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Using Safari with VoiceOver
Mac OS 10.12 Sierra
Safari is a web Browser included in the Mac OS 10.12 Sierra operating system. The compatibility of Safari with VoiceOver is very good.
However, web navigation on Safari with VoiceOver is not so easy!
Important: for the instructions below, it is assumed that VoiceOver is on and that Quick Nav is off.
To toggle VoiceOver on or off, press Cmd + F5.
When VoiceOver is on, press simultaneously the Right and Left arrows to toggle Quick Nav on or off.
To search with Google:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Find" with the Down Arrow, then
Go to "Google Search…" with the Right Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type your request, then
Press the Return key to download the Google result page, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + u to open the Web rotor, then
Move with the Right Arrow until hearing "Heading", then
Select the result by moving with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to go to the corresponding link in the Google result page, then
Press again Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to activate the link.
Remark: Instead of Google, it is possible to select Bing, Yahoo! or DuckDuckGo as the default search engine in the General panel of the Safari Preferences.
Another method for searching with Google:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Open Location…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type "google.com", then
Press the Return key, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + u to open the Web rotor, then
Move with the Right Arrow until hearing "Form control", then
Move with the Down Arrow until hearing "Edit Text", then
Type your request, then
Press the Return key to download the Google result page, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + u to open the Web rotor, then
Move with the Left Arrow until hearing "Heading", then
Select the result by moving with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to go to the corresponding link in the Google result page, then
Press again Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to activate the link.
To quickly return to the search results after visiting some web pages:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "History" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Search Results SnapBack" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
To open a web address:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Open Location…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type the web address, then
Press the Return key.
You hear a sound when the web page is loaded.
VoiceOver should begin to read a web page as soon as it is loaded.
To move inside a web page:
Use the Down and Up Arrows to move line by line and
Use the Left and Right Arrows to move character by character.
To stop reading:
Press Ctrl.
Press Ctrl again to restart reading.
To return to a web page that has been previously visited:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "History" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the title of the previously visited web page by moving with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
To add a Bookmark to the Bookmarks Menu:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Bookmarks" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Add Bookmark…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow, then
Select "Bookmarks Menu" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press the Return key.
The Bookmark is then added at the end of the Bookmark Menu.
You can also select a Bookmark folder instead of the Bookmark Menu.
To suppress a Bookmark:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Bookmarks" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Edit Bookmarks" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Left Arrow twice until hearing "Table", then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow to interact with the table, then
Use the Arrows to move in the bookmarks folders and select the Bookmark you want to suppress, then
Press the Delete key.
To close the bookmark editor:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Bookmarks" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Hide Bookmarks Editor" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
Remark: one can also copy and paste items in the bookmarks editor by using the usual shortcus Cmd + c and cmd + v.
To open the Web Rotor:
Press Ctrl + Opt + u.
The Web Rotor is a table which gives in columns the list of "Links",
"Headings", "Form Controls", "Web Spots", "Tables",
"Landmarks", "Frames", "Buttons", "Text Fields", "Images", "Checkboxes",
"Lines", "Live Regions", "Static Text",
"Auto Web Spots", "Lists",
"Non-Visited Links", "Visited Links", and "Radio Groups" of the web page.
One may disable or enable each of these columns and reorder them in the
Web Rotor table of the Web Section of VoiceOver Utility.
(Press Ctrl + Opt + F8 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + F8) to open Voiceover Utility.)
Use the Arrows to move in the Web Rotor. To select an item you can also type its first letters.
You can spell out an item by pressing twice Ctrl + Opt + w
and copy it in the clipboard by pressing Cmd + c.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to go to the selected item in the page.
To read all the contents of a web page:
Press Cmd+ Up Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + a.
Warning: There are two navigation modes for the web pages with VoiceOver, the DOM mode (DOM=Document Object
Model) and the "grouped" mode.
To choose the navigation mode for the web pages:
Press Ctrl + Opt + F8 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + F8) to open VoiceOver Utility, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Web" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Select the navigation mode with Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
VoiceOver divides the page into elements such as "Link", "Image", "Table", and "Text".
