iPad/iPhone

Standard Gestures

There are a few standard gestures to master with or without VoiceOver.

  • Tap - touch the screen and remove your finger quickly
  • Tap and hold - touch the screen without moving your finger and hold it in one place
  • Drag - touch and move your finger around the screen making constant contact
  • Flick/Swipe - a quick drag from one direction to another, lifting the finger at the end
    1. Swipe up refers to swiping from bottom to top
    2. Swipe down refers to swiping from top to bottom
    3. Swipe left refers to swiping from right to left
    4. Swipe right refers to swiping from left to right
  • Pinch to zoom in/out - place finger and thumb together in the centre of the screen and separate them to zoom in. Bring finger and thumb back together to zoom out. NOTE: Pinch to zoom will not work with VoiceOver

The Home Button

A triple press of the Home button will turn on VoiceOver if set to do so. You can alter the number of presses and length of press to perform different functions.

  • Press and hold will activate Siri
  • Press the home button twice rapidly to open App Switcher. While in app switcher, a three finger swipe up will close the last spoken app. A double tap will open the last spoken app

Gestures with VoiceOver

Once you have turned on VoiceOver gestures used to navigate and open applications will be different.

Double Tap

The video to the left demonstrates a drag(constant contact) and a double tap. As the index finger is dragged across the screen, VoiceOver announces what is located under the finger. Visually there is a square around what is being announced on screen. Note that the double tap (two rapid taps) is performed anywhere on the screen and opens the last item that was announced regardless of tap position. The time between the taps can be changed in Accessibility Settings if needed.

Split Tap

A split tap is an alternative to the double tap. Some users have difficulty timing the double tap or have challenges with manual dexterity and this is a viable alternative. The video to the left demonstrates a drag(constant contact) and a split tap. As the index finger is dragged across the screen, VoiceOver announces what is located under the finger. Visually there is a square around what is bring announced on screen. To use the split tap, the user must stop with a finger on the item they want to open and tap the screen one more time, as the finger touching the screen is counted as tap 1 of a double tap. NOTE: In the video, one hand is used, however, if manipulating a second finger on the same hand proves difficult, a second hand can be used to perform the second tap anywhere on the screen.

Rotor

The Rotor is a way to quickly access certain VoiceOver Accessibility settings and can be customized to include certain options. The video to the left demonstrates the gesture used to access the rotor. Place a thumb and finger on the screen and turn them to the left or to the right just as you would a volume dial to choose a setting or method of navigation. Swipe up or down to adjust or navigate using the setting you chose. In the video, the rotor is turned to Speaking Rate and the Voice increases in speed with a swipe up or decreases in speed with a swipe down.

Other VoiceOver gestures and their functions

Once you have mastered the basic gestures, you can add fingers, add more taps and change direction to perform different actions.

  • Two finger swipe down will read everything on the screen from the top down
  • Two finger tap will stop speech
  • Three finger swipe down opens the Spotlight
  • Three finger swipe left or right will move to the next page of the home screen
  • Three finger double tap will toggle speech on/off. NOTE: If Zoom is enabled, a three finger double tap will zoom. Use a three finger triple tap to toggle speech on/off with Zoom enabled
  • A three finger triple tap will toggle the screen curtain on/off NOTE: If Zoom is enabled, use a three finger quadruple tap to toggle the screen curtain on/off
  • Four finger double tap triggers VoiceOver Help
  • Four finger swipe left/right while in an app will move between apps