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Introduction 

In the first lesson of this course, I showed you how to set up NVDA, the free screen reader used by blind and visually impaired consumers around the globe. You can download NVDA at www.nvaccess.org.

I showed you how to read the focused control and system clock with (NVDA commands) and we discussed the Windows text navigation commands.

If you didn’t review the first lesson, I encourage you to do so. I’ll put a link in the description below.

Today, I’ll introduce you to the Start Menu. I’ll split the Start Menu into two lessons.

Today, I’ll show you how to use the Start Menu search edit box to locate a variety of Windows apps and features. I’ll also show you how to filter your search to find exactly what you’re seeking.

Let’s get started! This is the Windows 11 Start Menu Part one.

Start at the Beginning

When learning a musical instrument, the first skill is playing the scales. Windows is similar. There are some basic navigation commands you’ll use everywhere in Windows.

In Windows there are two types of keyboard commands:

• Navigation commands
• Control specific commands

Let’s start with basic Windows navigation as illustrated using the Start Menu.

Navigate the Start Menu

The Start Menu provides access to everything on your computer. Using the Start Menu, you can open applications, documents, settings, and more.

Open the Windows Start Menu with the WINDOWS KEY or CTRL-ESCAPE. Close the Start Menu at any time with ESCAPE.

The Start Menu opens in the center of the Windows display. The Start Menu has the following elements:

• • Search Edit box
  • Pinned applications
  • All Apps button
  • Recent documents
  • More button
  • Account button
  • Power button

Navigate Windows controls with TAB and SHIFT-TAB. These commands are used throughout Windows.

Open the Start Menu (WINDOWS KEY or CTRL-ESCAPE). Focus is placed in the Start Menu “Search edit box.”

Press TAB and SHIFT-TAB to navigate the Start Menu. Notice the circular navigation? You’ll always end up back where you started. Focus eventually returns to the search edit box.

Focus on the Search edit box and press SHIFT-TAB once. Focus moves to the last control. The Account button is at the bottom left of the Start Menu.

If you want to go to the last control in the Start Menu, Window, or dialog, press SHIFT-TAB from the first control.

Press TAB and SHIFT-TAB and listen to how NVDA echoes each element.

Use the NVDA command to read the focused control (NVDA-TAB). Using TAB and SHIFT-TAB in conjunction with this NVDA keyboard accelerator, you can navigate and read Windows controls.

Navigate within controls using the ARROW KEYS. There is a small toolbar to the right of the Account button. This Start Menu area is user configured. It isn’t in the TAB and SHIFT-TAB rotation.

To access the Start Menu toolbar:

• Open the Start Menu (WINDOWS KEY or CTRL-ESCAPE)
• Focus is in the Search Edit Box
• Press SHIFT-TAB once to focus on the Account Button
  • You’ll hear your account name echoed
• Press RIGHT ARROW
• This area of the Start Menu is user configured
• There is one or more pinned options
• Press RIGHT ARROW until focus is on the Power Options button
• Press LEFT ARROW to return focus to the Account button
• You can also return to the TAB and SHIFT-TAB rotation to access other Start Menu elements

RIGHT and LEFT ARROW navigate with controls while TAB And SHIFT-TAB navigates the interface primary controls.

When you press TAB and SHIFT-TAB, you navigate in a circle. You can’t get lost in Windows.

Try pressing RIGHT and LEFT ARROW or UP and DOWN ARROW after navigating to Start Menu elements. You’ll find pinned applications and possibly suggested documents. We’ll discuss these in the next lesson.

The navigation commands you’ll use everywhere in Windows are:

• • TAB and SHIFT-TAB
  • The ARROW KEYS

Navigate to the Search edit box or close the Start Menu (ESCAPE) and open it (WINDOWS KEY or CTRL-ESCAPE) and let’s discuss the Search Edit box

Search Edit box

When you first open the Start Menu, focus is in the search edit box. Use the search edit box to search for anything on your computer.

