Use VoiceOver to navigate apps and windows on Mac

• Discover which app is active and how many apps are open: Press VO-Fn-F1.

• Discover which app is active and how many windows of that app are open: Press VO-Fn-F2.

1. To open the Application Chooser, press VO-Fn-F1 twice, or double-tap near the left edge of the trackpad.

   

2. To navigate the list of open apps, press the Down Arrow or Up Arrow key, or flick down or up on the trackpad.

3. When you hear the app you want, press the Space bar or double-tap on the trackpad.

   If you used the VoiceOver command to open the chooser, pressing the Space bar opens a submenu that lists all open windows, dialogs, or alerts for the app. Navigate a submenu in the same way you did the list of apps.

To exit the Application Chooser without making a selection, press the Escape key or Fn-Tab, or scrub back and forth with two fingers on the trackpad.

1. To open the Window Chooser, press VO-Fn-F2-F2, or double-tap near the right edge of the trackpad.

   

2. To navigate the list of open windows and system dialogs, press the Down Arrow or Up Arrow key, or flick down or up on the trackpad.

3. To select a window or system dialog, press the Space bar or double-tap on the trackpad.

To exit the Window Chooser without making a selection, press the Escape key or Fn-Tab, or scrub back and forth with two fingers on the trackpad.

You can quickly navigate app windows and webpages using window spots. In app windows, VoiceOver automatically creates a set of window spots based on the app’s design, including key areas such as search fields, sidebars, and toolbars. You can also create your own window spots—for app windows (to mark the buttons or areas you interact with most often) and for webpages (to mark your favorite content).

Window spots are listed in the VoiceOver rotor.

• See a list of window spots for the current window: Press VO-U to open the VoiceOver rotor, then press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key until you hear “Window Spots.”

• Create a window spot for the item that has focus: Press VO-Command-Shift-Right Bracket. You can create an unlimited number of window spots for a window. Your most recently used window spot appears first in the list of window spots in the VoiceOver rotor.

• Remove a window spot you created: Press VO-Command-Shift-Left Bracket.

• Jump to the next window spot (automatically created spots and spots you created): Press VO-Right Bracket.

• Jump to the previous window spot (automatically created spots and spots you created): Press VO-Left Bracket.

• Jump to the next window spot (only spots you created): Press VO-Command-Right Bracket.

• Jump to the previous window spot (only spots you created): Press VO-Command-Left Bracket.

If the design of a window changes significantly and VoiceOver can’t locate a window spot that previously existed on the page, VoiceOver tries to create a new window spot that closely matches the original one.

Mission Control shows all of the windows open on the desktop neatly arranged so it’s easy to find the one you need. Apps that are in full screen or Split View, and desktop spaces you created, are shown in the Spaces Bar along the top edge of the screen.

1. Enter Mission Control by pressing Control-Up Arrow.

   To exit Mission Control without doing anything, press the keys again.

2. In Mission Control, do any of the following:

   • Open an item: Press VO-Left Arrow or VO-Right Arrow to navigate to the item, then press VO-Space bar.

   • Open an item in the Spaces Bar: Press VO-Left Arrow to navigate to the Spaces Bar, press VO-Shift-Down Arrow to interact with it, press VO-Right Arrow to navigate to the list of spaces, interact with it, navigate to the item, then press VO-Space bar.

   • Create a desktop space: Press VO-Left Arrow to navigate to the Spaces Bar, press VO-Shift-Down Arrow to interact with it, then press VO-Space bar to interact with the Add Desktop button.

   • Remove a desktop space: Press VO-Left Arrow to navigate to the Spaces Bar, press VO-Shift-Down Arrow to interact with it, press VO-Right Arrow to navigate to the list of spaces, interact with it, navigate to the space you want to remove, then press VO-Command-Escape. Press Return to confirm.

   Note: You can easily move between desktops while you’re working—just press Control-Right Arrow or Control-Left Arrow.

You can use Stage Manager to organize the apps you’re working with for easy access. The window you’re working in is positioned in the center of the screen (called the stage in VoiceOver), and apps you’ve used recently are arranged in a list on the left (VoiceOver calls each item in the list a pile).

You can add multiple app windows to a pile and work with them as a group on the stage. When you switch to a pile with more than one window, all the windows open together.

1. When VoiceOver is on, press VO-Shift-O to open Control Center, press VO-Right Arrow to navigate to Stage Manager, then press VO-Space bar to turn Stage Manager on.

   The currently active app moves to the stage, and other apps you’ve been working with recently are arranged as piles on the left.

2. Press VO-Fn-F1 twice to open the Application Chooser.

3. Press VO-Down Arrow or VO-Up Arrow to navigate the menu, then press Return to choose Stage Manager.

4. Do one of the following:

   • Move the VoiceOver cursor to the topmost pile: Press Return to choose Go to Stage Manager.

   • Move the VoiceOver cursor to another pile: Press VO-Down Arrow or VO-Up Arrow to navigate the list of piles in the menu, then press Return to move the VoiceOver cursor to the chosen pile.

5. With the VoiceOver cursor focused on a pile, do any of the following:

   • Open the pile’s windows on the stage: Press VO-Space bar.

   • Navigate the list of piles: Press VO-Down Arrow or VO-Up Arrow.

   • Move the top window from the pile to the stage: Press VO-Command-Space bar to open the Actions menu, press VO-Down Arrow or VO-Up Arrow to navigate to “Add window to stage,” then press Return. The top window in the pile moves to the stage and forms a group with the other windows on the stage.

If you use VoiceOver trackpad gestures, numeric keypad keys, Option keys, or Quick Nav, you can assign a navigation command to go to Stage Manager. See Customize key commands and trackpad gestures for VoiceOver.

Open VoiceOver Utility for me