If the "grouped" mode is activated there is an other type of element: the "Group" type.
To go to the next element press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow.
To go to the previous element press Ctrl + Opt + Left Arrow.
VoiceOver gives the type of the element of type "Image", "Link", "Table", and "Group", but not of the type "Text".
A "Group" can contain some subelements of type "Link", "Image", "Table", "Text", and "Group". To access to the elements of a Group press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow (You hear the number of element of the Group).
Use Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow and Ctrl + Opt + Left Arrow to move through the elements of the Group.
To leave the Group press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow.
To go to the beginning of a web page:
Press Cmd + Up Arrow.
To go to the end of a web page:
Press Cmd + Down Arrow.
To select (highlight) a part of the web page:
Use the Arrows while keeping the Shift key pressed.
To read the part of the web page that has been selected:
Press Ctrl + Opt + F6 (with Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + F6).
To copy in the clipboard the part of the web page that has been selected:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Copy" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
To enable (or disable) the grouping items in tables option:
Press Ctrl + Opt + =.
To read the contents of a table if the option "grouping items in tables" is activated in the Web navigation settings:
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow, then Use Ctrl + Opt + One of the Arrows to move through the cells of the table.
Press Ctrl + Opt + c to hear the title of the column.
Press Ctrl + Opt + r to read the line starting from the current cell.
Press Ctrl + Opt + c twice to read the column starting from current cell.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Home (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Left Arrow) to go to the first cell of the table.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + End (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Right Arrow) to go to the last cell of the table.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow to leave the table.
To enable (or disable) the Quick navigation:
Press Right Arrow + Left Arrow.
The Quick navigation allows to move through the web pages with the Arrows.
To click on a link:
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
If that does not work, try the following:
Press Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + F5 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + F5)
to center the mouse under the VoiceOver cursor, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Spacebar
to perform a mouse click.
To read the web adress of a link:
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + u.
To spell out a word contained in a web page:
Go to the beginning of the word by moving with the arrows, then
Move with the Right Arrow to read the word character by character.
To search a word in a web page:
Press Ctrl + Opt + f, then
Type the word, then
Press the Return key.
You are then in the group containing the word,
Press Ctrl + Opt + a to read the contents of the group,
Or press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow to leave the group.
Press Ctrl + Opt + g to search the next occurrence of the word.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + g to search the previous occurrence of the word.
Remark: Instead of typing a word you can select a word used during a previous search by pressing the Up or Down Arrows.
Press Cmd + Del. key to suppress a word used in a previous search.
To display the list of items on the screen:
Press Ctrl + Opt + i to open the Item Chooser Menu, then
Select the item with the Down Arrow or simply type some consecutive letters of the item, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar,
To go to the selected item.
Remark: this is a very useful method for going to any item contained in a web page.
To get information about a web page (number of Headings, number of links, etc.):
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + i.
To refresh a web page:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Reload Page" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
To copy in the clipboard the last phrase spoken by VoiceOver (very useful):
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + c.
Remark: you can press the keys before VoiceOver has finished reading the phrase.
To copy in the clipboard all the contents of the web page:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Select All" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Copy" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
To activate the Safari reader:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Show reader" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
The Safari reader provides the essential information contained in a web page. Note that there are web pages for which the Safri reader is not available.
To hide the Safari reader:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Hide reader" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
To send a link to the current page by email :
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Share" with the Down Arrow, then
Select "Email this Page" with the right arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type thé récipient address, then
Press a few times Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow
and, if this has not been already done, select "Link Only" in the "Send Web Content As:" pop-up menu by moving with the down arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Send the message
(see Using Mail).
Remark: the Share submenu may be also used to send a link via Twitter.
To send the contents of the current page by email:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Share" with the Down Arrow, then
Select "Email this Page" with the right arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type thé récipient address, then
Press a few times Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow
and, if this has not been already done, select "Web Page" in the "Send Web Content As:" pop-up menu by moving with the down arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Send the message
(see Using Mail).
