How to make the most of the Mac’s accessibility features

If you have a disability, your Mac comes with a number of accessibility features that make it easier to use. The Mac, almost four decades old, is an example of Apple's ability to build best-in-class assistive technologies into all of their platforms. The accessibility features of macOS are covered in a knowledge base article.

When you look at the accessibility section in System Preferences, you will see Apple has organized the system's accessibility features in different ways. In the Overview tab, Apple explains what accessibility does for you. The copy says that accessibility features adapt your Mac to your needs. Your Mac can be tailored to meet your needs. By default, accessibility features are turned off, but you can change that by visiting System Preferences. The majority are accessible through a keyboard shortcut.

Let's take a look at each category.

Vision

Screenshot: Steven Aquino

Under the vision category, Apple has a list of things to do.

VoiceOver, the award-winning screen reader, is one of the most popular accessibility features in Apple. VoiceOver is a screen reader that can be used by people with low vision or blind. VoiceOver will say "Button, Mail" as you move through the dock. Users can train VoiceOver to recognize certain words, and the voice and talk speed can be changed as they please.

It's pretty easy to turn on zoom and see the interface. You can choose to scroll with a modifier key, zoom the full screen via split-screen, or picture-in- picture, and more, as with VoiceOver.

The hover text feature is found in the zoom section. Users can hold Command while the mouse hovers over something to show a large text view of the item. The small print in System Preferences can be read with this. You can change the type and color of the text box in order to fit your needs.

Screenshot: Barbara Krasnoff

The other features are related. Increasing contrast and reducing transparency are some of the ways to view the screen that display has to offer. You can change the sound and speaking rate of the system voice, as well as have the option to turn off the ability to speak announcements. Audio descriptions can be used for Apple's "visual content in media".

Hearing

Screenshot: Steven Aquino

There are three features under this category.

When an alert comes in, the audio section only has a screen flash. We had a flashing telephone in our house when I was a child. When the phone rang, a lamp in the living room would flash and alert my parents that they were hearing something.

Real-time text, orRTT, is a mode where people can make calls to people who are hard of hearing. It was easy for me to tell my parents the call was for them if I placed the phone's receiver on theTDD. Older Macs might not include theRTT feature.

Users are able to modify the look and feel of the system-wide caption to their liking.

Motor

Screenshot: Steven Aquino

Voice control, keyboard, Pointer control, and switch control are included in the motor category.

Voice Control is a new feature in macOS Catalina that allows you to control your entire Mac with just your voice. Specific verbal commands can be enabled or disabled, as well as adding specific vocabulary that you would like to use.

The keyboard has a number of options for configuring how it works. The Hardware tab has Sticky Keys that are helpful for people who can't hold down modifier keys. Pointer Control is similar to Keyboard in that it allows you to change how the pointer behaves, and it has an alternate control methods tab that you can use. If you enable alternate pointer actions, you can control your pointer with a switch or facial expression, and if you enable head pointer actions, you can move your head. Voice Control and switch control allow for hands-free operation of a computer. There are a variety of Mac compatible switches on Apple's website.

General

Screenshot: Steven Aquino

There are two features in general, one of which is the accessibility shortcut.

Apple gives users the ability to enable type to siri, which allows users who are deafness or have a speech delay, to interact with siri in a Messages style interface

Shortcut is easy to understand. You can invoke accessibility features using the pop-up menu that comes with the keyboard shortcut. It is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556 is1-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-65561-6556

Screenshot: Barbara Krasnoff

It's important to note that the accessibility features in macOS are included in the broader Appleecosystem. The majority of them are available on Apple's other platforms. It is notable because it is consistent.

Linearity of the accessibility features across platforms means a more comforting experience for people with certain cognitive conditions. A positive user experience can be shaped by knowing what to expect and how to use things.