Mac OS Voice Control features

MacOS includes accessibility features that let you navigate and interact with your Mac using spoken commands, an onscreen keyboard, assistive devices and other alternative methods for controlling the pointer. You can also set options so it is easier to use a mouse or trackpad.

Voice Control features

With Voice Control you can speak commands to navigate the desktop and apps, interact with what’s on the screen, dictate and edit text, and more. See Get started with Voice Control.

Get Started with Voice Control On Mac

With Voice Control on your Mac, you can use your voice to navigate the desktop and apps, interact with what’s on the screen, dictate and edit text, and more. Learn the basics to quickly get started.

• Turn on Voice Control
  • Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility  in the sidebar, click Voice Control on the right (you may need to scroll down), then turn on Voice Control.
  • When you turn on Voice Control for the first time, your Mac must be connected to the internet so it can complete a one-time download from Apple. Afterward, you do not need an internet connection to use Voice Control.
• Learn and Practice
  • With the interactive Voice Control Guide, you can learn how Voice Control works and practice essential commands.
• Start Using Commands
  • To navigate your Mac and interact with what’s on the screen, just say a command.
  • Voice Control: Say, for example, “Open Mail”, “Scroll down” or “Click Done”.
  • If you say something that is similar to an accepted Voice Control command, suggested commands appear at the top of the screen.
  • Voice Control: Say “Open Voice Control Guide”.
• See What Commands You Can Use
  • Display a list of available commands, based on the app you are using and what you are currently doing.
  • Voice Control: Say “Show commands”.
• Show Numbers, Names or a Grid
  • If you are not sure what to call something, you can display a name or number next to each item on the screen, or show a numbered grid.
  • Voice Control: Say “Show names”, “Show numbers” or “Show grid”.
  • To interact with an item or area of the screen, say its name or number or say a command — such as “Click” — followed by the name or number. The grid and item labels disappear after you say the command.
  • If the name of an item on the screen is not apparent or you need to interact with a precise area of the screen, you can label onscreen itemsor show a numbered grid so it is easier to select items or navigate the screen.
  • You can make it easier to interact with a precise area of the screen by superimposing a grid.
  • Voice Control: Say “Show grid”. To display a grid only over the active window, say “Show window grid”.
  • Interact with a location on the grid: If a number is at the location you want to interact with, say any command — such as Click — followed by the grid number. The grid disappears after you say the command.
  • Drill down on an area of the grid: If you need to further refine the location, say a grid number to drill down in that area.
  • Tip: When item names, numbers or a numbered grid are shown, you can drag and drop an item using the names or numbers of the item and the drop location. Say “Drag <item name or number> to <location name or number>”.
  • Say “Hide names”, “Hide numbers” or “Hide grid” to turn the overlay off.
• Dictate Words and Custom Spellings
  • When working in a text input area, you can dictate word by word (using Dictation mode) or character by character (using Spelling mode). Switch to Command mode — Voice Control responds only to commands — when you want to avoid entering text by mistake.
  • Voice Control: Say “Dictation mode” to dictate word by word.
  • Any words you say that aren’t Voice Control commands are entered as text. Dictation mode is on by default.
  • Voice Control: Say “Spelling mode” to dictate character by character.
  • Spelling mode is helpful when you need to enter a password, a web address or another sequence of characters that wouldn’t be recognised as a word in Dictation mode.
  • Tip: To increase accuracy when entering letters, you can use the letter’s phonetic alphabet code word (for example, say “Alfa Bravo Charlie” to enter “abc”).
  • When Spelling mode is on, an icon appears in the text input area.
  • Note: Spelling mode is not available in all Voice Control languages.
  • Commands for working with text are shared between Dictation mode and Spelling mode. For example, while editing text in Dictation mode, you could say “Replace cat with dog”; to do the same thing in Spelling mode, you could say “Replace Charlie Alfa Tango with Delta Oscar Golf”.
  • On your Mac, you can see a list of dictation and text editing commands you can use. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility  in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right (you may need to scroll down). Click Commands, then scroll down. You can also click the “Dictation mode” or “Spelling mode” command to see a list of characters you can enter and what to say to enter them.
  • Voice Control: Say “Command mode” to have Voice Control respond only to commands.
  • Words and characters that aren’t commands are ignored and aren’t entered as text. Command mode is helpful when you need to say a series of commands and do not want them inadvertently entered in a text input area.
  • When Command mode is on, an icon appears in the text input area to indicate you cannot dictate to enter text.
• Use Voice Control with VoiceOver
  • To use Voice Control with VoiceOver on your Mac, just say a command.
  • Voice Control: Say, for example, “VoiceOver rotor”, “VoiceOver read all” or “VoiceOver select first item”.
  • To see a list of the Voice Control commands you can use with VoiceOver, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right. (You may need to scroll down.) Click Commands, then scroll to the set of Accessibility commands.
  • Tip: If you use Voice Control with VoiceOver, try using headphones to help ensure Voice Control hears only you speaking.
  • macOS provides a standard set of Voice Control commands, but you can create your own commands and use a custom vocabulary. See Customise Voice Control.
• Customise Voice Control on Mac

When you use Voice Control to interact with your Mac, you can customise settings such as the language you use with Voice Control, the microphone you want to have listen for commands, options for showing item names, numbers or a numbered grid on the screen and more.

