Selecting, Copying and Pasting with VoiceOver - iOS

Selecting, Copying and Pasting Text with VoiceOver on iOS

A task that doesn't always feel particularly intuitive at first for newcomers to VoiceOver on iOS is how to work with and manipulate text. Even basic tasks such as copying and pasting can, at first, be a minefield. What can make this even more frustrating is that these "tricky" situations crop up when you least want them to - suddenly, you are faced with figuring out how to include a URL in an email or how to copy that bit of text in a website. And while general navigation with VoiceOver is relatively straightforward (after a bit of "play time" anyway) text manipulation with VoiceOver requires a bit more structure and insight.

In this post I'm going to go through some of the steps that you can take to achieve these tasks. My ultimate aim here is to get you confidently copying and pasting text so we're going to explore every bit of the overall process individually. Let's get started...

Text Fields and Insertion Points

Before you begin copying and pasting text, you need to understand exactly how to approach working in a standard text field and the general approach to selecting specific characters and/or words. First thing, we need to talk about insertion points:

1. Navigate to the standard Notes app on your iOS device. DOUBLE TAP to launch the app.
2. In the Notes app, DOUBLE TAP the Compose button and SWIPE RIGHT to the "Note text field, is editing" area.
3. Type or dictate some basic text into this area.
4. When you have some text in place, use a SINGLE FINGER DOUBLE TAP - notice that VoiceOver indicates "insertion point at start". Use the same gesture again, to move the insertion point to the end.

Being able to control the insertion point in this way allows you to start your text operations from a more convenient situation. Always bear this positioning ability in mind prior to any text manipulation you need to do. Okay, on to the next step...

Using the Rotor: Characters and Words

The key to having fine control at the text level is all via the rotor. You are going to be accessing it a lot for your text actions so, if you find the rotor gesture difficult or unwieldy to use, keep practicing until it becomes easier.

1. In your text edit area, move the insertion point to the start of your text, if you are not already there.
2. Use the rotor gesture to select the Characters option.
3. With the Characters rotor option set, use a ONE FINGER FLICK DOWN gesture. You should hear VoiceOver move the cursor and echo the next character that takes focus.
4. After you are comfortable with the ONE FINGER FLICK DOWN gesture, use a ONE FINGER FLICK UP to move backwards through the characters.
5. Now use the rotor control again and set the Words option.
6. With the Words rotor option set, use the ONE FINGER FLICK DOWN gesture as before and this time you should hear VoiceOver move the cursor and echo the next word.
7. When you are happy with moving through the words, use a ONE FINGER FLICK UP gesture to move backwards through the previous words.

Now practice each different mode, switching the rotor control between "Words" and "Characters" as required and using the SINGLE FINGER FLICK UP and DOWN gestures to move focus.

When you have played with these gestures for a while, ensure the rotor control is set to "Characters" in preparation for our next step.

Select Text in a Note

Now that you can move the insertion point to the beginning and end of the current text area and change the rotor between "words" and "characters", it is time to explore selecting:

1. With your "Characters" rotor option set, use a SINGLE FINGER FLICK DOWN gesture to move through the individual characters in your text. Move to a word that you want to copy and focus the cursor on the first letter.

NOTE: A little technique I use when I SINGLE FINGER FLICK DOWN is to overshoot the first letter of the word I want to copy and then SINGLE FINGER FLICK UP to go one character back. This extra FLICK DOWN and FLICK UP results in the cursor being positioned to the left hand side of the character, a starting point that makes selecting the text feel more intuitive to me. I do this extra flicking to give me the confidence that I definitely have focus on the right letter when I start to highlight.

2. Now use the REVERSE PINCH gesture to perform the highlighting move from the cursor position. (This REVERSE PINCH gesture can be tricky, imagine stretching an elastic band between two fingers on the screen.) As you drag across the screen, the text will be highlighted and the individual characters will be spoken. (Remember: you are in Characters mode.)
3. If you over-shoot with your highlighting selection, then use the PINCH gesture to reduce the highlighting from right to left. Again, VoiceOver will comment as you go about this.
4. Practice both of these PINCH gestures until they become second nature and you can confidently select text. Also, switch to the Words rotor option and test out the PINCH gestures with words.

