How to enable subtitles and captions in macOS 10.14 Mojave

If you have enabled ‘Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys’ under ‘Keyboard’ settings in ‘System Preferences’ then omit the ‘Fn’ key from the keyboard shortcuts shown in this article.

1. Open ‘Accessibility Preferences’: Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accessibility. (See the article Open Accessibility Preferences on this website for more information.)
2. In the left-hand column, under the ‘Media’ section, click on ‘Captions’ or press ‘Tab’ to highlight one of the options in the list, for example ‘General’, and then use the up or down arrow key to select ‘Captions’.
   

Style for subtitles and captions

1. To change the appearance of the captions and subtitles, select one of the four available styles:
   • Default
   • Classic
   • Large Text
   • Outline Text

   

2. A preview of the selected style will appear in the image at the top of the window.
3. If you would prefer to create your own styles for subtitles and captions, click on the ‘+’ button.
   
4. Create your new style from the options available. When you are happy with your custom settings click ‘OK’ or press ‘Tab’ until ‘OK’ is highlighted then press ‘Enter’.
   
5. Bear in mind that some websites and apps might have their own caption controls for multimedia content which override your settings.

Closed captions and SDH

1. If you prefer captions intended for the deaf and hard of hearing click the checkbox next to ‘Prefer closed captions and SDH’ or press ‘Tab’ until the checkbox is highlight and press ‘Spacebar’. By checking this option, the system will display captions by default whenever they are available.
   

When happy with your ‘Subtitles and captions’ settings click the ‘Close’ (red) button at the top of the ‘Accessibility’ window or press ‘Cmd’ + ‘W‘ to close the window.

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 this is the case you will need to contact them to access these settings or for further help.