VoiceOver for Mac and NVDA for Windows are two popular screen readers helping users with visual disabliites navigate websites. They share some similarities and have some differences. VoiceOver’s rotor and NVDA’s Insert+F7 function fullfill a similar purpose.
The basics:
To launch VoiceOver, click Command+F7. To a launch NVDA, click Control+Alt+N.
In VoiceOver you use VO + Right Arrow to read the next item while in NVDA you use the Down Arrow.
In VoiceOver you use VO + Left Arrow to read the previous item but not in NVDA.
The rotor:
The rotor in MacOS VoiceOver is similar to NVDA’s Insert+F7 function in that it allows the user view and to jump to headings, landmarks, or other HTML elements. To popup the rotor in MacOS VoiceOver presss VO + U. ‘VO’ is the VoiceOver keys (Control & Option) that are pressed in conjunction with a VoiceOver command (like U which launches the rotor). Use the Left and Right arrows to select page elements like: Links, Headings, Tables, Frames, Images, Form Controls, Landmarks, Visited Links, and Non-Visited Links. Once a page element type is selected, the Up and Down arrows can be used to select a particular element from the list and Enter can be used to activate it. The Escape key exits the rotor.
An example of the rotor in MacOS Voiceover poping up a list of headings.
Configuring the rotor
You can choose which element types are viewable in the rotor by opening the VoiceOver Utility with VO + F8, then going to ‘Web’ > ‘Web Rotor’. VoiceOver for iOS devices also has a similar rotor that can be configured.
Features similar to the rotor in other screen readers:
Popping up a list of all links in other screen readers is similar to what the rotor does in MacOS VoiceOver. Insert+F7 in NVDA can pop up a list of all links.
To list all links in MS Narrator, hit Caps Lock + F7 or Insert + F7. See Deque System’s information about MS Narrator for info about keyboard shortcuts.
To list all links in JAWS for Windows, hit Insert + F7. See Deque System’s information about JAWS for info about keyboard shortcuts.