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Using Mail with VoiceOver Mac OS 12 Monterey

Mail, also known as AppleMail, is an email program included in Mac OS 12 Monterey. The compatibility of Mail with VoiceOver is excellent.

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 go to the Menu bar:
Press Ctrl + Opt + m.
Use the arrows keys to move in the Menu bar.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar to activate a command.
Press the Escape key to quit the Menu bar.

To select a message in the message table of a mailbox:
Move to the message that you want to select by using the Up and Down Arrows.

To read the body of a message :
Select the message, then
Press ctrl + alt + j.
VoiceOver should start reading the body of the message.
Use the arrow keys to move inside the body of the message.
Once VoiceOver has finished reading the message, press again ctrl + alt + j to get back to the message table. Actually, the message table of a mailbox is a table with one row for each message. The columns of the table give the header fields of the messages such as the sender, the subject, the arrival dates, etc.
When you get back to the message table after reading a message, VoiceOver interacts with the table. When VoiceOver is interacting with the message table, one navigates through the cells of a column by using the Up and Down Arrows and through the cells of a row by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Left or Right Arrow.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Home (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Left arrow) to go to the top left cell of the message table.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + End (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Right arrow) to go to the bottom right cell.
You can stop interacting with the message table by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow.
Here is another method for reading the body of a message:
Select the message, then
Press the Return key.
Use the arrow keys to move inside the body of the message.
Press Cmd + w to close the message and get back to the mailbox. Remark: For the combination of keys Cmd + w, it may be more convenient to use the Cmd key that is located on the right of the spacebar.

To stop reading:
Press Ctrl.
Press again Ctrl to resume reading.

To search a word in the body of a message:
Select the message, then
Press the Return key, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + f, then
Type the word, then
Press the Return key.
VoiceOver then reads the line containing the first occurrence of the word,
Press Ctrl + Opt + a to continue reading.
Press Ctrl + Opt + g to go to the next occurrence of the word.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + g to go to the previous occurrence of the word.
Remark: instead of typing a word in the search field, one can also select a word use used in a previous search by moving with the Up and Down Arrows. Press Cmd + Delete to suppress a word from the list of previous searches.

To read a line of a message character by character:
Select the message, then
Press the Return key, then
Move to the line with the Down Arrow, then
Move with the Right Arrow. VoiceOver will read the line character by character.

To read alphabetically a header field (sender, subject, etc.) in the header of a message:
Select the message, then
If this has not been already done, press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow to interact with the message table of the mailbox, then
Move to the header field by using Ctrl + Opt + Left or Right Arrow, then
Press twice Ctrl + Opt + w.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow to stop interacting with the mailbox.

To suppress a message in a mailbox:
Select the message and then press the Delete key.
The message is then put into the Trash folder. It will be definitively suppressed after one month.

To cancel the suppression of a message:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Undo Delete Message" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To add the email address of the sender of a message to the list of contacts:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Add Sender to Contacts" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To suppress all the messages contained in a mailbox:
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
Press the Delete key.

To send a message:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "New Message" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type the recipient address, then
Move by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow and optionally fill in the text field Copy(Cc), Blind Copy (Bcc) and Subject when hearing "edit text" after "Cc", "Bcc " and "Subject ", then
Continue pressing Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing "edit text Insertion at beginning of text, then
Type the body of the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Send " with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To insert a link to a Web page which is currently opened in Safari :
Go to Safari, then
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
Return 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, then
Return to Mail, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Edit" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Paste" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To attach a file to the body of a message:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Attach File…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press 7 times Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing the name of the current folder, then
Move in the pop-up button with the Up and Down Arrows to select a parent folder of the file you want to attach, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press 4 times Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing "Browser" followed by the name of the folder, then
Select the file by moving with the arrows, then
Press the Return key.

Another method for attaching a file to the body of a message:
Select the file in Finder (see Using Finder), then
Copy the file by using the shortcut Cmd + c, then
Paste the file in the body of the message by using the shortcut Cmd + v.