You can search for:

• • Applications
  • Web page search suggestions
  • Documents
  • Windows settings
  • And more

An edit box is a Windows control found everywhere in Windows. When you insert a username and password, you’re using edit boxes. When you type a document in Microsoft Word or WordPad, you’re using an edit box. When you search for an application or Windows feature in the Start Menu, you’re using an edit box.

Edit boxes accept text. As you navigate Windows controls, listen to your screen reader. If necessary, read the focused control (NVDA-TAB) and listen carefully. When you hear “Edit box,” that indicates you can insert text.

With focus in the search edit box, type “Word” without the quotes:

• • Press NVDA-TAB to read the edit box text
    • NVDA-TAB is an NVDA keyboard command
    • This command reads the focused control name and contents
  • Notice it says “Search box, edit, focused, Word”
  • Focus is in a Search edit box
  • The edit box contents is “Word”
  • “Edit” indicates you can insert text into the control

Silence speech at any time with CTRL.

When you insert text, results are shown for the categories that match the search term.

• • Use Windows navigation to review search results
  • Press UP and DOWN ARROW
  • You’ll find search suggestions that begin with Word
  • The first suggestion is the best match
    • If you have Microsoft Word on your computer, Word is the first search result
    • If you don’t have Word on your computer, WordPad is the first search result
  • As you navigate search results, NVDA reads the search category, “Apps,” “Documents,” “Search the Web,” etc.
  • Focus on “WordPad”
  • Press NVDA-TAB to read the edit box text
    • Notice it no longer says “Word” but “WordPad?”
  • Edit box text changes to reflect the focused search result
  • Change the text in the edit box at any time with Windows edit commands
    • Press BACKSPACE to delete letters
    • Type new text to add to edit box content

When you reach the last search result, focus moves to the filter tabs. You’ll hear “All tab selected – Find the most relevant results on this PC and the web ”

The filter tabs are beneath the search edit box. I’ll discuss these shortly.

If focus moves to the “All” filter tab. Press SHIFT-TAB until focus is on the Search edit box. Press UP ARROW to return to the search results. Because you press UP ARROW, focus moves to the bottom of the search results list. Press UP ARROW to navigate search results.

Press UP and DOWN ARROW, NVDA moves through the search results.

NVDA announces each search category:

• • Apps
  • Documents
  • web
  • Settings

Matching search results are listed beneath each search category.

Press ENTER to open a search result. Press ALT-F4 to close applications.

Press ESCAPE at any time to close the Start Menu.

Practice searching for a variety of items.

Remember to read the focused control and contents with NVDA-TAB. You can use this NVDA command anywhere in Windows.

If focus moves to the filter buttons, navigate to the edit box and press UP ARROW. If you press DOWN ARROW, focus moves through the search filter tabs. Let’s discuss the filter tabs now.

Search Filters

Controls beneath the search edit box filter Start Menu search results.

To filter search results, let’s start a new search.

Tap ESCAPE to close the Start Menu.

• • Open the Start Menu (WINDOWS KEY or CTRL-ESCAPE)
  • Type a search term. Let’s use “Word”
  • Press SHIFT-TAB once to focus on the controls beneath the edit box
  • Press SHIFT-TAB and TAB to navigate the first four controls
  • I’ll explore each in detail shortly. Let’s first navigate the controls:
    • Bing Document
      • This opens the Bing “Ask me anything” page in Microsoft Edge
      • Press SPACEBAR to activate this button
    • Options – This opens a drop-down list with Windows Settings options
    • Account – This opens a drop-down list through which you can open and manage your Microsoft Account
    • Microsoft Reward Points – Points you’ve earned through Microsoft activities and purchases
    • Press NVDA-TAB at any time to read the focused control
    • Some button tabs filter search results
      • The first filter tab is “All”
      • Press RIGHT ARROW to navigate filter buttons
      • You’ll hear:
        • All – The default search setting. Show all search results
        • Out of tab, tab Apps – Filter search results to show only matching Apps
        • Out of tab, tab Documents – Filter search results to show matching documents
        • Out of tab, tab web – Filter search results to show web search suggestions
        • Out of tab, tab Documents – Filter search results to show matching documents
        • Out of tab, tab Settings – Filter search results to show setting search suggestions
        • Out of tab, tab People – Filter search results to show contact search suggestions
        • Out of tab, tab Folders – Filter search results to show folder search suggestions
        • Out of tab, tab photos – Filter search results to show photo search suggestions
        • You may hear a “Scroll to right” button
          • The “Scroll to right” indicates that some filter tabs are hidden
          • Activate the button (SPACEBAR) to show more filter tabs
          • This control is dependent on display text size
          • It is available when text size is too large to display all buttons
        • Press LEFT ARROW to reverse filter tab navigation
        • Filter options are only available after inserting a search string
      • Use TAB or SHIFT-TAB to navigate the primary Start Menu controls
        • Navigation is circular
        • You’ll always end up back where you started
      • If you press TAB and SHIFT-TAB, you’ll also find a Chat button
        • This chat button also opens the Bing “Ask me Anything” page in Microsoft Edge

