VoiceOver general commands on Mac
Use these commands to perform actions such as turning VoiceOver on and off, getting help, or changing basic settings. VO represents the VoiceOver modifier (see Use the VoiceOver modifier).
Note: When VoiceOver is on, you can enter VoiceOver commands by using the Fn and number keys with the VoiceOver modifier, as an alternative to using the function keys (F1 through F12). For example, to open VoiceOver Utility you can press Control-Option-Fn-8 (instead of Control-Option-F8).
If you use the function keys (F1 through F12), you may need to press and hold the Fn key, depending on how you set the behaviour of function keys in Keyboard preferences.
General commands
Action
Command
Turn VoiceOver on or off
Command-F5
If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, press and hold the Command key while you quickly press Touch ID three times.
Lock and unlock the VoiceOver modifier
VO-;
Open VoiceOver Utility
VO-F8
Start keyboard help
VO-K
Open the VoiceOver Help menu
VO-H
Open the VoiceOver Quick Start
VO-Command-F8
Open the VoiceOver User Guide
VO-?
Read the help tag for the current item
VO-Shift-H
Read the VoiceOver hint for the current item
VO-Shift-N
Open the Commands menu
VO-H-H
Open the Find Commands menu
VO-Shift-F
Open the Notifications menu
VO-N
Close a menu or rotor, stop an action, or exit a mode
Escape or Fn-Tab
Tell VoiceOver to ignore the next key or key combination you press
VO-Tab
Open the Verbosity rotor
VO-V
Then press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key to choose the setting. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to change the level for the setting.
Increase magnification of the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-}
Decrease magnification of the item in the VoiceOver cursor
VO-{
Temporarily hide or show the VoiceOver cursor and the caption or braille panels
VO-Command-F11
Hide or show the caption panel only
VO-Command-F10
Resize or move the caption panel
VO-Shift-F10
Press again to cycle through these actions. Then use the arrow keys to resize the panel or move it.
Hide or show the braille panel only
VO-Command-F9
Resize or move the braille panel
VO-Shift-F9
Press again to cycle through these actions. Then use the arrow keys to resize the panel or move it.
Tile visuals (dim the screen, highlight the caption or braille panel, and show the item in the VoiceOver cursor in the centre of the screen)
VO-F10
Press again to return to the normal view.
Turn the NumPad Commander on or off
VO-Clear
Turn the Keyboard Commander on or off
VO-Shift-K
Turn the Trackpad Commander on or off
Press the VO (Control and Option) keys and rotate two fingers clockwise (on) or anticlockwise (off).
Turn the screen curtain on or off
VO-Shift-F11
Cycle through settings (such as voice, rate, pitch, volume, intonation and braille table) in the rotor
VO-Command-Shift-Right Arrow or Left Arrow
Change the current setting for voice, rate, pitch, volume, intonation and braille table in the rotor
VO-Command-Shift-Up Arrow or Down Arrow

Finder Navigation
General
• New Finder window: Command-N
• Up one folder level: Command-Up-Arrow
• Open selected folder: Command-Down-Arrow
• Back: Command-left bracket
• Forward: Command-right bracket

Direct Folder Access
• Open the Applications folder: Command-Shift-A
• Open the Computer folder: Command-Shift-C
• Open desktop folder: Command-Shift-D
• Go to Folder: Command-Shift-G
• Open the Home folder of the currently logged-in user account: Command-Shift-H
Editing Commands
• Select all (e.g. all text, or all items in the front Finder window): Command-A
• Copy selected item/text: Command-C
• Paste: Command-V
• Cut: Command-X
• Undo: Command-Z
• Redo: Command-Shift-Z
• Move to Trash: Command-Delete (or Command-Backspace)
Miscellaneous
• Move forward to the next most recently used app in a list of open apps: Command-Tab
• Minimize window: Command-M
• View as List: Command-2
• Open selected item: Command-O
• Open Mac Help or current app help: Command question mark
• Spotlight: Command-Spacebar
• Find any matching Spotlight attribute: Command-F
Closing and Quitting
• Close window: Command-W
• Quit current app: Command-Q
• Eject: Command-E
• Force Quit (Equivalent of Ctrl-Alt-Delete): Command-Option-Esc
• Force Quit front-most app: Command-Shift-Option-Esc
App and other MacOS keyboard commands
Note: Some apps may not support all of the below key combinations.
File Commands
• New document: Command-N
• Open document: Command-O
• Save the active document: Command-S
• Duplicate the active document: Command-Shift-S
• Print dialog: Command-P
• Display a dialog for specifying printing parameters (Page Setup): Command-Shift-P
Cursor Movement
• End of the current line: Command-Right-Arrow
• Beginning of the current line: Command-Left-Arrow
• Beginning of the document: Command-Up-Arrow
• End of the document: Command-Down-Arrow
• End of the current word: Option-Right-Arrow
• Beginning of the current word: Option-Left-Arrow
• End of the current paragraph: Option-Down-Arrow
• Beginning of the current paragraph: Option-Up-Arrow
Pressing Shift with these shortcuts selects the text between where the cursor starts and ends.
Font Formatting
• Decrease the size of the selected item: Command-dash
• Increase the size of the selected item: Command-Shift-equals
• Boldface the selected text or toggle boldfaced text on and off: Command-B
• Underline the selected text or turn underlining on or off: Command-U
• Italicize the selected text or toggle italic text on or off: Command-I
• Display the Fonts window: Command-T
Alignment
• Left-align a selection: Command-left brace
• Right-align a selection: Command-right brace
• Center-align a selection: Command-Shift-backslash
Miscellaneous
• Display the Spelling window: Command-Shift-Semicolon
• Open a Find window: Command-F
• Open an app's preferences window (if it supports this keyboard shortcut): Command-Comma