VoiceOver and Text To Speech for Mac OS X

Spoken Content

MacOS and iOS also have built-in Text to Speech Options which will read selected text when the user presses a user defined Shortcut Key. With each release of MacOS and iOS the feature gets better. In some cases, it is easier to use than more feature rich applications like Read&Write.

• Apple Support Directions for MacOS Spoken Content
• Apple Support Info for iOS Spoken Content
• YouTube Video for iOS Spoken Content

VOICEOVER

VoiceOver is a full function screen reader somewhat like using JAWS. It reads all elements of the window and uses specific keystrokes and trackpad swipes to interact with menus and the contents of programs. It was designed for people who are blind so it would be too feature rich for people just wanting to read text in a document. The hotkey for starting VoiceOver for all MacOS versions, since OS 10.5, is Command+F5. For iOS you can either triple tap the home button or activate Siri and say, "Open VoiceOver." You can find more information on Apples Accessibility VoiceOver page.