Use braille displays with VoiceOver on Mac
If you use a supported braille display with VoiceOver on your Mac, you can read VoiceOver output on your braille display and, if your display has a Perkins-style keyboard, you can type on the display in braille and have it automatically translated into text. You can also connect multiple braille displays to your Mac — each display mirrors the same content at the same time, which can be useful in a classroom setting.
To customise settings for your braille display, go to VoiceOver Utility (press VO-Fn-F8 when VoiceOver is on), then click the Braille category.
Note: VO represents the VoiceOver modifier that you press with additional keys to enter VoiceOver commands. By default, you can press Control and Option together or just press Caps Lock.
Uncontracted and contracted braille
By default, VoiceOver uses uncontracted six-dot braille to display braille output and interpret braille input. You can choose a different table for the input or output, such as contracted six-dot braille or eight-dot braille. See Change VoiceOver Braille settings (Translation tab).
When you type braille input, VoiceOver automatically translates each word you type on your display into text output as soon as it determines you’ve completed a word (or after you press the Space bar on your braille display).
Pan lines
By default, VoiceOver shows multiple items on a braille display and not just where the VoiceOver cursor is focussed. For example, when the VoiceOver cursor is focused on an item in a window, the braille device displays items like icons, checkboxes, and pop-up menus, as well as text to the left and right of the VoiceOver cursor. You can change this setting in VoiceOver Utility so that only the item in the VoiceOver cursor is shown.
If a line is too wide to fit on the braille display, you can “pan” the line using the left and right buttons on the display. Each left or right pan moves according to the number of cells (including status cells) your display contains. When you move the VoiceOver cursor, the braille display pans when necessary to follow it, even wrapping to the previous or next line.
You can assign a command to keys on your braille display to control whether VoiceOver automatically advances to the next line when panning; you can set an option in VoiceOver Utility to control how long VoiceOver waits before automatically advancing.
By default, VoiceOver wraps long words that don’t fit on the current braille line to the next line, which is displayed after you pan.
Dots 7 and 8
When you set the option to show multiple items on the braille display, VoiceOver raises dots 7 and 8 to indicate the position of the VoiceOver cursor and, when you edit or select text, the text selection. VoiceOver indicates the position of the text entry cursor, by flashing dot 8 of the braille cell directly before the cursor and dot 7 of the braille cell directly after it.
Status cells
VoiceOver uses status cells to provide additional information about what’s on the screen. You can turn status cells on or off, and change their location on the braille display. For example, you can turn on the status cell that shows text style information and move it to the right side of your display. See Change VoiceOver Braille settings (Status tab).
Download this guide in Braille Ready Format: BRF (English)