Mac OS X: Customize voiceover
This practical tip shows you how to customize VoiceOver under Mac OS X. If you want to change the verbosity or the standard voice, read the next section on how best to proceed.
Open VoiceOver settings in Mac OS X.
In addition to the common voice output, Mac offers an extensive voiceover function. You open the associated settings with the following steps:
- Tap the Apple icon in the top left and select "System Preferences ...".
- From Accessibility> VoiceOver, navigate to Open VoiceOver Utility.
Customize VoiceOver on Mac OS X - Here's how
In the menu item "General" you export your VoiceOver settings to an external medium.
- Under "Verbosity" you can set the verbosity in the "Speech output" tab. Click the triangle next to it to adjust the level of detail for individual programs.
- In the "Messages" section, under "Read sizes and positions in" choose between "inches", "millimeters" and "point".
- In the "Text" tab, under "When deleting text" or "When reading capital letters", you can set the pitch to change or alternatively a beep.
Customize VoiceOver to your needs
The menu item "Speech output" contains various system voices. Here you can also select different speech melodies and volumes.
- Under "Pronunciation" you set how special characters are pronounced.
- Another article tells you how to use the keyboard to enter special characters on Mac.
More VoiceOver settings for your Mac
Under "Web"> "Load page" choose what happens when you load a website. Narrator either reads the status or plays a beep.
- You can find the control via the number pad in "Controls"> "Number pad".
- If you have USB Braille glasses, configure them under "Braille"> "Display".
The practical tip relates to Mac OS X 10.9.5 on a MacBook Air. Additional articles will show you how to change the keyboard language in Mac.