Copy and Paste into a New Note

Now that you can move the insertion point around, switch between word and character movement and select text, it is time to venture into the Editing options available via the rotor:

1. With any relevant text highlighted, use the rotor to select the Edit option. Now SINGLE FINGER SWIPE UP or DOWN to confirm the Copy setting. DOUBLE TAP to activate and perform this copy operation, VoiceOver will indicate "(your words here) copied" if you are successful.
2. With the selection now copied to the clipboard, SWIPE LEFT to reach the Compose button and DOUBLE TAP to create a new note.
3. SWIPE RIGHT to the text edit area of the new note and access the rotor control area once again. Choose the Edit rotor option as before and this time around SWIPE UP or DOWN to select the Paste option. As before, DOUBLE TAP to confirm and paste the text in at the insertion point.
4. If necessary, switch the rotor mode back to "Word" or "Characters" and carry on working.

And that's it - copying and pasting VoiceOver and touchscreen style! A bit on the fiddly side I'm sure you will agree but once you get the hang of switching between all the relevant rotor options and the PINCH and REVERSE PINCH gestures, it will start to feel more fluid.

Now that you are getting to grips with this, it's time for a challenge - just how do you go about copying that URL and pasting it into a file or email?

Until next time, keep those rotors spinning...

Sending Tweets with VoiceOver - Twitter - iOS - iPad - iPhone

Tweeting on iOS with VoiceOver

Lately I've been getting more and more requests for coaching in Twitter using iOS and VoiceOver so I'm going to run with a bit of a Twitter theme over the next few posts. Today I'm going to concentrate on the core Twitter activity of sending messages or, to give it its formal name, tweeting!

Those of you who haven't experimented with the official Twitter app (or who haven't yet explored Twitter at all for that matter) might be surprised to know that it's not so bad with VoiceOver on iOS. Personally, I find moving around the app and generally using Twitter with speech to be a lot of fun - well, more fun than moving round the Facebook app anyway which I still find a bit more complex. In my opinion, the Twitter app feels fairly intuitive, consistent and swift.

I've recently started to put some notes together on a few Twitter topics and I have used these notes as the basis for my post here. I'm not worried about the scene-setting in this article I'm only interested here on the main steps to achieve certain Tweeting tasks, so I hope these notes provide some useful reference.

My usual disclaimers apply: you may need to adjust some of the steps for the kit and versions you are using and, while these are the approaches I take - they aren't necessarily the only options nor even the best options for you. Again, as with all guidance, add your own flavours. Finally, all the walkthroughs here assume that you are logged in to the Twitter app and that you have some basic familiarity with the layout and the overall service. Right, enough waffle, let's get on with it!

Create and send a basic tweet.

A message in Twitter is called a "tweet" and consists of no more than 140 characters each.

1. Navigate to the Compose tweet button in the Twitter app. On the iPad, this is located near the top right of the screen. DOUBLE TAP.
2. Focus will move to the text field of the new tweet. Input your text as necessary - remember to keep it short and sweet as you only have 140 characters! (You can SWIPE RIGHT a couple of times to the characters remaining information if you need to check.)
3. When you have finished typing, SWIPE LEFT and focus on the Tweet button. DOUBLE TAP to send the tweet.
4. Alternatively, if you wish to cancel the message, SWIPE LEFT a couple of times and DOUBLE TAP on the cancel option.

Create and send a tweet containing a mention.

A "mention" is when you quote another handle or Twitter user account in your tweet. Note that this "mention" must occur somewhere other than the very start of your tweet. If you type the username first in your tweet it is formally considered a "reply" and not a "mention".

1. Follow the steps for a basic tweet.
2. At the relevant point in your tweet, begin typing the user name (usernames always start with an @ symbol).
3. As you type, a drop down list will appear and attempt to match the results to the string of text you are typing in. SWIPE RIGHT or FINGER DRAG to move through these results. DOUBLE TAP to confirm your choice.
4. When you confirm your choice, focus will return to the text input area in your new tweet. Continue typing as necessary, then SWIPE LEFT to the Tweet button and DOUBLE TAP.

Reply to a tweet.

A formal reply is a normal tweet where the username of the account you are replying to is the first thing in the tweet. Twitter includes an option to make this process easy - you don't need to manually do this.

