Change VoiceOver Web settings (Navigation tab) in VoiceOver Utility on Mac

Use the Navigation pane of the Web category in VoiceOver Utility to set options related to navigating and browsing web pages.

To open VoiceOver Utility, press Command-F5 to turn VoiceOver on, then press VO-Fn-F8.

Open VoiceOver Utility for me

Note: VO represents the VoiceOver modifier that you press with additional keys to enter VoiceOver commands. By default, you can press Control and Option together or just press Caps Lock.

Option	Description
Navigate web pages by	Select a method for navigating web pages: DOM order: Move the VoiceOver cursor through a web page based on the page’s Document Object Model (DOM). Navigating by DOM moves left and right, in the order the web page’s author intended. (Moving up and down in DOM mode is based on items included in the VoiceOver rotor when viewing web pages.) Grouping items: Move the VoiceOver cursor from one group of information to the next, such as from one paragraph to the next paragraph. Navigating by group moves in any direction to help give you a sense of context. See Use VoiceOver to navigate web pages by DOM or group mode.
When navigating web tables	Select a method for navigating web pages: Group items within: Hear a summary of a table and a summary of each cell as you navigate the table using the arrow keys. This option is useful if you’re familiar with a table and don’t need to read its contents. If you do want to read the contents of a cell, you must interact with it (press VO-Shift-Down Arrow). When the tickbox isn’t selected, you automatically interact with a table and read its contents, cell by cell, as you navigate the table using the arrow keys. Speak column and row numbers: Have VoiceOver speak the column and row numbers in tables to help you navigate complex tables more easily. This option is on by default.
Navigate Images	Choose how you want VoiceOver to navigate images: Never, With Descriptions or Always. By default, VoiceOver navigates only to images that contain a description, called alt text. This option is useful because many websites use images for links. See Use VoiceOver to navigate web pages by images or frames.
Enable Live Regions	Have VoiceOver speak all live regions it encounters on web pages. If you prefer to hear only specific live regions, deselect the tickbox, then use the VoiceOver rotor to find and enable specific live regions on a web page. See Use VoiceOver to navigate web pages using live regions.
Always allow keyboard commands to navigate websites	Use keyboard commands to navigate text, even on websites that use the commands for other purposes. When this option is selected, websites that use keyboard commands may not function as expected. For example, if a website uses an arrow key to jump to another item, the arrow key won’t perform that action; the arrow key can only be used to navigate text.

Download this guide in Braille Ready Format: BRF (English)

Helpful?

VoiceOver User Guide

Change VoiceOver Web settings (Navigation tab) in VoiceOver Utility on Mac