You can also turn standard commands on or off and create your own commands, delete them and import or export custom commands.

• Customise Voice Control

Change the language you use with Voice Control, choose the microphone you want to have listen for commands, set options for showing item names, numbers or a numbered grid on the screen and more.

• On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
• Set any of the following:

• Language:Change the language you want to use with Voice Control or add an additional language.

If you downloaded additional languages to use with Voice Control, you can quickly switch languages as you work — click the Voice Control icon  in the menu bar, then choose a language.

• Microphone:Choose a microphone to use for spoken commands or choose Automatic to have your Mac listen to the device you are most likely to use.
• Show hints:Display command suggestions when you say something that is similar to an accepted command.
• Play sound when command is recognised:When Voice Control recognises a command, a sound is played.
• Overlay:Always show item names, numbers or a numbered grid on the screen to make it easier to select items or navigate.
• Fade overlay after inactivity:When item names, numbers or a numbered grid are shown, dim the overlay after the specified period of inactivity. Drag the “Fade by” slider to set how much the overlay fades.

Most Voice Control commands are on by default, but you can customise commands to suit your needs. See Turn standard commands on or off and Create your own commands below.

If a language supports it, you can add vocabulary terms to ensure that specialised words or phrases are entered correctly when you use Voice Control.

• Turn standard commands on or off
• On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility  in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
• Click Commands, then do any of the following:

1. • Show commands for a language: If you added languages to use with Voice Control, click the Show commands for pop-up menu to choose the language whose commands you want to display.
   • Search for a command: Enter a word or phrase in the search field.
   • Show more information about a command: Click the command in the list. On the right, find a description and examples of how to use the command.
   • Turn a command on: Select its tickbox. Voice Control listens only for selected commands.
   • Turn a command off: Deselect its tickbox.

• Create your own commands
• On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility  in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
• Click Commands.

If you added languages to use with Voice Control, make sure the language you want to use for the command is chosen from the Show commands for pop-up menu.

• Below the list of commands, click the Add button .
• In the “When I say” field, enter a name for your command, following these guidelines:
  • Use two or more words, and avoid names with a single syllable. For example, use “Make text smaller” rather than “Smaller”.
  • Avoid proper names, names that sound similar to other words, or names that could be confused with other commands.
  • Do not use names that are used for other commands. If you do, a warning icon appears next to the duplicate commands in the list of commands.
• Indicate whether the command is to be used in any app or in a specific app.
• Choose the action the command performs.

Some actions require additional information. For example:

• For Paste Text, you must enter the text to be pasted whenever you say your command.
• For Press Keyboard Shortcut, you must press a keyboard key (you do not need to also press a modifier key). For example, if you want your command to play or pause a video, press the Space key.
• For Run Shortcut, choose a shortcut or choose Open Shortcuts App to create another shortcut.
• Click Done.

Your command appears in the Custom section at the top of the commands list.

Tip: You can easily create commands while you are working. Say “Make this speakable” to open the New Voice Control Command window. Then specify the command name, an app and an action. If you select text or an item, such as a file, before opening the window, an action is selected by default; you can change it, if needed.

• Import Custom Commands
• On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility  in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
• Click the Advanced Actions menu in the lower-right corner, then choose Import Custom Commands.
• Select the file of custom Voice Control commands, then click Import.
• Note:The file can include both iOS and macOS commands; only macOS commands are imported.

• Export custom commands
• On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility  in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
• Click the Advanced Actions menu   in the lower-right corner, then choose Export Custom Commands.
• Choose a location, then click Export.

Note: Files referenced by custom commands, such as apps, documents, Shortcuts and Automator Workflows, are not included in the export and must be transferred separately.

• Delete custom commands
• On your Mac, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click Accessibility  in the sidebar, then click Voice Control on the right. (You may need to scroll down.)
• Do one of the following:
• Delete one custom command:Click Commands, select the command to delete in the Custom section at the top of the commands list, click the Remove button , click Delete, then click Done.
• Delete all custom commands:Click the Advanced Actions menu  in the lower-right corner, choose Delete All Custom Commands, then click Delete.