1. When you have read the tweet you want to reply to, continue to SWIPE RIGHT to focus on the associated Reply button. DOUBLE TAP.
2. Focus will move to a new tweet edit area, with the @username already supplied at the beginning of the reply.
3. Type (or dictate) your reply in the normal way then SWIPE LEFT to the tweet button and DOUBLE TAP to send.

Alternatively, you may also be able to reply to a specific tweet via the option in the "magic tap" menu, launched by a TWO FINGER DOUBLE TAP gesture:

4. Focus on the tweet you want to reply to and use the TWO FINGER DOUBLE TAP (the "magic tap" gesture).
5. In the magic tap menu that appears, SWIPE RIGHT to the Reply option and DOUBLE TAP to activate it.

Not sure what the "Magic Menu" setting is? Check out my earlier post on the Accessibility Settings in the Twitter App.

Re-tweet a message to my followers (RT).

A re-tweet is when you send a message, originated by another Twitter user, to your own followers. As with a reply, there is a re-tweet option that makes this process much easier to do now.

1. With focus on the tweet you want to re-tweet to your followers, SWIPE RIGHT until you have focus on the Re-tweet button. DOUBLE TAP.
2. Focus will move to a small menu containing several options such as: Re-tweet, Quote Tweet and Cancel.
3. SWIPE RIGHT to the re-tweet option and DOUBLE TAP to confirm.

Alternatively, you can also re-tweet via the "magic tap" menu, launched using the TWO FINGER DOUBLE TAP gesture:

4. Focus on the tweet you want to re-tweet then use the TWO FINGER DOUBLE TAP gesture to launch the "magic tap" menu.
5. SWIPE RIGHT to the re-tweet option, then DOUBLE TAP to confirm and "re-tweet" the message.

Create and send a tweet containing a hashtag.

A hashtag is a word or word string, indicated by the use of the "hash" (number) symbol. Using hashtags is a way of tracking and creating conversations across what might be thousands and thousands of individual tweets.

1. Navigate to the New Tweet button and DOUBLE TAP.
2. Focus will move to the text field of the new tweet. Type your message as normal.
3. At the point where you need to type the hashtag, simply start it with the hash (number) symbol, for example: #meandmyguidedog. (Note that hashtags do not contain spaces.)
4. Continue to type in your text, perhaps including other hashtags, then SWIPE LEFT to the Tweet button and DOUBLE TAP to send.

Mark a tweet as a favourite.

You can bookmark any tweet by marking it as a favourite. You can then open your Favourites page to access your list of favourite tweets.

1. When you have read the tweet you want to mark as a favourite, SWIPE RIGHT until you have focus on the Favourite button. DOUBLE TAP to confirm.

Alternatively, you can also mark a tweet as a favourite via the "magic tap" menu, launched with a TWO FINGER DOUBLE TAP gesture:

2. Focus on the tweet you want to mark as a favourite and use the TWO FINGER DOUBLE TAP gesture.
3. SWIPE RIGHT through the menu options and focus on Favourite. DOUBLE TAP to confirm the action.

Create and send a tweet containing a picture.

1. Compose your tweet in the normal way.
2. When you have finished typing your text, SWIPE RIGHT to the photo button. DOUBLE TAP.
3. A list of thumbnail images will appear at this point from your camera roll, SWIPE RIGHT and/or LEFT through these and DOUBLE TAP the required image.
4. However, if the image you need is in a specific photo album (and I strongly advise you to take this more organised route) SWIPE LEFT to focus on the Albums button and DOUBLE TAP. SWIPE RIGHT to the specific album you need and DOUBLE TAP to move into it.
5. Inside the specific photo album, SWIPE RIGHT to move to the image you require. DOUBLE TAP to add the image.
6. Focus will return to your tweet, SWIPE LEFT or RIGHT to locate the Tweet button and send in the usual way.

Create and send a tweet containing a hyperlink.

While this is a pretty straightforward thing to do on the PC, in iOS it's a bit more of a trickier operation. If you are not yet confident with the VoiceOver rotor control you may want to concentrate on getting used to those gestures first before attempting the following.

