Keyboard shortcuts and touch gestures
Every keyboard shortcut in LuceVoce on Windows, Mac and iPad with a keyboard, plus the touch gestures for iPhone, iPad and touch screens.
- Windows
- Yes
- Mac
- Yes
- iPad
- Yes
- iPhone
- Yes
Almost everything in LuceVoce has a key: Space plays and pauses, the arrows move by sentence and change the speed. On a Windows touch screen, a tap on the text plays or pauses; on the iPhone and the iPad, the Play button does. The full list is also in the app, in Settings > Shortcuts.
Shortcuts by platform
Windows
While reading:
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Space | Play or pause |
| Left / Right | Previous or next sentence (in an audiobook: skip back or forward) |
| Ctrl+Left / Ctrl+Right | Skip back or forward (15 seconds unless you changed it) |
| Up / Down | Faster or slower |
| Page Up / Page Down | Previous or next chapter |
| B | Bookmark the current sentence |
| V | Record a voice note on the current sentence, once a speech model is downloaded (see Record a voice note) |
| C | Give a voice command, with voice commands on (see Control reading with your voice) |
| T | Contents |
| N | Note on the current sentence (or the selection) |
| H | Highlight the current sentence (or the selection) in the last colour |
| 1 to 9 | With text selected: highlight it in that colour |
| C | With text selected: copy the quote with its citation |
| Ctrl+F | Search in the book |
| Ctrl+G | Go to a page or a reference such as 3.12 |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | Notes panel |
| F11 | Full screen |
| Esc | Close a menu or panel, then leave full screen, then go back to the library |
| Click a word | Its definition, and Read from here, Translate, Search the web, a note, a highlight or a bookmark |
| Double-click a word | Read from that sentence |
| Ctrl+click a word | Look up the word |
| Ctrl+mouse wheel | In the PDF pages view: zoom |
| Ctrl+Enter | In the note editor: save the note (Esc cancels) |
Anywhere in the app:
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+O | Add documents |
| Ctrl+, | Settings |
| Ctrl+F | In the library: search the library |
| Ctrl+Shift+N | In the library: every note, from every book |
Anywhere in Windows, even when LuceVoce is in the background:
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Alt+P | Play or pause |
| Ctrl+Alt+R | Read the selection in the active window |
| Ctrl+Alt+C | Give a voice command, with voice commands on |
Mac
The Mac uses the same keys, with ⌘ (Command) in place of Ctrl. ⌃ is Control, ⌥ is Option and ⇧ is Shift.
While reading:
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| Space | Play or pause |
| Left / Right | Previous or next sentence (in an audiobook: skip back or forward) |
| ⌘+Left / ⌘+Right | Skip back or forward (15 seconds unless you changed it) |
| Up / Down | Faster or slower |
| Page Up / Page Down | Previous or next chapter |
| B | Bookmark the current sentence |
| V | Record a voice note on the current sentence (see Record a voice note) |
| C | Give a voice command, with voice commands on (see Control reading with your voice) |
| T | Contents |
| N | Note on the current sentence (or the selection) |
| H | Highlight the current sentence (or the selection) in the last colour |
| 1 to 9 | With text selected: highlight it in that colour |
| C | With text selected: copy the quote with its citation |
| ⌘+F | Search in the book |
| ⌘+G | Go to a page or a reference such as 3.12 |
| ⇧+⌘+N | Notes panel |
| ⌃+⌘+F | Full screen (View > Enter Full Screen) |
| Esc | Close a menu or panel, then go back to the library |
| Click a word | Its definition, and Read from here, Translate, Search the web, a note, a highlight or a bookmark |
| Double-click a word | Read from that sentence |
| ⌘+click a word | Look up the word |
| ⌘+scroll | In the PDF pages view: zoom |
| ⌘+Return | In the note editor: save the note (Esc cancels) |
Anywhere in the app:
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| ⌘+O | Add documents (File > Add to Library…) |
| ⌘+, | Settings |
| ⌘+F | In the library: search the library |
| ⇧+⌘+N | In the library: every note, from every book |
| ⌘+W | Close the window (reading goes on) |
| ⌘+M | Minimize |
| ⌘+H | Hide LuceVoce |
| ⌥+⌘+H | Hide the other apps |
| ⌘+Q | Quit LuceVoce |
Anywhere on the Mac, even when LuceVoce is in the background:
| Keys | What they do |
|---|---|
| ⌃+⌥+P | Play or pause |
| ⌃+⌥+R | Read the selection in the active app |
| ⌃+⌥+C | Give a voice command, with voice commands on |
iPhone and iPad
LuceVoce uses gestures on the iPhone and the iPad:
| Gesture | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tap Play in the bottom bar | Play or pause (a tap on the text never starts or stops the voice) |
| Swipe left or right | Next or previous chapter |
| Press and hold a word | Its definition; More gives everything else: Read from here, Translate, a note, a highlight or a bookmark |
| Drag the selection handles | Highlight, copy, translate or note the selection |
| Tap a highlight | Open its note |
| Tap a footnote number | Read the note |
| Tap the text with two fingers | Give a voice command, with voice commands on (see Control reading with your voice) |
| Swipe left or right with two fingers | 30 seconds on or back |
| Swipe down with two fingers | Back to the library |
| Swipe up with two fingers | Settings |
| Pinch the text | Bigger or smaller text (in the PDF pages view: zoom the pages) |
| Press and hold LuceVoce's icon on the Home screen | Recent books and Read Clipboard |
An iPad with a keyboard also takes the Mac's keys while reading, such as Space, the arrows and ⌘+F. Full screen and the keys that work in other apps are not there: the iPad app is always full screen, and iPadOS has no keys that work in every app.
The tap, swipe and press and hold gestures also work on a Windows touch screen when LuceVoce uses its touch layout.
Change the keys that work in other apps
Windows
- Open Settings > Shortcuts.
- Under Anywhere in Windows, click the box next to Play or pause, Read the selection in the active window or Give a voice command.
- Press the new combination. Esc keeps the old one.
If another app already uses the combination, LuceVoce tells you once.
Mac
- Open Settings > Shortcuts.
- Under Anywhere on the Mac, click the box next to Play or pause, Read the selection in the active window or Give a voice command.
- Press the new combination. It needs ⌃ or ⌘. Esc keeps the old one.
If another app already uses the combination, LuceVoce tells you once.
iPhone and iPad
iPhone and iPad have no keys that work in every app.
Good to know
- Keys typed in a search box or a note go to the box, not to playback.
- Your media keys and headphone buttons also play and pause. See Listen with the screen off.
Last updated 13 November 2026