To save a web page or a downloaded file (for example a PDF file) in the current folder:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Save as ..." with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press the Return key to save the file with its original name, or type the name you want and then press the Return key.
To save a web page or a downloaded file (for example a PDF file) in a folder which is not the current folder:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Save as ..." with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type a new name if you want, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until you hear the name of the current folder, then
Choose the parent folder of the wanted folder with the Up and Down Arrows, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until you hear "File Navigator", then
Use the Arrows to select the desired folder, then
Press the Return key.
To open the download window:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Show Downloads" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
To find out the progression of the download:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Show Downloads" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to open the download window, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow twice, then
Interact with the Downloads Table by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow, then
Select the item in the download list by moving with Ctrl + Opt + Down Arrow, then
Interact with the item by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow.
To pause or resume downloading:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Show Downloads" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to open the download window, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow twice, then
Interact with the Downloads Table by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow, then
Select the item in the download list by moving with Ctrl + Opt + Down Arrow, then
Interact with the item by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow, then
Press a few times Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing "Stop button" or "Reload button", then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to activate the button.
To clear the list of downloaded files:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Show Downloads" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to open the download window, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing "Clear button", then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
Remark: Clearing the list does not remove the items that have been downloaded from the computer. It only removes their names from the download list.
To clear history:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Safari" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Clear History and Website Data…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Select one of the Clear History options in the pop-up menu of the dialog box
by moving with the Up and Down Arrows, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to the Clear History button by moving with Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
When Clear History is activated,
visited pages are no more listed in the History menu.
To save in a folder the contents of the current web page as a PDF file:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Export as PDF…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing "Browser", then
Use the Arrows to select the desired folder, then
Press the Return key.
To save in a folder the HTML source of the current web page:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Save as…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing "Format", then
Press one more time Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow, then
If this has not been already done, select "Page Source" in the pop-up menu by moving with the Down Arrow and then press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Move with Ctrl + Opt + Left Arrow until hearing "Browser", then
Use the Arrows to select the desired folder, then
Press the Return key.
To Print:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Print…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press the Return key.
To choose your VoiceOver web navigation settings:
Press Ctrl + Opt + F8 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + F8) to open VoiceOver Utility, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Web" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Use Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow and Ctrl + Opt + Left Arrow to move and enable or disable the options by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
Some Shortcuts
To search with the default search engin (Google, Bing, Yahoo! or DuckDuckGo depending on the settings in Safari Preferences): Cmd + Opt + f
To quickly return to the search results: Cmd + Opt + s
To send by email: Cmd + i
To open a web address: Cmd + l
To refreeze a page: Cmd + r
To go to the next heading: Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + h
To go to the previous heading: Shift + Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + h
To go to the next heading at the same heading level: Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + m
To go to the previous heading at the same heading level: Shift + Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + m
To go to the next link: Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + l
To go to the previous link: Shift + Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + l
To go to the next list: Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + x
To go to the previous list: Shift + Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + x
To show or hide Safari Reader: Cmd + Shift + r
To activate AutoFill Form: Cmd + Shift + a
To select all the page: Cmd + a
To select from the beginning of the page to the current position of the cursor: Cmd + Shift + Up Arrow
To select from the current position of the cursor to the end of the page: Cmd + Shift + Down Arrow
To copy the selection in the clipboard: Cmd + c
To cut: Cmd + x
To paste the contents of the clipboard: Cmd + v
To paste and match style: Cmd + Shift + Opt + v
To undo: Cmd + z
To add the current page to Bookmarks: Cmd + d
To edit bookmarks or hide bookmarks editor: Cmd + Opt + b
To show downloads: Cmd + Opt + l
To close the window: Cmd + w
To close all windows: Cmd + Opt + w
To open a new window: Cmd + n
To open a new private window: Cmd + Shift + n
To print: Cmd + p
To open Safari Preferences: Cmd + ,
To quit Safari: Cmd + q
VoiceOver Commands
To find out the version of Safari on your computer:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Safari" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "About Safari" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
Safari Version:
Version 11.1 (12605.1.33.1.4)
Please send me your questions or suggestions by e-mail
Last Update: March 7, 2019