To open a file attached to a message:
Select the file by moving with the arrows in the body of the message, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to "open attachment" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
The file will be opened in the application associated by default with the file extension.

To open a file attached to a message with an application that is not the default application associated with the file extension:
Select the file by moving with the arrows in the body of the message, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to the submenu "open with" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the Right Arrow, then
Select the application by moving with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
The file will be opened in the application that has been selected.

To save a file attached to a message in the current folder:
Select the file by moving with the arrows in the body of the message, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to the submenu "Save Attachment…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the return key.

To save in the current folder all the files attached to a message:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Save Attachments…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press the Return key.

To save in a folder that is not the current folder all the files attached to a message:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Save Attachments…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press a few times Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing the name of the current folder, then
Move with the Up and Down Arrows to select a parent folder of the folder where you want to save the files, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Press a few times Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow until hearing "column view Browser", then
Select the folder where you want to save the files by moving with the arrows, then
Press the Return key.

To save a message as a draft in the Draft Mailbox without sending it:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Save" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To continue writing a message that has been previously saved as a draft:
Open the Drafts mailbox, then
Select the message, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + j, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "File" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Open Message" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To forward a message:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Forward" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type the address of the recipient, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Send" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To reply to a message:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Reply" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type your reply, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Send" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To replie to a message with a copy sent to each of the recipients of the message:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Reply All" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type your reply, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Send" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To get all new mails:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Mailbox" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Get New Mail" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To move a message from a mailbox to another mailbox:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Move To" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the Right Arrow and then move with the Down Arrow to select the new mailbox, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To copy a message to another mailbox:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Copy To" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the Right Arrow and then move with the Down Arrow to select the new mailbox, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To open one of the favorite mailboxes:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Mailbox" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Go To Favorite Mailbox" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the Right Arrow and then move with the Down Arrow to select the mailbox, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To move a message from a mailbox to one of the favorite mailboxes:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Mailbox" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Move To Favorite Mailbox" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the Right Arrow and then move with the Down Arrow to select the mailbox, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To add a mailbox to the list of favorite mailboxes:
Go to the mailboxes table by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Left arrow twice, then
Interact with the mailboxes table by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down arrow, then
Select the mailbox you want to add by moving with the Up and Down arrows or typing the first letters of its name, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + F5 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + F5) to move the mouse pointer to the VoiceOver cursor, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + Shift + Spacebar to perform a sticky mouse down, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + F3 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + F3) to desactivate cursor tracking, then
Stop interacting with the mailboxes table by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Left arrow (you should hear "favorites bar group"), then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down arrow to interact with the favorites bar, then
Move with Ctrl + Opt + Right arrow until hearing the name of the favorite mailbox you want to be on the left of the new favorite mailbox, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + F5 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + F5) to move the mouse pointer to the VoiceOver cursor, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Cmd + Shift + Spacebar to perform a sticky mouse up (this will make the new favorite mailbox appear in the list), then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + F3 (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + F3) to reactivate cursor tracking.

To go from the table message of a mailbox to the table message of another mailbox:
If VoiceOver is interacting with the message table of the mailbox, stop interaction by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow, then
Press twist Ctrl + Opt+ Left Arrow, then
Select the new mailbox by moving with the Up and Down Arrows, then
Press twist Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow to go to the message table of the new mailbox.

To create a new mailbox:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Mailbox" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "New Mailbox . . ." with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Type the name of the new mailbox, then
Press the Return key.
Remark: one can choose the location of the mailbox by pressing a few times ctrl +Opt + Right Arrow in the dialog box (after typing the name of the mailbox) and then select the location by moving with the arrows.

To suppress a mailbox:
Select the mailbox, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Mailbox" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Delete Mailbox…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to the Delete button by using Ctrl + Opt + Right Arow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To use the classic layout for messages:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Mail" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Preferences…" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to the button "Viewing" with the tab key, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Select the checkbox "Use classic layout".

