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!