Browse Mode: Browse mode is used when reading documents or web pages.
Focus Mode: Focus mode is used when the user enters a form or other fields that require user input. NVDA automatically switches between Browse and Focus modes, but the user can toggle them using Insert + Space Bar.
Turn on Speech Viewer: enabling Speech Viewer opens a window that shows everything NVDA states. This is useful for sighted users learning NVDA for testing purposes. Enable it under Tools in the NVDA menu.
To install NVDA, go to http://www.nvaccess.org/download/ and select ‘skip donation this time’ to proceed with the installation.
| Task | Command |
| Turn NVDA on | Control + Alt + N |
| Turn NVDA off | Insert + Q |
| Stop reading | Control |
| Start reading continuously from this point on | Insert + Down Arrow or Numpad Plus |
| Read next item | Plus Down Arrow |
| Read next focusable item (e.g. link, button) | Tab |
| Activate link | Enter |
| Activate button | Enter or Space Bar |
| Go to next heading | H |
| Go to next heading of level [1-6] | 1-6 |
| List all headings | Insert + F7 |
| Go to next landmark/region | D |
| Show list of all links, headings, and landmarks | Insert + F7 |
| Go to next table | T |
| Navigate table cells | Ctrl + Alt + Arrow Keys |
| Go to next list | L |
| Go to next list item | I |
| Go to next graphic | G |
| List all links | Insert + F7 |
| Go to next link | K |
| Go to next unvisited link | U |
| Go to next visited link | V |
| Read entire foreground window (e.g. for dialogs) | Insert + B |
| Announce title of the current foreground window | Insert + T |
| Toggle between: radio buttons, <select> list items, tabs (ARIA widget), tree view items (ARIA widget), menu items (ARIA widget) | Arrow Keys |
| Go back to previous heading, landmark, table, focusable item, etc. | Shift + [H, D, T, Tab,etc.] |
| Task | Command |
| Say prior line | Up Arrow or Numpad 7 |
| Say next line | Down Arrow or Numpad 9 |
| Say current line | Insert + Up Arrow or Numpad 8 |
| Start of line | Shift + Numpad 1 |
| End of line | Shift + Numpad 3 |
| Top line | Shift + Numpad 7 |
| Bottom line | Shift + Numpad 9 |
| Say prior character | Left Arrow or Numpad 1 |
| Say next character | Right Arrow or Numpad 3 |
| Say current character | Numpad 2 |
| Say character phonetically | umpad 5 twice quickly |
| Say prior word | Ctrl + Left Arrow or Numpad 4 |
| Say next word | Ctrl + Right Arrow or Numpad 6 |
| Say current word | Numpad 5 |
| Say prior sentence | Alt + Up Arrow |
| Say next sentence | Alt + Down Arrow |
| Say current sentence | Alt + Numpad 5 |
| Next paragraph | Ctrl + Up Arrow or Q |
| Spell word | Numpad 5 twice quickly |
| Spell current line | Insert + Up Arrow twice quickly |
Toggle selection
| Task | Command |
| List all form elements | Insert + F5 |
| Next form | F |
| Next focusable item | Tab |
| Next button | B |
| Select and deselect | Space Bar |
| Next checkbox | X |
| Open combo box | Alt + Down Arrow |
| Browse/select options | Down Arrow or First letter |
| Select multiple options | Shift + Down Arrow (or Up Arrow) |
| Next <select> combo box | C |
| Toggle selection | Up/Down Arrow |
| Next radio button | R |
| Toggle between focus mode and browse mode* | Insert + Space Bar |
| Task | Command |
| Go to next (previous) table | T (Shift + T) |
| Cell to right | Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow |
| Cell to left | Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow |
| Cell below | Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow |
| Cell above | Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow |