Accessibility

Physical & Motor Skills

Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard provides built-in and assistive technologies that can help you navigate your computer even if you have difficulties using the keyboard, mouse, and trackpad.

Automator

If you have trouble using a mouse or trackpad, you can have Automator perform complex, routine tasks for you. Using its “Watch me do” feature, you can quickly and easily record what you do on your Mac, save it as a “workflow,” and run the workflow whenever you want to perform the same series of steps.

To run an Automator workflow, you can double-click the saved file, add it to the Script menu, or assign it to a folder and have it run automatically when you drop a file in that folder. Once you create a workflow, you can use it as often as you want.

Speech Recognition

“Speakable Items,” built into Mac OS X and located in System Preferences, lets you control the computer using your voice instead of the keyboard. And you don’t have to train your Mac to use it. You can use Speakable Items to navigate menus and enter keyboard shortcuts; speak checkbox names, radio button names, list items, and buttons; and open, close, control, and switch among open applications.

If you want to perform speech dictation on your Mac, you can also purchase separately an application from MacSpeech called Dictate.

PC Keyboards, Mice, and Alternative Input Devices

Because Mac OS X supports USB-compliant keyboards and mice, you can use your favorite USB keyboard or mouse with your Mac (desktop or notebook) even if it was designed for use with a PC. Just connect it to your Mac, and it will work. You can also connect alternative input devices that simulate standard mouse and keyboard input.

Inkwell

Mac OS X Leopard comes with built-in handwriting recognition technology called Inkwell (or Ink). If you connect a graphics tablet to your Mac, you can write on the tablet using a stylus, and Inkwell translates what you write to typed words in your document.

Some applications allow you to enter text directly; with others, you first enter the text into a “scratch pad” (where you can edit or revise it) before bringing it into the application. Inkwell supports several stylus gestures, making it easy to select, edit, and delete text. It also understands English, French, and German.

Multi-Touch Trackpad

A number of Mac computers, including the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with its oversize trackpad, now support Multi-Touch technology. This technology lets you use gestures to control the computer. With pinch, swipe, or rotate gestures, you can zoom in on text, advance through a photo album, or adjust an image. iPhone and iPod touch also use Multi-Touch technology.

Onscreen Keyboard

If you find it easier to use a pointing device than a keyboard, you can use the Keyboard Viewer to enter text. You’ll find this onscreen keyboard in the International pane of System Preferences. Keyboard Viewer floats above other applications (so you can’t misplace it). It can be displayed small or big, and, though you “type” with a mouse or other pointing device, it otherwise works just like a physical keyboard.

Full Keyboard Navigation

In Mac OS X, you can use the keyboard to navigate through a document. The Tab key lets you navigate to lists, text boxes, and other controls, and the space bar and Return key let you interact with them.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Using keyboard shortcuts (or key combinations), you can quickly perform a wide range of tasks. In addition to the large number of predefined keyboard shortcuts included with Mac OS X, the Mac lets you customize existing shortcuts, create your own, or remove shortcuts you don’t use. Shortcuts can be systemwide or made to work only in specific applications. Use the Keyboard Shortcuts tab in the Keyboard & Mouse pane of System Preferences to add or modify shortcuts.

Slow Keys

If you have motor-skills disabilities, you can use Slow Keys to avoid typing errors and unintended multiple keystrokes.

Adjustable Key Repeat and Delay

If you want to change the Key Repeat or Delay Until Repeat rate to suit your needs, you can do so using the Keyboard & Mouse settings in System Preferences. Used in conjunction with Slow Keys, these settings let you adapt the keyboard to match your abilities and use it more effectively.

Sticky Keys

Using Sticky Keys, you can enter key combinations (called "chords") — such as Command-Q (for Quit) or Shift-Option-8 (to enter the ° symbol) — by pressing them in sequence instead of simultaneously.

When Sticky Keys is active, Mac OS X visually displays each key in the sequence in the upper-right corner of the screen, accompanied by a sound effect, so you can verify the sequence and correct it (if needed) before it’s entered. When you press the last key in the sequence, Mac OS X enters the keys as a chord and the visual representation disappears.

Mouse Keys

If you have difficulty controlling the mouse, you can use Mouse Keys to control the mouse pointer using the keys on a numeric keypad. With Mouse Keys, you can navigate menus, the Dock, windows, toolbars, palettes, and other controls by pressing keys.

Character Palette

Located in the International pane of System Preferences, the Character Palette lets you drag special characters and symbols from a palette instead of typing key chords that may be difficult to remember and even more difficult to type.

Cover Flow View

A new option in Mac OS X Leopard, Cover Flow (like its counterpart in iTunes) lets you browse ultralarge icons and document previews instead of small thumbnails. You navigate Cover Flow by using the arrow keys on your keyboard or by clicking onscreen icons. When you find the document you want, simply double-click it to open it.