The On-Screen Keyboard
VoiceOver changes how you interact with everything on the screen, it also changes how you use the On-Screen keyboard.
The navigation and editing of text is one of the most difficult tasks you will undertake on any computing device you can think of. It encompasses knowledge of letters, numbers, spelling, language, grammar, logic, and navigation.
Take your time with this material, it takes time and practice to become good at it.
Once you activate an editable text field you can Control the Insertion Point, and Enter, Select, and Delete text.
The insertion point is the exact spot where you can click a key and a character will appear on the screen.
You can navigate through the text in the text field by using the Rotor to select Characters, Words, or Lines.
Prerequisite Skills
Knowledge of the standard QWERTY keyboard layout will help in the location of specific keys on the keyboard. Is the character you want on the line above your finger, or to the right?
Entering text with the On-Screen Keyboard
Navigate to a text field and Double-Tap with One Finger to activate it so you can type into it. VoiceOver will say text field is editing, and the insertion point and the onscreen keyboard appear.
You can enter text with the On-Screen keyboard in one of four ways:
Standard Typing (default method):
The standard typing method requires a Double-Tap to produce a character.
Select a key on the keyboard by swiping Left or Right with One Finger until you find the correct character, and then Double-Tap with One Finger to produce the character in the text field.
Alternatively, you can place your finger on the screen and slide it across the keyboard to select a key, and while continuing to touch that key with the first finger, tap the screen with another finger.
This is called the Split Tap and it is an efficient method of finding and selecting screen elements. Remember that the two fingers you use for the Split Tap do not have to be on the same hand.
VoiceOver speaks the key when it's selected, and once again when the character is clicked.
Touch Typing:
The touch typing method produces a character when you lift your finger.
Touch the screen and find a key on the keyboard to select it, then lift your finger to enter the character. If you find the wrong key, keep sliding your finger to the key you want and lift it.
Direct Touch Typing:
The keyboard works normally, VoiceOver does not affect it.
Dictation
Use a Two Finger Double Tap (the Magic Tap) to start and stop dictation when you are editing a text field.
To enter an Accented Character
Standard typing (default): Select the plain character, then double-tap and hold until you hear a tone indicating alternate characters have appeared. Drag left or right to hear and select the choices. Release your finger to enter the chosen selection.
Touch typing: Touch and hold a character until the alternate characters appear. Drag left or right to hear and select the chosen selection. Release your finger to enter the current selection.
The Rotor and Text Editing
The Rotor is critical to doing several tasks in iOS; text editing is one of them.
The text editing options on the Rotor include navigation by Text Field, Character, Word, Lines, and Punctuation.
To use the Rotor, Rotate Two Fingers on your screen as if you were turning a rotary dial on a radio.
You can also use one finger from each hand to Drag Up with One Finger and Drag Down with the Other at the same time, or hold one finger on the screen and draw a semi circle around it with another finger.
Once you have made your choice, Swipe Up or Down with One Finger to move by that setting.
Edit text with the On-Screen keyboard
Activate the text field by Double Tapping with One Finger and move the insertion point by Swiping Up or Down with One Finger moving the insertion point forward or backward by the setting in the Rotor.
Use the Rotor to choose whether you want to move the insertion point by Character, Word, Lines, or Punctuation.
To jump to the beginning or end of the text, Double-Tap with One Finger.
Each time you Double-Tap, the insertion point cycles to the beginning of the current Line, the top of the text field, and to the end of the text field.
VoiceOver makes a sound when the insertion point moves, and it speaks the character, word, or line that the insertion point moves across.
For Example, when swiping down to move forward by word, the insertion point moves to the right of the next word and VoiceOver speaks the word. To read the next word or punctuation you will need to swipe down again.
When moving backward, or swiping up, the insertion point is placed at the end of the preceding word, before the space or punctuation that follows it.
When moving the insertion point by line, VoiceOver speaks each line as you move across it.
When moving forward by line, 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 backwards by line, the insertion point is placed at the beginning of the line that's spoken.
To delete a character: Select and Double-Tap the Delete key on the keyboard.
Selecting Text
Set the Rotor to Text Selection, Swipe Up or Down to choose Character, Word, Line, or Sentence. Swipe Left or Right to move backward or forward selecting the text. VoiceOver speaks the text and says that it is selected.
To enable Text Selection on the Rotor, go to Settings/Accessibility/VoiceOver/Rotor and select it.
To Edit the Selected Text
Set the Rotor to Edit, Swipe Up or Down to choose Select or Select All, then Double-Tap with One Finger.
If you choose Select, the word closest to the insertion point is selected when you double-tap.
The Edit menu opens, swipe to choose between the options including Cut, Copy, Paste, Replace, Format, and more.
To increase or decrease the selection while the menu is open, do a Two-Finger Scrub to dismiss the pop-up menu, then pinch with two fingers to increase the selection; VoiceOver speaks as the selection grows or shrinks.
Cut, copy, or paste:
Set the Rotor to Select Text and select the text.
Set the Rotor to Edit and choose Cut, Copy, or Paste, then double-tap.
Fix misspelled words:
Set the rotor to Misspelled Words, then swipe up or down to jump to the previous or next misspelled word.
Swipe left or right to choose a suggested replacement, then double-tap to use the replacement.
If there is no suggested replacement, edit as usual.
Undo: You can shake the device, or Swipe Left or Right to choose the action to undo, then Double-Tap.
Change the keyboard settings
Go to Settings/Accessibility/VoiceOver.
Tap any of the following:
Typing Style: You can choose a new style. Or, set the rotor to Typing Mode, then swipe up or down.
Phonetic Feedback: Speak text character by character. VoiceOver first speaks the character, then its phonetic equivalent - for example, "f" and then "foxtrot".
Typing Feedback: Choose to speak characters, words, both, or nothing.
Rotor: Select the settings you want to include in the rotor.
Speech: Tap Add New Language (below Rotor Languages), then choose a language.
Verbosity: Tap Deleting Text. To have VoiceOver speak deleted characters in a lower pitch, tap Change Pitch.