Welcome to the Keyboard Commander Page.
VoiceOver for the Mac offers multiple ways to control the cursor. For some, making gestures on the trackpad or using an external Number Pad mounted to their wheelchair may be the best way for them to interact with their computer.
The Keyboard, Trackpad, NumPad, and QuickNav Commanders will become available in the VoiceOver Utility when you connect the needed device to your Mac.
QuickNav is covered on a separate page, please see the link to the Mac VoiceOver Lesson List above.
Note: The commanders settings can be edited at VoiceOver Utility / Commanders.
The Keyboard Commander
If you have been controlling VoiceOver using the keyboard with commands such as VO + Right Arrow to move the cursor to the right, you are already commanding the computer by the keyboard.
The Keyboard Commander we will talk about here is different, it allows you to create simple keyboard commands which do complex things. These commands can later be triggered when the Option key plus another key of your choice are pressed.
You can choose to use either Left, Right, or either of the Option keys as the trigger for your commands.
Assign VoiceOver commands to keyboard or NumPad keys.
You can assign VoiceOver commands to the keys of your keyboard or the numeric keypad if one is connected to your Mac.
To use the default key assignments, just turn on the commander.
Note: A modifier is optional for the numeric keypad keys; you must use a modifier with keyboard keys.
Choose a modifier key.
- Open the VoiceOver Utility by pressing VO + F8 when VoiceOver is on
- Click the Commanders category
- Click NumPad or Keyboard
- Select the checkbox to enable the commander.
- Interact with the commander table and navigate down the key column until you hear the key you want to customize.
- In the Command column, click the pop-up menu of commands, navigate the available commands until you hear the one you want, then press Return.
- Use the Custom Commands menu to assign scripts and Automator workflows to gestures.