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How to configure Accessibility settings on Mac?
Accessibility settings on Apple devices are designed to enhance the user experience by providing customizable options tailored to individual needs. These settings include configuring Zoom, Audio, Display, Keyboard, and other settings to help users adjust how they interact with their devices. For example, the Zoom settings on a Mac can be customized to magnify on-screen content. Users can adjust zoom levels and configure zoom control options, including keyboard shortcuts, to suit their individual preferences. With Hexnode’s Accessibility policy for Mac, organizations can configure a range of settings. These settings include Zoom, Display, Audio, Keyboard, Mouse and Trackpad, and Voice Over, that can be customized for a smooth user experience.
This feature is supported on macOS 10.9+ devices.
Configure Accessibility settings on Mac
To configure Accessibility settings on your Mac via Hexnode,
- Login to your Hexnode UEM console.
- Navigate to the Policies tab.
- Click on New Policy to create a new one or click on any policy to edit an existing one. Enter the Policy Name and Description in the provided fields.
- Go to macOS > Configurations > Accessibility. Click Configure.
Zoom
This sections provide advanced options of Zoom settings for accessibility. The following options are configurable:
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Minimum rapid zooming level | Set the minimum zoom level by moving the slide. |
| Maximum rapid zooming level | Set the maximum zoom level by moving the slide. |
| Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom | When this option is enabled, the user can Zoom in or out using keyboard shortcuts. Check this option to enable ‘Use Keyboard shortcuts to zoom’ setting in the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Zoom). The following shortcuts can be used to Zoom in or out.
|
| Scroll to zoom | This option, when enabled, allows users to zoom in or out using a modifier key while scrolling with the trackpad or mouse. By default, the Control key is selected as the modifier key in the device for zooming in or out. Check this option to enable the “Use scroll gesture with modifier keys to zoom” setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Zoom). |
| Smooth images | This option, when enabled, makes the images appear smooth after zooming in. Check this option to enable the “Smooth images” setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Zoom > Advanced). |
Audio
Configure Audio to adjust how audio is played and how alerts are managed on the device.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Flash screen on alert sound | This option, when enabled, makes the screen flash when the device receives an alert or notification. It enables the ‘Flash the screen when an alert sound occurs’ setting in the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Audio). |
| Play stereo audio as mono | This option, when enabled, allows audio tracks to be played as mono through both the left and right speakers or headphones. It enables the ‘Play stereo audio as mono’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Audio). |
Display
Configure the Display settings to adjust the visual appearance of the screen.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Contrast | Adjust the slider to increase or decrease the screen contrast. |
| Invert colors | Check this option to enable ‘Invert colours’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Display). For example, it will show white text on a black background. |
Mouse and Trackpad
Mouse and Trackpad settings manage how the mouse and trackpad operate, including pointer control and interaction methods.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable Mouse Keys | This option, when enabled, allows the user to control the pointer using the keyboard keys. It enables the ‘Mouse Keys’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control). |
| Ignore built-in trackpad when Mouse Keys is on | This option disables the trackpad on a macOS device. When the ‘Enable Mouse Keys’ option is enabled, use this option to disable the trackpad so it does not interfere with pointer control. This option enables the ‘Ignore built-in trackpad when Mouse Keys is on’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Pointer Control; click on the info button next to the Mouse Keys setting). |
| Delay before moving Mouse Keys (in milliseconds) | Set the slider to adjust how quickly the pointer starts moving when a key is pressed. |
| Maximum speed for Mouse Keys | Set the maximum speed at which the pointer moves. You can set the speed separately for Intel and Apple Silicon devices. |
| Cursor size | Set the cursor size by dragging the slider. |
- The user can still enable/disable Mouse Keys from the device end by clicking on the Option key 5 times.
- Even though the ‘Enable Mouse Keys’ option is enabled in the associated policy, the ‘Mouse Keys’ setting on the device will be disabled if the user restarts or logs in.
- On devices running macOS 10.13.6, the pointer can still be controlled using an external mouse even if “Ignore built-in trackpad when Mouse Keys is on”, and “Enable Mouse Keys” options are enabled.
Keyboard
Configure Keyboard settings to enable or set options for sticky and slow keys.
- Enable Slow Keys: When this option is enabled, there is a delay between when a key is pressed and when it is activated. This option enables ‘Slow Keys’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard). You can further configure the following sub-options for Slow keys.
- Enable Sticky keys: This option enables ‘Sticky Keys’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard). The user can press a sequence of modifier keys one after another, instead of holding them all at once, to enter a key combination. You can further configure the following sub-options for Slow keys.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Click key sounds | When ‘Enable Slow Keys’ option is enabled, you can select this option to hear a sound when keys are pressed. The sound will be different when a key is pressed and when it is accepted. This option enables ‘Use click key sounds’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard; click on the info button next to the Slow Keys setting). |
| Acceptance delay (in milliseconds) | Set the delay between key press and activation, ranging from 0 to 500 milliseconds. This option adjusts the ‘Acceptance delay’ slide on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard; click on the info button next to the Slow Keys setting). |
When the option ‘Enable Sticky Keys’ is enabled or disabled through policy, it will be greyed out on the device. However, users can still enable or disable Sticky Keys by pressing the shift key five times.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable beep when a modifier key is set | This option, when enabled makes a sound when a modifier key is pressed. This option enables ‘Beep when a modifier key is set’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard; click on the info button next to the Sticky Keys setting). |
| Display pressed key on screen | When this option is enabled the device shows the pressed modifier symbol in the screen. This option enables ‘Display pressed keys on the screen’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard; click on the info button next to the Sticky Keys setting).
Note:
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Voice Over
The Voice Over setting provides the spoken description of the options or items displayed on the screen.
| Settings | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable voice over | When this option is enabled, it provides the user with a spoken description of what appears on the screen. This option enables ‘VoiceOver’ setting on the device (System Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver). |
Once the settings are configured, associate the policy with target devices.
Associate the Policy with Mac
If the policy is not saved,
- Go to Policy Targets > +Add Devices.
- Choose the target devices and click Ok.
- Click Save.
You can also associate the policy with device groups, users, user groups or domains.
If the policy is saved,
- Choose the desired policy from the Policies tab.
- Click on Manage drop-down, select Associate Targets.
- Choose the target devices, device groups, users, user groups or domains and click Associate.
What happens at the device end?
After associating the policy, the changes can be seen from System Settings > Accessibility.
- After associating the policy to devices running macOS version 12.7 or on M3 devices, certain accessibility settings may appear greyed out on the device. This behavior is particularly noticeable for the following options Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom, Smooth images, Audio, Enable Sticky Keys, and Enable Mouse Keys. These settings, if not configured, will remain greyed out with the default options already set on the device. However, if they are configured in the policy, the changes will be reflected on the device.
- After configuring the policy and associating it with a device, the options configured in the policy are greyed out on the device. During the setup of a new user account, the device prompts the user to configure accessibility settings. If the user makes any changes to these settings during setup, those changes will not take effect once the user logs in. Only the settings configured in the policy will be applied.
