Learn voiceover gestures – Apple iPad iOS 8.1 User Manual

Page 126

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Appendix A

Accessibility

126

Speak iPad status information. Tap the status bar at the top of the screen, then swipe left or
right to hear information about the time, battery state, Wi-Fi signal strength, and more.
Speak notifications. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver, then turn on Always
Speak Notifications. Notifications, including the text of incoming text messages, are spoken
as they occur, even if iPad is locked. Unacknowledged notifications are repeated when you
unlock iPad.
Turn the screen curtain on or off. Triple-tap with three fingers. When the screen curtain is on, the
screen contents are active even though the display is turned off.

Learn VoiceOver gestures

When VoiceOver is on, standard touchscreen gestures have different effects, and additional
gestures let you move around the screen and control individual items. VoiceOver gestures
include two-, three-, and four-finger taps and swipes. For best results using multi-finger gestures,
relax and let your fingers touch the screen with some space between them.

You can use different techniques to enter a particular VoiceOver gesture. For example, you can
perform a two-finger tap using two fingers from one hand, or one finger from each hand. You
can even use your thumbs. Many use a split-tap gesture: instead of selecting an item and double-
tapping, touch and hold an item with one finger, then tap the screen with another finger.

Try different techniques to discover which works best for you. If a gesture doesn’t work, try a
quicker movement, especially for a double-tap or swipe gesture. To swipe, try brushing the
screen quickly with your finger or fingers.

In VoiceOver settings, you can enter a special area where you can practice VoiceOver gestures
without affecting iPad or its settings.
Practice VoiceOver gestures. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > VoiceOver, then tap
VoiceOver Practice. When you finish practicing, tap Done. If you don’t see the VoiceOver Practice
button, make sure VoiceOver is turned on.

Here are some key VoiceOver gestures:

Navigate and read

Tap: Select and speak the item.

Swipe right or left: Select the next or previous item.

Swipe up or down: Depends on the rotor setting. See

Use the VoiceOver rotor

on page 127.

Two-finger swipe up: Read all from the top of the screen.

Two-finger swipe down: Read all from the current position.

Two-finger tap: Stop or resume speaking.

Two-finger scrub: Move two fingers back and forth three times quickly (making a “z”) to dismiss
an alert or go back to the previous screen.

Three-finger swipe up or down: Scroll one page at a time.

Three-finger swipe right or left: Go to the next or previous page (on the Home screen, for
example).

Three-finger tap: Speak additional information, such as position within a list or whether text
is selected.

Four-finger tap at top of screen: Select the first item on the page.

Four-finger tap at bottom of screen: Select the last item on the page.

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