The hotkey for starting VoiceOver for all MacOS versions, since OS 10.5, is Command+F5. It was designed for people who are blind so it would be too feature rich for people just wanting to read text in a document. It reads all elements of the window and uses specific keystrokes and trackpad swipes to interact with menus and the contents of programs. VoiceOver is a full function screen reader somewhat like using JAWS. Apple Support Info for iOS Spoken Content.Apple Support Directions for MacOS Spoken Content.In some cases, it is easier to use than more feature rich applications like Read&Write. With each release of MacOS and iOS the feature gets better. To learn more about using dictation, click the desktop to switch to the Finder, choose Help > macOS Help (from the Help menu at the top of your screen), then search for “dictation.MacOS and iOS also have built-in Text to Speech Options which will read selected text when the user presses a user defined Shortcut Key. To add punctuation, speak its name (for example, comma or apostrophe).Ĭlick Done below the microphone when you’re finished. When the microphone appears, begin speaking. MacOS 12 or earlier: Choose Apple menu > System Preferences > Keyboard > Dictation, then change the desired settings. MacOS Ventura 13 or later: Choose Apple menu > System Settings > Keyboard, then change the desired settings. To change your dictation settings, do one of the following: When dictation is set up, you can also change the shortcut key or change the language. If you haven’t used dictation before, follow the guided setup instructions that appear. Place the insertion point where you want to begin dictating, or select the text you want to replace (to select placeholder text, click it).Ĭhoose Edit > Start Dictation (from the Edit menu at the top of your screen). If you can’t remove something from a document.Restore an earlier version of a document.Save a large document as a package file.Export to Word, PDF, or another file format.See the latest activity in a shared document.Change the look of chart text and labels.Add a legend, gridlines, and other markings.Change a chart from one type to another.Calculate values using data in table cells.Select tables, cells, rows, and columns.Fill shapes and text boxes with color or an image.Set pagination and line and page breaks.Format hyphens, dashes, and quotation marks.Format Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text.

Use a keyboard shortcut to apply a text style.Create, rename, or delete a paragraph style.Bold, italic, underline, and strikethrough.Populate and create customized documents.Add, change, or delete a source file in Pages on Mac.Select text and place the insertion point.Use VoiceOver to preview comments and track changes.View formatting symbols and layout guides.Intro to images, charts, and other objects.

Speech to text for macbook