MacOS

Explore the various methods of configuring assistive technology on your MacOS device.

Review Test Device Setup for Chromebook, Windows, Mac, and iPad.

  • Note: Disable pop-up blocker. The first time you access/view the video, you must provide your name and email. Information is used to access the video and not retained for other purposes.

Spoken Content

MacOS has a speech option that will speak the text when a student presses the default key combination recommended for use with the Bluebook application: 

To enable Spoken Content

Go to the Apple menu and select System Preferences.  

  1. Select Accessibility > Spoken Content
  2. Select the following:
  • Speak Selection.  To change preferences, select the Options/Info pop-up menu:  
  1. To change the default Keyboard shortcut (Option+Esc) press any other key combinations (i.e., Option+Tab). After completing this step, whenever you press the keyboard shortcut, text you select will be read aloud. Press the same key combination to stop the speech.  
  2. To show the Controller, select Automatically to show the Controller when selecting the keyboard shortcut (Option-Esc), or select Always, and the Controller will remain on the screen.  
  3. Highlight content (select based on preference):  
    • None  
    • Words 
    • Sentences  
    • Words and Sentences  
  4. Word and Sentence Color and Style can also be adjusted.  
  5. When all the preferences are set, click OK.  
  • Speak Item under the pointer. To change the preferences, select the Options/Info pop-up menu
    1. Speak item under the pointer: Only when zoomed or Always (recommended)
    2. Speech Verbosity (Low, Medium, High)
    3. After Delay (slider from short to long)
    4. When all the preferences are set, click OK.

Note: Depending on the version of MacOS, some accessibility features may not function as expected. College Board strongly encourages students to access practice tests on Bluebook with the accessibility features enabled before test day to ensure they work as expected.  

To learn more about how to have your Mac speak onscreen text, review the user guide for your macOS.

VoiceOver

To start using VoiceOver, the Mac computer’s built-in screen reader:

  • Press Command + F5. If VoiceOver is on, pressing these keys turns it off.
  • If your Mac or Magic Keyboard has Touch ID, press, and hold the Command key while quickly pressing Touch ID three times.
  • Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Accessibility in the sidebar. Click VoiceOver on the right, then turn VoiceOver on or off.
  • Basic keyboard navigation: VO is an abbreviation for VoiceOver keys Control + Option: 
Task Keyboard Commands 
Turn the screen reader on/off Command + F5 

Stop reading 

Control 

Read next/previous item 

VO + Right Arrow/Left Arrow 

Read the next focusable item (e.g., link, button) 

Tab 

Start reading continuously from this point on 

VO + A 

Open Elements List or Rotor 

VO + U 

Go to the next table 

VO + Command + T 

Navigate table cells 

VO + Arrow Keys 

Go to next list 

VO + Command + X 

Go to the next graphic 

VO + Command + G 

Go back to the previous heading, landmark, table, focusable item, etc. 

VO + Shift + Command + [H, T, Tab, etc.] 

Interact with (go into/out of) objects (menus, application regions, etc.) 

VO + Shift + Down/Up Arrows 

Speech, Verbosity Category, VoiceOver Utility for macOS

Use the Speech pane of the Verbosity category in VoiceOver Utility to specify the verbosity level.  

  • From System Preferences > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Open VoiceOver Utility > Verbosity > Text > Punctuation:  
    • A higher level of punctuation can be helpful for proofreading and editing.  
    • Some students find a lower level is less distracting for more casual reading.  
  • Alternatively, punctuation can be adjusted while VoiceOver is enabled:  
    • Press VO-Fn-F8. Navigate to Verbosity > Text tab > Punctuation.  
    • To use the Verbosity rotor to change the default verbosity level while working, press VO-V > Punctuation > All.  

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Content

  • Some STEM content may contain acronyms, chemical equations, camelCase, or PascalCase that need to be announced clearly or verbatim by screen readers. To announce capital letters distinctly with varying pitch or spell out the content character-by-character: VO-W-W.  
  • Refer to Use VoiceOver to correct misspelled words on Mac.

Voice Control

To start using Voice Control on a Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings > Accessibility > enable (turn on) Voice Control.  

Note: Use of spell-check, grammar-check, word prediction, and cut-and-paste features is not permitted and must be disabled.

Voice control guides are available for:

Tip: To help navigate and select elements in Bluebook, say “show numbers.“ Numbers will appear on the screen for every element/grid in the active window. Say an item's corresponding number to select it (e.g., “Click 19, OK“).

Privacy and Analytics

Students testing with a Mac must ensure their device is opted out of Apple's Diagnostic and Usage Program and Improve Siri and Dictation.

Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements, then:

  • Disable (turn off) Share Mac Analytics  
  • Disable (turn off) Improve Siri and Dictation.

Zoom

You can zoom in and out on the screen using keyboard shortcuts. To zoom in/out, press Command +/-. To reset zoom, Press Command + 0.

To customize how the zoom area appears, go to Apple menu > System Settings > Accessibility click Zoom on the right (keyboard shortcut: Option + Command + 8).

In the Advanced Options, select the checkboxes appropriate for your Zoom preference:  

  • Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom
  • Use trackpad gesture to zoom
  • Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom

Select Zoom style options, as per student preference:  

  • Full screen
  • Split screen
  • Picture-in-Picture

Color Filters

To adjust display options, go to System Settings > Accessibility > Display, then modify any of the preferences, including:

  • Invert colors
  • Invert colors mode
  • Increase contrast
  • Color Filters and Filter Types

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