To add a header field (number of attachments, recipients, etc.) in the message rows of a mailbox:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "Columns" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the Right Arrow, then
Select the header field by moving with the Up and Down Arrows, then
Checkmark it by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To change the way messages are sorted in a mailbox:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "View" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to the submenu "sort By" with the Down Arrow, then
Press the Right Arrow, then
Select the way you want messages to be sorted by moving with the Up and Down Arrows, then
Checkmark it by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To go to the top message of a mailbox:
Press Cmd + Opt + Up Arrow.
Another method for going to the top message of a mailbox:
Interact with the message table of the mailbox by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Home (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Left arrow) to go to the top left cell of the message table.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow to stop interacting with the message table.

To go to the bottom message of a mailbox:
Press Cmd + Opt + Down Arrow.
Another method for going to the bottom message of a mailbox:
Interact with the message table of the mailbox by pressing Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + End (on Macbook Fn + Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Right arrow) to go to the bottom right cell of the message table.
Press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + Up Arrow to stop interacting with the message table.

To check spelling:
Press Cmd + semicolon, then
VoiceOver reads the first misspelled word then
Type the correct word.
Instead of typing a new word, one can also use a word suggestion.
To use a word suggestion, press Ctrl + Opt + Shift + m, then
Select a suggestion by moving in the suggestion list with the Up and Down Arrows, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
Remark: One can read alphabetically the uncorrected word or a suggested word by pressing twice Ctrl + Opt + w.

To add the address of the sender of a message to the Contacts list:
Select the message, then
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Message" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Add Sender to Contacts" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.
When an email address is in the Contacts or Previous Recipients list and you want to send a message to this address, it suffices to type the first letters of the address in the "To" field. The rest of the address will be completed automatically. If it is not the one you want, select the correct one by moving with the Down Arrow and then press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

To suppress an address from the list of "Previous Recipients":
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Window" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "Previous Recipients" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Go to the previous recipients table with Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow, then
Select the address by moving with the Up and Down Arrows, then
Go to the Remove From List button with Ctrl + Opt + Right Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar.

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.

Some shortcuts

To open a new message: Cmd + n
To send a message: Cmd + Shift + d
To attach a file: Cmd + Shift + a
To open Quick Look Attachments: Cmd + y
To forward a message: Cmd + Shift + f
To reply: Cmd + r
To reply to all: Cmd + Shift + r
To send again: Cmd + Shift + d
To get new mail: Cmd + Shift + n
To go to the top message of a mailbox: Cmd + Opt + Up Arrow
To go to the bottom message of a mailbox: Cmd + Opt + Down Arrow
To select all the text: Cmd + a
To select the text from the beginning of the document to the current position of the cursor: Cmd + Shift + Up Arrow
To select the text from the current position of the cursor to the end of the document: Cmd + Shift + Down Arrow
To copy: Cmd + c
To cut: Cmd + x
To paste: Cmd + v
To undo: Cmd + z
to print: Cmd + p
To close the window: Cmd + w
To close all windows: Cmd + Opt + w
To go to a favorite mailbox: Cmd + number of the favorite mailbox
To move to a favorite mailbox: Cmd + Ctrl + number of the favorite mailbox
To mark or unmark as junk mail: Cmd + Shift + j
To quit Mail: Cmd + q

VoiceOver Commands

To find out the current version of Mail on your computer:
Go to the Menu bar by pressing Ctrl + Opt + m, then
Go to "Mail" with the Right Arrow, then
Go to "About Mail" with the Down Arrow, then
Press Ctrl + Opt + Spacebar, then
Move with Ctrl + Opt + Left arrow and Ctrl + Opt + Right arrow until hearing the Mail version.

Mail Version: 16.0 (3696.120.41.1.10)

Please send me your comments, questions or suggestions by e-mail

Using Mail with VoiceOver Mac OS 12 Monterey

Some shortcuts

Last Update: September 14, 2024