Accessibility

Simplified WCAG guidance

WCAG 2.2 – Levels A and AA only, with dev notes.

Beginners guide to VoiceOver on MacOS

Keyboard shortcuts, audio settings, and links to resources.

Always test using VoiceOver with Safari. Other browsers may not work as expected.

VoiceOver keys
Keys Action
Command F5 VoiceOver on or off
Control Option U Launch the Rotor
Rotor controls:
Keys Action
Escape Close the Rotor
Left or Right arrow keys Navigate the Rotor sections
Up or Down arrow keys Navigate the section items
Spacebar Activate specific section item
Control Option Left-arrow Read previous element
Control Option Right-arrow Read next element
Control Option Spacebar Activate interactive element
Control Option Command H Next heading
Control Option Shift Command H Previous heading

VoiceOver audio settings

Turn down the overall verbosity:

System Settings > Accessibility > Open VoiceOver Utility... > Verbosity > Speech Select "Default Speech Verbosity" to Low.

Carefully increase the speed at which the text is read back to you:

System Settings > Accessibility > Open VoiceOver Utility... > Speech > Voices Rate: 50 is fast enough for beginners (45 is default).

Once comfortable, remove the extra vocalised instructions:

System Settings > Accessibility > Open VoiceOver Utility... > Verbosity > Hints Uncheck "Speak instructions for using the item in the VoiceOver cursor"