Listen to or change how text appears in apps with Accessibility Reader on Mac

With Accessibility Reader on Mac, you can read or listen to text in a full-screen view, and customize fonts, layouts, and background colors. You can use Accessibility Reader with any app on your Mac. Accessibility Reader is also built into the Magnifier app so you can also customize text in your surroundings—like a whiteboard or screen. See Have your Mac zoom in on what’s around you.

The Books app and Accessibility Reader windows are open on the desktop. Text from the Books app is displayed in Accessibility Reader in large font on a black background.

Turn on and use Accessibility Reader

  1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.)

  2. Click Read & Speak.

    Open Read & Speak settings for me

  3. Turn on Accessibility Reader.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • Autoplay in Reader: Click the Information button and turn on Autoplay in Reader if you want Accessibility Reader to automatically read text out loud.

    • Customize the keyboard shortcut: Click the Information button, double-click the default shortcut (Command-Esc), then enter your own shortcut.

  5. To start using Accessibility Reader, do either of the following:

    • Use the Accessibility Reader keyboard shortcut: Open any app, scroll to an area you want to read, then enter the Accessibility Reader shortcut (Command-Escape, or your customized shortcut).

    • Use Accessibility Shortcuts: Open any app, scroll to an area you want to read, open Accessibility Shortcuts, then select Accessibility Reader

Make text in apps easier to read

  1. Open any app on your Mac and scroll to an area you want to read.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Open Accessibility Reader using the Keyboard Shortcut (Command-Esc, or your customized shortcut).

    • Open Accessibility Reader with Accessibility Shortcuts.

      Note: Accessibility Reader alerts you if no text is detected.

  3. Click the More Customization button, then do any of the following:

    • Theme: Choose a color theme—such as Light or Dark.

    • Color: Choose a color for text or a background.

    • Font: Choose a font, font appearance, or font size.

    • High Legibility Characters: Turn on High Legibility Characters.

      Note: This option is only available when using System Font.

    • Line: Choose the Default button, the Loose button, or the Open button to customize the space between lines.

    • Word: Choose the Default button, the Loose button, or the Open button to customize the space between words.

    • Character: Choose the Default button, the Loose button, or the Open button to customize the space between characters.

    • Readable Content Width: Choose the Default button, the Loose button, or the Open button to customize the text width.

    • Links: Turn Show Links on or off. When you turn on Show Links, you can customize the color.

    • Playback Highlighting: Turn Show Highlight on or off. When you turn on Show Highlight, you can customize the style or highlight color.

    • Reset to Default: Click Reset to Default to reset the settings you’ve selected.

Listen to spoken text in apps

  1. Open any app on your Mac, then go to an area you want to hear.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • Open Accessibility Reader using the Keyboard Shortcut (Command-Esc, or your customized shortcut).

    • Open Accessibility Reader with Accessibility Shortcuts.

      Note: Accessibility Reader alerts you if no text is detected.

  3. Do any of the following:

    • Listen to the text: Click the Play button.

    • Pause the text: Click the Pause button.

    • Skip backward or forward: Click the Rewind button or the Forward button.

    • Increase or decrease the speed: Click the Speaking Rate One Times button, then select a speed.

    • Go to a specific time: Drag the slider left or right.

See alsoAccessibility features for vision on MacHave your Mac zoom in on what’s around youChange Read & Speak settings for accessibility on Mac
Morty Proxy This is a proxified and sanitized view of the page, visit original site.
Helpful?
Character limit: 250
Maximum character limit is 250.
Thanks for your feedback.
Morty Proxy This is a proxified and sanitized view of the page, visit original site.