Common braille commands for VoiceOver on your Mac

You can use the following default commands to control VoiceOver on your Mac with a supported braille display. To customize your braille display commands, connect the display to your Mac. Then open VoiceOver Utility, select Braille, and go to the Displays tab.

To ensure that your braille display is using the correct table, make sure that you have the latest version of macOS.

Navigation

VoiceOver action	Display key
Move to previous item	Dot 1 + Space bar
Move to next item	Dot 4 + Space bar
Move up	Dot 3 + Space bar
Move down	Dot 6 + Space bar
Go to first item	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Space bar
Go to last item	Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Start Interacting	Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Stop Interacting	Dot 3 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Item Chooser	Dot 2 + Dot 4 + Space bar
Find	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 4 + Space bar
Go to Menu bar	Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Space bar
Open Shortcut Menu	Dot 2 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Escape	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Space bar

Scrolling

VoiceOver action	Display key
Scroll left one page	Dot 2 + Dot 4 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Scroll right one page	Dot 1 + Dot 3 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Scroll up one page	Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Scroll down one page	Dot 1 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Speak page number or rows being displayed	Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Space bar

Rotor

VoiceOver action	Display key
Select previous rotor setting	Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Space bar
Select next rotor setting	Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar

Interaction

VoiceOver action	Display key
Perform action for item	Dot 3 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Increase Volume	Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Decrease Volume	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 6 + Space bar

Reading

VoiceOver action	Display key
Read page starting at the top	Dot 2 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Read contents of the VoiceOver Cursor	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Read text attributes	Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar

Editing

VoiceOver action	Display key
Select all	Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Select left	Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Select right	Dot 2 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar

Control

VoiceOver action	Display key
Open VoiceOver Utility	Dot 1 + Dot 3 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Toggle Screen Curtain on and off	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Pause or continue speech	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Space bar
Toggle speech on or off	Dot 1 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Space bar
Open VoiceOver Help	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Keyboard Help	Dot 1 + Dot 3 + Space bar
Create custom label	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 6 + Space bar
Toggle QuickNav	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Space bar

Braille

VoiceOver action	Display key
Pan braille to the left	Dot 2 + Space bar
Pan braille to the right	Dot 5 + Space bar
Toggle announcement history	Dot 1 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Translate	Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Delete key	Dot 1 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Return key	Dot 1 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Tab key	Dot 2 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Space bar
Switch between contracted and uncontracted braille	Dot 1 + Dot 2 + Dot 4 + Dot 5 + Space bar

8-dot

VoiceOver action	Display key
Go to Desktop	Dot 2 + Dot 5 + Dot 6 + Dot 7 + Space bar
Keyboard Help	Dot 1 + Dot 3 + Dot 7 - Space bar
Toggle Speech On or Off	Dot 1 + Dot 3 + Dot 4 + Dot 7 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Shift key	Dot 4 + Dot 7 + Space bar
Map Braille key to toggle Shift key	Dot 4 + Dot 8 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Command key	Dot 1 + Dot 7 + Space bar
Map Braille key to toggle Command key	Dot 1 + Dot 8 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Control key	Dot 3 + Dot 7 + Space bar
Map Braille key to toggle Control key	Dot 3 + Dot 8 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Option key	Dot 2 + Dot 7 + Space bar
Map Braille key to toggle Option key	Dot 2 + Dot 8 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Fn key	Dot 5 + Dot 7 + Space bar
Map Braille key to toggle Fn key	Dot 5 + Dot 8 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Delete key	Dot 7 Or Dot 7 + Space bar
Map Braille key to Return Key	Dot 8 Or Dot 8 + Space bar

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Published Date: September 28, 2018