What Is This Rotor Thing?
The VoiceOver rotor is perhaps the most difficult aspect of VoiceOver to get
used to because it is not a concept used in other screen readers. It is
basically a way to use the same two gestures--up and down swipe with one
finger--to perform multiple tasks. That is, an up or down swipe will do the
action set in the rotor, and the rotor can be set at any point. The rotor is
commonly used for reviewing text by word or character, changing the typing
mode, and editing text. It can be used to move by many different elements,
such as link, heading, form control, and the like. At any point, the rotor
options will only be those that are valid for the current context. For
instance, many web pages will allow navigation by heading, link, landmark,
and more, while a page in settings may offer only headings.
Character and word navigation are always offered, as are any options you
enable in VoiceOver's rotor settings.
To change the rotor setting, place two fingers on the screen and turn them.
The important thing is that each finger moves in the opposite direction as
the other finger, but at the same time. This means that, if you are having
trouble "turning the rotor" with one hand, you can use one finger from each
hand and move them in opposite directions. You will know when you are
successful when you hear a scratching sound and VoiceOver announces the new
rotor setting.
Once you have moved to the desired setting, swipe up or down with one finger
to perform the selected action. This is where things can get confusing. When
set to most settings, this swiping motion will move by the rotor item. For
instance, selecting "words" will make the upward swipe move back one word,
and the downward swipe move forward a word, in whatever VoiceOver is focused
on at the time (the name of an app, a button, or anything it has just said).
Some rotor items, though, are menus of options. These items include edit and
typing mode, both only available when you are editing a text field, or the
actions available on some elements such as emails. Swiping up or down will,
instead of moving by any amount through the text of what you are focused on,
move up or down one item in the menu. When you hear the item you want,
double tap.
Finally, the up and down flicking gestures are also used to control things
like table indexes or sliders. When you are on such an element--such as the
volume control in the Music app or the Speech Rate adjuster in VoiceOver's
settings--swiping will move by a certain amount, normally ten percent. You
will also find that a new item appears in the rotor, called "adjust value".
When you are on an element that requires the use of the up/down swipe, this
rotor item is selected automatically. Once you leave the adjustable element,
your previous rotor setting is selected and the "adjust value" item
disappears.
Sometimes, you will hear the scratching sound that indicates the rotor has
turned, but the setting will not change. In this case, just repeat the
turning gesture, moving your fingers a bit more than your previous try. In
addition, rotor items may seem to be skipped. This just means you turned the
rotor a bit too enthusiastically and moved by two rotor items instead of
one.
