Switch Control
Switch Control on Mac
Switch Control is a powerful accessibility technology for anyone with extensive physical and motor skill limitations. Built directly into macOS, it gives you the ability to navigate onscreen keyboards, menus and the Dock using a system commonly referred to as scanning. Create your own customised panels and keyboards — system-wide or app by app — to provide you with the most efficient access to your Mac. You can use a variety of adaptive devices, such as a switch, a joystick, a keyboard Space bar or even a single tap on the Multi-Touch trackpad, for easy control.
New in macOS Sierra Platform Switching for Switch Control
Switch Control now supports Platform Switching, which allows you to use a single device to operate any other devices you have synced with your iCloud account. So you can control your Mac directly from your iPhone or iPad, without having to set up your switches on each new device.1
Switch Control on Mac
New in macOS Sierra Dwell Control
Dwell Control is a new feature of macOS that allows people who use head- or eye-tracking hardware to move the cursor and select or drag onscreen items. When the cursor dwells on a certain location, like an app icon in the Dock or a link on a web page, a timer appears. Once the timer expires, it prompts a mouse click or other customisable action.
Onscreen Keyboard
The Keyboard Viewer in macOS allows alternative ways to type without the need for a physical keyboard. It’s an image of a keyboard that floats above other applications (so it’s always handy), and you can customise it to fit your screen. Then ‘type’ using a mouse or other pointing device. Turn on Sticky Keys and you can enter keyboard shortcuts via the onscreen keyboard too.
Sticky Keys
Sticky Keys combines your keystrokes for you by letting you press keys one at a time, instead of simultaneously, to enter commands. Enter a key combination — such as Command-S (for Save) — and macOS displays each pressed key, accompanied by a sound effect, so you can make sure the right keys are entered.
Slow Keys
Slow Keys adjusts the sensitivity of the keyboard to process only the keystrokes you mean to make. It builds in a delay between when a key is pressed and when it’s entered. You can adjust the delay and choose to have a sound play when a key is entered.
Mouse Keys
If you have difficulty using a mouse or trackpad, use Mouse Keys to control the cursor with the numeric keypad. Press a number key as the mouse button, and use other number keys to move around the screen or to drag and drop items. Easily navigate menus, the Dock and all your windows.
New in macOS Sierra Siri
Siri on Mac
Siri, the intelligent assistant from Apple, is now available in macOS to help you do more with your desktop.2 Siri can search the web, send messages, locate documents, create reminders and even turn various accessibility settings on and off.
Dictation Commands
macOS has more than 50 editing and formatting commands. So you can turn on Dictation and tell your Mac to bold a paragraph, delete a sentence or replace a word. You can also use Automator workflows to create your own Dictation commands.
Siri on Mac
Resources
Support
Apple Accessibility Support
Learn more at Apple Accessibility Support
User Guide
Switch Control Getting Started Guide
Learn more with the Switch Control Getting Started Guide