![mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage](https://dequeuniversity.com/assets/images/web_accessibility_testing/right-alt-key.png)
Under Verbosity → Hints, you can disable Speak instructions for using the item in the VoiceOver cursor. You can tap again if you want to resume playback.Īlternatively you can open VoiceOver Utility (in System → Applications → Utilities, or ^⌥F8 with VoiceOver running). These hints can get tedious, and there are a couple of options to fix this:Īt any time, you can interrupt VoiceOver by tapping the ^ (Control) key or ⇪ (Caps Lock). To exit this web area, press Control-Option-Shift-Up Arrow. You are currently on an image, inside of web content. Not very useful, is it? Congratulations! You’ve found your first screen reader accessibility bug! Moving aroundĮach time you navigate, VoiceOver will describe the content in the cursor, then give you a hint of what you can do next. In this example, the VoiceOver cursor is on an image element that lacks a useful alternative text description, so VoiceOver reads out the filename of the image instead. To do this on a TouchBar Mac, you’ll need to hold the Fn key to see the function keys on the touch bar, then you’ll need to tap and then double-tap the F3 key – tapping it helps you identify that you’ve tapped the right key (VoiceOver will say “F3, button”), and enables it for activation by double-tapping.ĬA-logo_coral, group, is in the VoiceOver cursor. To get VoiceOver to read the current contents of the cursor, you can hit ^⌥F3. You’ll also see the VoiceOver cursor will shrink to enclose just the first element of the web page. In Welcome to Engagement Survey, web content. If you use this to enter a web page, you’ll hear something like this: ^⌥⇧↓ is the standard shortcut to interact with a group, like entering the Safari browser’s web content area. So in the above example you could hold ⇪⇧↓ to enter the web area. If you find ^⌥ difficult to remember, by default VoiceOver will also respond to the ⇪ (Caps Lock) key. The ^⌥ (Control-Option) part is known as the VoiceOver Modifier, and it’s the two keys you will hold down for almost every command that you send to VoiceOver. The message above suggests pressing ^⌥⇧↓ (Control-Option-Shift-Down Arrow). This is also known as the VoiceOver cursor. You’ll also see a black border around the part of the user interface (in this example, the Safari window’s content area) that currently has screen reader focus. To enter the web area, press Control-Option-Shift-Down Arrow. Welcome to Engagement Survey, web content has keyboard focus. If you have a Safari browser window in focus, it might sound like this:
![mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage](https://www.fes.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/accessibility_mac.jpg)
When VoiceOver starts up, you’ll hear a voice explain your current context, and your options for what to do next. On Macs with a TouchBar (where the function keys are not visible by default), you can instead hold down command key ( ⌘) and press the TouchID button three times in quick succession (click-click-click) to toggle VoiceOver on or off. Hit the same shortcut again to turn it off.
MAC ACCESSIBILITY SCREEN READER READ A WEBPAGE MAC
Getting startedĮvery Mac has VoiceOver included, so there’s nothing to install. This is a far preferable user experience for users of assistive technologies. In 2020, we shipped updates to the main survey experience that fixed all the screen reader issues we (and our auditor, Intopia) could find. Note: Culture Amp’s survey experience no longer relies on a “basic capture” mode to accommodate screen reader users.
![mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage](https://www.mactrast.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/How-To-Get-Siri-to-Read-Anything-to-You_swipe_down-1024x746.png)
(We’ve come a very long way since then!) Besides introducing the features of VoiceOver, I do an ad hoc test of Culture Amp’s engagement survey experience as it existed at that time. If you prefer a video, this is a recording of a brown bag session I gave at Culture Amp ( we’re hiring!) in early 2019, when we started getting serious about web accessibility.
![mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage mac accessibility screen reader read a webpage](https://www.iphonefaq.org/files/styles/large/public/speak-screen.jpg)
This article will describe how you can use it to test the web application user interfaces you build! Every Mac has a screen reader built in, called VoiceOver.