Basic Mac commands

Turn VoiceOver on or off:
Command+F5
Stop speech:
Ctrl
Repeat the last spoken phrase:
VO+Z
VoiceOver Quick Start tutorial:
VO+Command+F8
Open the VoiceOver Help menu:
VO+H
VoiceOver Commands Help menu:
VO+HH
Start keyboard help:
VO+K (Esc to exit keyboard help)

VoiceOver Configuration

Typing Echo (verbosity):
VO+V
Open VoiceOver Utility:
VO+F8
Cycle through speech attributes:
VO+Command+Shift+LeftArrow (or RightArrow)
Change current speech attribute:
VO+Command+Shift+UpArrow (or DownArrow)
Close a menu or rotor, stop an action, or exit a mode:
Escape
Lock and unlock the VO (Control and Option) keys:
VO+semicolon

VoiceOver Orientation Commands

Hear the application summary:
VO+F1
Hear the window summary:
VO+F2
Describe the item in the VoiceOver cursor:
VO+F3
Describe the item that has the keyboard focus:
VO+F4
Describe the item in the mouse pointer:
VO+F5
Describe the selected item:
VO+F6

VoiceOver Navigation Commands

General

Move VO cursor left, right, up or down:
VO+Arrow keys
Move to start of list or document:
VO+Shift+Home
Move to end of list or document:
VO+Shift+End
Move to top/start of window, Dock, etc:
VO+Command+Home
Move to bottom/end of window, Dock, etc:
VO+Command+End

Directly Accessing Items

Move to the menu bar:
VO+M (or Control-F2), VO+Shift+M opens context menu)
Move to the Dock: VO+D (or Control-F3)
Move to the desktop:
VO+Shift+D
Open the Item Chooser (to go to item on the screen or in a window):
VO+I
Jump to a linked item (for example, from a Mail message in the Inbox to its message text):
VO+J
Open Notification Center:
VO+O
Open Control Center:
VO+Shift+O

Hot Spots

Set or remove a hot spot: VO+Shift+[number key]
Open the Hot Spot Chooser (to browse and jump to hot spots):
VO+[number key]+[number key] (i.e. VO same number key twice)
Jump to a hot spot:
VO+[number key]
Hear a description of a hot spot:
VO+Command+[number key]

Quick Nav

Toggle QuickNav on/off:
LeftArrow+RightArrow
Move VoiceOver cursor:
Cursor keys (equals VO+Arrow keys)
Perform action:
Up+Down (equals VO+Spacebar)
Interact with item:
Right/Down (equals VO+Shift+DownArrow)
Stop interacting with item:
Left/Down (equals VO+Shift+UpArrow)
VoiceOver Cursor

Visual Commands

Magnify item in VoiceOver cursor:
VO+Shift+right bracket
Shrink item in cursor:
VO+Shift+left bracket
Toggle VoiceOver focus rectangle (and other visuals):
VO+Command+F11
Display Caption panel (of where VO cursor is):
VO+Command+F10

Finding

Find text:
VO+F
Find next (after using VO+F):
VO+G
Find previous:
VO+Shift+G
Find the next misspelled word:
VO+Command+E

Reading commands (TextEdit, Safari, etc)

Before you can use most of these commands, you must interact with text in a text area.

General

Read from VoiceOver cursor to end:
VO+A
Read from beginning to cursor:
VO+B
Speak text attributes:
VO+T
Speak line number, word and character in VoiceOver cursor:
VO+F3

Characters

Read character in VoiceOver cursor:
VO+C
Read next character:
VO+Shift+Right Arrow
Read previous character:
VO+Shift+Left Arrow

Words

Read word in VoiceOver cursor:
VO+W
Spell word:
VO+WW
Spell word phonetically:
VO+WWW
Read next word:
VO+Right Arrow
Read previous word:
VO+Left Arrow

Lines

Read line in VoiceOver cursor:
VO+L
Read next line:
VO+Down Arrow
Read previous line:
VO+Up Arrow
Sentences
Read sentence in VoiceOver cursor:
VO+S
Read next sentence:
VO+Command+Page Down
Read previous sentence:
VO+Command+Page Up

Paragraphs

Read paragraph in VoiceOver cursor:
VO+P
Read next paragraph:
VO+Shift+Page Down
Read previous paragraph:
VO+Shift+Page Up

Tables

Read a row in a table:
VO+R
Read a column in a table:
VO+C+C
Read the column header in a table:
VO+C
Toggle table interaction:
VO+Command+equals

Interaction commands

General

Interact with an item:
VO+Shift+Down Arrow
Stop interacting with an item:
VO+Shift+Up Arrow
Perform the default action for the item in the VoiceOver cursor (e.g. open active item):
VO+Spacebar
Open Actions Menu for the item in the VoiceOver cursor:
VO+Command+Spacebar
Show more content for the item in the VoiceOver cursor:
VO+Command+Slash

Quick Nav

Perform action:
Up+Down (equals VO+Spacebar)
Interact with item:
Right/Down (equals VO+Shift+Down Arrow)
Stop interacting with item:
Left/Down (equals VO+Shift+Up Arrow)

Web commands

Navigation – General

Move to next heading:
VO+Command+H
Move to next heading of the same level:
VO+Command+M
Move to next plain text:
VO+Command+P
Move to next link:
VO+Command+L
Move to next visited link:
VO+Command+V
Move to next control:
VO+Command+J
Move to next table:
VO+Command+T
Move to the next column:
VO+Command+Y
Move to the next frame:
VO+Command+F
Move to the next auto web spot:
VO+Command+N
To move to a previous item, use Shift with above commands. e.g. VO+Command+Shift+H to move to previous heading

Navigation – Web Spots

Set a web spot:
VO+Command+Shift+right bracket
Remove a web spot:
VO+Command+Shift+left bracket
Set the sweet spot:
VO+Command+Shift+right bracket+ right bracket
Move to the next web spot: #
VO+Command+right bracket
Move to the previous web spot:
VO+Command+left bracket

Navigation – Web Item Rotor

Open the Web Item rotor:
VO+U
Navigate lists:
Left and right arrow keys
Navigate items in selected list:
Up and down arrow keys
In Headers List, list only headings of a particular level: type level number

Miscellaneous

Read a link address (URL):
VO+Shift+U
Read webpage statistics:
VO+Shift+I