Control Narrator from the keyboard
Use Narrator's keys on the Narrator page and in the floating player, and set playback shortcuts that control a narration from any app.
Narrator answers keys on the Narrator page, in the floating player once you give it the keyboard, and in any app through playback shortcuts you set. Your keyboard's media keys work too: F8 pauses and resumes, and F7 and F9 move by chapter and through Up Next, or skip by the skip interval when there is neither (Use the media keys and headphones).
⌥⌘N reads the text selected in any app. With nothing selected, it pauses or resumes the narration that is loaded; with nothing loaded and a browser in front, it reads the page in front (Start a narration).
⌥⇧⌘N adds the selected text to Up Next instead of reading it now. It is your Narrate selection shortcut with ⇧, set for you, and it changes when you change that shortcut. With nothing loaded, it reads the selection now (Add a selection to Up Next has the exceptions).
Keys on the Narrator page and in the player
These keys control the narration while the Narrator page has focus, or while the floating player has the keyboard:
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Space | Pause or resume, or continue your most recent narration or Up Next |
| Left Arrow | Skip back by the skip interval |
| Right Arrow | Skip forward by the skip interval |
| ⌥Left Arrow | Move to the previous sentence |
| ⌥Right Arrow | Move to the next sentence |
| Page Up / Page Down | Scroll the player's text up or down a page (floating player only) |
| Home / End | Scroll to the start or end of the player's text (floating player only) |
| [ | Slow down one speed step |
| ] | Speed up one speed step |
| Escape | Give the keyboard back (floating player only) |
Hold an arrow, a bracket, Page Up or Page Down to repeat it. Moving by sentence steps over text Narrator skips, such as footnotes. The skip interval is 15 seconds unless you change Skip interval in Settings → Narrator → Voice and playback to 5, 10 or 30 seconds.
In the floating player, Page Up, Page Down, Home and End scroll its text, which stops it following the narration until you choose Back to playhead. On the Narrator page they scroll the page itself.
Give the floating player the keyboard
The floating player takes these keys after you press the Focus the player shortcut, set under Playback shortcuts. The app you were using stays in front, and a ring around the player shows that it has the keyboard. If the player is turned off, the shortcut brings it up for the narration that is loaded, and it hides again after that narration ends.
To give the keyboard back, press Escape or the shortcut again, or click another window. A ⌘ shortcut also gives it back without reaching your app, so press it again there. Starting a dictation gives the keyboard back too, so your text goes into the app you were using.
Playback shortcuts
Playback shortcuts control a narration from any app. None is set until you set it. Open Settings → Hotkeys, choose Features, then Playback. On a row, Set shortcut sets the suggested combination below, and the record button next to it takes any other combination you press.
| Shortcut | Suggested | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Play or pause | ⌃⌥P | Pauses or resumes. With nothing loaded, picks up where you last listened: an unfinished narration or Up Next. |
| Previous sentence | ⌃⌥, | Moves back one sentence, or to the start of this one when you are well into it. |
| Next sentence | ⌃⌥. | Moves on to the start of the next sentence. |
| Slower | ⌃⌥[ | Slows down one speed step. |
| Faster | ⌃⌥] | Speeds up one speed step. |
| Focus the player | ⌃⌥N | Gives the floating player the keyboard, or gives it back. |
The suggested keys follow their position on the keyboard, so on a French or German layout the row shows the letters printed on your keys. Holding a shortcut acts once. To remove one, delete it from its row, or choose Clear all to remove all six.
While you dictate, Play or pause only pauses, and Focus the player does nothing until the dictation ends.
VoiceOver uses ⌃⌥
⌃⌥ is the VoiceOver modifier. A playback shortcut set to ⌃⌥ and a key takes that combination from VoiceOver, so VoiceOver users may prefer to record other combinations.