Editing text is one of the most complex tasks to be completed on a computer. Beyond knowing what you want to say, it requires all the skills you need to enter and edit text.
While you will have to provide the idea that you will want to talk about, this lesson you will show you how you can navigate text using the Rotor to read and select text.
Use of the Up and Down Arrow to Read Text
Screen reader users can get into the habit of using the Up and Down Arrow keys to read text. When you do this, the screen reader only speaks the text on the line where the insertion point is, not the full sentence. This might well be the end of one sentence and the beginning of the next.
Additionally, if you press the Down Arrow key at the first line of a document, VoiceOver won’t read the first line because the insertion point has moved to the next line which it reads. To hear the first line of text in a document, press VO + Down Arrow.
The orientation commands VO + F4 + F4 and VO + F5 + F5 + F5 can be useful in determining the insertion point’s location in a document.
Navigating Text using the Rotor
The best practice when navigating text is to use the VoiceOver Rotor to define how you will move in your text, and then use the Up or Down arrows to move by the selected method.
Note: VO represents the VoiceOver modifier.
Reading Commands
| To Read This | Do This |
|---|---|
| To hear the first line of text in a document. | VO + Down Arrow |
| Read from the Top | VO + B - You don’t need to interact with the document first. |
| Read from the VoiceOver Cursor | VO + A - You must interact with the document first. |
| To move to the next or previous paragraph. | VO + P or VO + Shift + P |
| To move to the next or previous line. | VO + L or VO + Shift + L |
| To move to the next or previous sentence. | VO + S or VO + Shift + S |
| To move to the next or previous word. | VO + W or VO + Shift + W To hear the word spelled, press VO + W a second time. To hear it spelled phonetically, press VO + W a third time. To move to the next or previous word, press VO + Right Arrow or VO + Left Arrow. |
| To move to the next or previous character. | VO + C or VO + Shift + C To hear the character spoken phonetically (as in “a alpha”), press VO + C a second time. To move to the next or previous character, press Right Arrow or Left Arrow. Note: If you select the option to append phonetic pronunciation to single characters in VoiceOver Utility, you don’t need to press VO-C again to hear the phonetic pronunciation. |
Selecting Text
When cursor tracking is turned on, you can select text using the standard MacOS keyboard shortcuts, VoiceOver gestures, or with Quick Nav.
Selecting Text with the Standard Mac Commands
| To Select This | Do This |
|---|---|
| Select the character to the right or left of the insertion point | Press Shift-Right Arrow or Shift-Left Arrow |
| Select the word to the right or left of the insertion point | Press Shift-Option-Right Arrow or Shift-Option-Left Arrow |
| Select the text from the keyboard cursor to the beginning or end of the line | Press Shift-Command-Up Arrow or Shift-Command-Down Arrow |
If you can’t select text using these shortcuts, press VO + Return. Press the VoiceOver modifier with arrow keys to read the text you want to select, then press VO + Return again. The text that was read is selected.
Selecting Text with the Rotor
Open the Rotor by pressing CMD + VO + Return and continue pressing until you hear the method you would like to navigate by. Move the cursor to the beginning point for your selection.
To select text from the starting location to the next element, hold the Shift key while you navigate by your rotor type.
To deselect text move back towards your starting point while still holing the Shift key.
Selecting Text with Quick Nav
Open the Quick Nav rotor by pressing Left Arrow + Up Arrow or Right Arrow + Up Arrow.
Continue pressing until you hear the navigation method you are wanting and then release the keys.
Navigate the items in a list by pressing the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key, then select an item by pressing Shift-Down Arrow.
To deselect an item, press Shift + Up Arrow.
To delete selected text, press the Delete key. If you accidentally delete text, try pressing Command + Z to undo the mistake.