How to use the on-screen Accessibility Keyboard in macOS 26 Tahoe

7. On the Accessibility Keyboard settings screen, scroll up to the General section.

8. By default, the keyboard uses a dark colour scheme – white letters and icons on black keys. To use a lighter scheme (black letters and icons on light-grey keys), select the Light option for Appearance.

9. If you find having the keyboard on-screen all the time obtrusive, you can set it to fade out after a period of inactivity. To do so, set the toggle switch for Fade panel after inactivity to on.

10. To set how long the keyboard needs to remain inactive before the keyboard fades out, adjust the seconds setting for Fade after. The default is 15 seconds.
 

11. To set how much the keyboard fades, adjust the slider for Fade by.

12. If you would like your computer to play a sound to confirm a key was pressed, or an action was performed, set the toggle switch for Play sounds for keys and dwell actions to on.

13. By default, characters are entered and actions performed when a key is pressed (mouse down). To change this so they occur when a key is released (mouse up), select the Mouse up option for Keys should be entered on.

14. The Accessibility Keyboard can be set up so that you can use a right-click gesture to select keys. Click the toggle switch for Keys can be selected using right-click to turn it on.

15. The Accessibility Keyboard can automatically insert or remove spaces based on the context of what you're typing. For example, it will add a space after a full stop. Turn the toggle switch for Insert and remove spaces automatically on or off, as required.

16. The Accessibility Keyboard can automatically capitalise words based on the context of what you're typing. For example, it will capitalise the first word after a full stop. Set the toggle switch for Capitalise sentences automatically to on or off as required.

17. When you are happy with your settings, click the Done button.

18. To close the entire System Settings window, click the Close button (red circle) in the top-left corner of the window or use the Cmd + W keyboard shortcut.

19. You can type with the Accessibility Keyboard by using a mouse, trackpad,or an adaptive switch to select keys. If you are using eye or head-tracking hardware you can dwell (rest the pointer) on keys to make selections.

As your type, a wide selection of words will appear in the auto-suggestion row. Select any of these words to insert them into the text you are writing.

In order to perform keyboard shortcuts using the Accessibility Keyboard, you will first need to enable Sticky Keys. Sticky Keys allows you to perform shortcuts by pressing the keys one after the other rather than pressing them all at the same time. For more information on using Sticky Keys, see our article How to make keyboard shortcuts easier to perform in macOS 26 Tahoe.

20. You can create your own collections of buttons, called panels, to perform tasks on your computer, such as entering pre-written text, opening apps, running shortcuts, or carrying out advanced mouse actions. For more information on creating custom panels, see our guide How to create panels to use with Switch Control and the Accessibility Keyboard in macOS 26 Tahoe.

21. With Dwell, you can perform mouse actions, such as left-clicks, by resting (dwelling) the pointer on items on the screen For more information about Dwell, see our guide How to use Dwell in macOS 26 Tahoe.

22. With Hot Corners, you can assign actions to each corner of the screen, such as temporarily switching to a different Dwell action or hiding the Accessibility Keyboard. Resting the mouse on a corner triggers the corresponding action. For more information about Hot Corners, see our guide How to use Dwell Corners with Dwell and the Accessibility Keyboard in macOS 26 Tahoe.

Note: If this does not work, it could be because your computer settings are managed by someone else (an IT department or administrator, for example). If so, you will need to contact them to access these settings or for help.