1. First, you need to go and grab the required hyperlink. Open the Safari web browser and navigate to the URL of the page you need to copy. (On my iPad, the address bar area is in the middle, at the top of the screen.
2. DOUBLE TAP to go into the text edit mode for the address bar. (Importantly, the text will already be highlighted when you move into this text edit mode.)
3. Access the rotor control and set it to: Edit.
4. Use a SINGLE FINGER FLICK UP (or DOWN) to move through the edit options, choose "copy" and DOUBLE TAP.
5. With the URL of the page now copied to the clipboard, close Safari and open Twitter.
6. Locate and activate the new tweet button as usual.
7. In the tweet text input area, type your message as required.
8. At the point where you need to insert the URL from the clipboard, access your rotor again and set it to: Edit.
9. Use a SINGLE FINGER FLICK UP (or DOWN) to choose "paste" and DOUBLE TAP to confirm. The content of the clipboard will now be pasted into your tweet.
10. Continue typing as necessary and send the tweet in the usual manner via the Tweet button.

I hope these little walkthroughs help you get to grips with VoiceOver and Twitter? Have fun!

Sending Direct Messages - Twitter - VoiceOver - iPad

Sending a Direct Message in Twitter with VoiceOver

If there is one Twitter topic that splits opinion it must be the sending and receiving of direct messages. Some people just loathe them, considering direct messages pretty much out of sync with a social (and very public) technology such as Twitter. Other users, while they don't object to the Direct Message functionality as such, don't use it much if at all anyway.

The love it or hate it perception of the direct message might be a result of the spammers and more aggressive online marketers who have used and abused the function, turning it almost into a kind of Twitter "fishing" tool - especially among new connections. To be sure, the behaviour of continually sending direct messages is a bit of cultural no-no and runs considerable reputational risk.

My own personal feeling about the Direct Message is that it's good to have the option. However, I tend to the view that if, in a future update, this particular functionality is removed entirely it wouldn't really concern me in the slightest. That said, I'm quite sure a lot of non-personal account holders would be concerned and the cynic might say that, as a result of this, the Direct Message is likely to remain part of Twitter life.

What is a Direct Message in Twitter?

In Twitter a Direct Message is a personal private message sent between you and one of your followers. What makes it different from a standard tweet of course is that it is only visible to you and the recipient in private - it won't show up for any other followers. (Ironically, it is this very privacy that turns a lot of people off using the feature.) So, now that we know what it is, let's experiment!

Sending a Direct Message Using VoiceOver

Before the instructions, remember that if you are using a different device - or even different versions of iOS - then you may need to make some allowances as you go through the following steps:

1. Launch the main Twitter app.
2. Navigate (using "finger drag" or by swiping) to the Me taband DOUBLE TAP to launch. On my iPad Mini the Me tab is located on the left hand side of the app, about a third of the way down the screen.
3. Move to the Me heading located at the top, middle of the screen.
4. From the Me heading SWIPE RIGHT to pass various other options such as Search button, Compose Tweet button and profile photo.
5. After passing the Settings button and Switch Account button, focus will be on the Direct Messages button. Use the standard DOUBLE TAP gesture to activate this.
6. When the Direct Message screen launches, focus will be on a Close button, located in the top left of the screen on my iPad. From there, I SWIPE RIGHT and eventually have focus on the New Message button.
7. A DOUBLE TAP on the New Message button will open the Messages panel and force focus to a text edit field where you can enter the name of the recipient.
8. All Twitter user names start with an "@" symbol so use the onscreen keyboard to locate this character and start typing the user name. As you type, a drop down list of matches will pop up - giving you the option of finger dragging down to select the required follower name from the list. You will need to DOUBLE TAP to confirm your choice from the list.
9. After you have confirmed the recipient name, focus will move to the main text edit field, allowing you to input your 140 character long Direct Message. Once more, use the onscreen keyboard to input or use the dictation tool to complete this.
10. With the message completed, SWIPE RIGHT to the characters left figure and then SWIPE RIGHT again to focus on the Send button. DOUBLE TAP the Send button and your Direct Message will be on its way to the recipient.
11. When you are done, close the Direct Messages screen by locating the Close button in the top left and DOUBLE TAP. Focus will return to your Me tab.

And that's it for Direct Messages - just be careful on how you use them! Have fun!