Activating Elements

So far, we've used Voiceover to read elements of the screen aloud and to navigate between elements. Let's add in the action you probably use on your phone most often: activating items on the screen.

When Voiceover is activated, tapping once on the item reads it aloud. This is necessary so that a print disabled user can explore the screen. Once you have an item, such as an app on your home screen, selected, you can then activate it with a second action.

Go to your home screen and tap once on the Safari icon to select the app. If Safari is one of the pinned apps at the bottom of your screen, you'll hear the words "Dock, Safari." If it's one of the main apps on the page, you'll just hear the word "Safari."

Now that Safari is selected, double tap anywhere on the screen to activate it. Safari should open.

Now that Safari is open, practice activation by opening the bookmarks button at the bottom of the screen. Voiceover should label it "Show bookmarks." Once you're done with that, try these other tasks:

  • Open the Weather app and read the temperature aloud.
  • Open the camera app and take a picture.
  • Open the calendar app and see what you have on the agenda for tomorrow. (Remember the three-finger swipe left and right to navigate through pages and the three-finger swipe up and down to scroll.)

There's a lot more to Voiceover, but you now have enough functionality under your belt to do a basic accessibility check on a web page or application.