gesture |
| Scroll up one page | Three-finger swipe down |
| Scroll down one page | Three-finger swipe up |
| Scroll left one page | Three-finger swipe right |
| Scroll right one page | Three-finger swipe left |
Take action on an item
Use VoiceOver gestures to perform actions on an item.
|
Action |
Gesture |
| Select an item | Tap |
| Activate the selected item | Double-tap |
| Double-tap the selected item | Triple-tap |
| Drag a slider | Tap the slider to select it, then swipe up or down with one finger; or double-tap and hold the slider until you hear three rising tones, then drag the slider |
| Start or stop the current action (for example, play or pause music or a video, take a photo in Camera, start or stop a recording, start or stop the stopwatch) | Two-finger double-tap |
| Dismiss an alert or return to the previous screen | Two-finger scrub (move two fingers back and forth three times quickly, making a “z”) |
| Edit an item’s label to make it easier to find | Two-finger double-tap and hold |
Tip: As an alternative to selecting an item and double-tapping to activate it, touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another.
You can enjoy the iPhone user guides section on VoiceOver to learn more about using VoiceOver.
TalkBack on Android Accordion Closed
Turn on TalkBack
The TalkBack screen reader gives you spoken feedback and notifications.
Option 1: Press both volume keys
- Press both volume keys for a few seconds.
- If TalkBack doesn’t turn on right away, press both volume keys again for a few seconds.
Notes:
- The first time you try the shortcut, you might need to confirm setup in a confirmation dialog.
- If the steps above don’t work, follow the steps to turn on the accessibility shortcut in your device settings.
Option 2: Turn on TalkBack in your device Settings
The steps below require sighted assistance.
- Open your device’s Settings app
.
- Select Accessibility, then select TalkBack.
- Select Use TalkBack.
- In the confirmation dialog, tap OK.
- Optional: Change your TalkBack shortcut. Learn about accessibility shortcuts.
Navigate your device with TalkBack
After you turn on TalkBack, you can explore your screen by touch, or swipe linearly to hear items in order.
Explore by touch
To explore by touch, slowly drag one finger around the screen. TalkBack announces the icons, buttons, and other items as you drag your finger over them. When the focus reaches an item you’d like to select, double-tap anywhere on the screen to select the focused item.
Linear navigation
To explore your screen one item at a time, swipe left or right with one finger to move through the items in sequence. When you focus on an item, TalkBack provides a hint after a short delay about the actions that you can perform on it.
To cycle through the TalkBack navigation settings, swipe up or down until you reach the setting that you’d like to use. Then continue swipe right to move forward or left to move back using the chosen setting.
The navigation settings include the following options:
- Headings: Navigate by headings.
- Links: Navigate by links, such as email addresses, phone numbers, websites, addresses, or any other links on the screen.
- Controls: Navigate by checkboxes, radio buttons, switches, sliders (seek controls), text fields, and buttons.
- Default: Explore every element on the page in logical order.
For example, suppose you choose to navigate by links. As you swipe left or right, TalkBack focuses on each link and announces it. When there are no links on the current screen, TalkBack scrolls to the next or previous screen. Swipe again to look for the next or previous link. If you’re on the last or first screen, and no links are found, TalkBack stops the search at the closest focusable item.
Tip: TalkBack gestures provide more ways to navigate quickly on your device. Learn about TalkBack gestures.
Search your screen
- To search your screen, start with one of these options:
- Global context menu: Swipe down then right to open the global context menu. (You can assign a different gesture in TalkBack settings.) Swipe right until you reach Screen search, then double-tap to select.
- Keyboard shortcut: Press Alt + Control + / (forward slash).
- Gesture: Swipe left then down.
- Enter your search term.
- Pick from the list of matches.
- To search the next or previous screen for matches, select Previous screen or Next screen.
- To clear the search term, select Clear input.
- To exit screen search, select Close search.
Read continuously
To read everything on your screen continuously, follow these steps:
- Open the global context menu by swiping down then right. (You can assign a different gesture in TalkBack settings.)
- Swipe right until you reach Read from top or Read from next item, then double-tap to select.
- To stop reading, touch the screen.
- When you reach the end of the screen, TalkBack automatically advances to the next screen.
To skip forward or backward during continuous reading:
- On the screen, swipe right or left.
- If you’re using a keyboard, press Alt + right arrow or Alt + left arrow.
To scan your screen for headings, links, or other navigation settings during continuous reading:
- Cycle through the TalkBack navigation settings by swiping up or down until you reach the setting that you’d like to use, such as headings or links.
- To open the global context menu, swipe down then right. (You can assign a different gesture in TalkBack settings.)
- Swipe right until you reach Read from top or Read from next item, then double-tap to select.
- TalkBack starts reading using the navigation setting that you selected in step 1. For example, if you selected headings, TalkBack now reads only headings.
- To stop reading, touch the screen.
Edit text
When you enter a text editing field, a virtual keyboard appears on the bottom of the screen. You can explore this keyboard by touch just as you would other screens, but the activation works differently.
To type a letter:
- Slide your finger over the keyboard until you hear the character that you’d like to type.
- Lift your finger to type the focused key.
To review text in an input field character by character, press the volume up or down keys.
Note:
- If you’ve installed a keyboard other than the default Android keyboard, you might have a different experience.
- If you’ve connected a physical keyboard to your Android device, review TalkBack keyboard shortcuts.