Let’s explore each of the controls beneath the search edit box:

• • Input a search term into the edit box. I’ll use “Word”
    • Press SHIFT-TAB to focus on the second search filter control
    • Focus moves to the Bing button and then to the Options button
      • NVDA announces, “Options, button, collapsed.”
      • This indicates that this control is closed and can be opened
      • Press SPACEBAR to activate buttons
    • Options
      • Press SPACEBAR to open the Options drop-down list
      • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate the drop-down list
      • List items include:
        • Search Settings – Open Windows search settings
          • More on this in another lesson
        • Indexing Options – Manage Windows indexing options
          • More on this in another lesson
        • Feedback – Provide feedback to Microsoft
      • Press ENTER to activate an option
      • Press ALT-F4 to close applications
      • In drop-down lists
        • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate options
        • Press ENTER to activate an option
        • Tap ESCAPE to close the drop-down list without taking an action
        • Escape closes Windows menus, drop-down lists, and dialogs
      • Account – The next control is an account button
        • You’ll hear your email address followed by “button, collapsed”
        • Press SPACEBAR to activate buttons
        • This button opens a drop-down list
        • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate options
        • Windows user accounts are listed followed by a “Manage Accounts” option
        • Press ENTER to activate an account
        • Press ESCAPE to close the drop-down list and return to the Start Menu
      • Microsoft Reward Points – This button opens a small interface through which you can review and learn more about Microsoft Reward points
        • Focus is placed in a small web page interface
        • You can tab through this small interface to return to the search filter bar but I find closing the Start Menu and starting a fresh search more efficient
        • It’s easier to manage your reward points on the Microsoft website
      • All Tab – The “All” tab is the first filter tab. This is the default search filter
        • All search results are displayed when this search tab is active
        • This search tab is active by default
        • With focus on the “All” tab, press RIGHT ARROW to navigate search filter tabs
        • You’ll find the tabs discussed earlier “All” through “Photos”
        • If the “Scroll to Right” button is available, activate it (SPACEBAR) to show more filter tabs
      • The filter tabs are buttons
        • Press SPACEBAR to activate buttons
      • Select and activate a filter button
      • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate filtered search results
      • Focus returns to the filter tabs after accessing the last search result.
        • Return to search results by pressing SHIFT-TAB until focus is on the search edit box
        • Press UP ARROW navigation to review filtered search results
      • When focused on the All tab, press RIGHT ARROW to select a filter tab
      • Press SPACEBAR to activate a control
      • Activate the “All” filter tab to restore the default search

Practice navigating the buttons. Press TAB and SHIFT-TAB, RIGHT and LEFT ARROW, activate search filters and review the search results.

The Start Menu is completely safe to explore and experiment. The only thing you can do in the Start Menu is open a Windows application, settings interface, or web search. Close anything in Windows with ALT-F4.

Take some time to practice using the filter tab buttons. These navigation commands are used throughout Windows. Familiarize yourself with Start Menu search filters.

Using search filters, you have control over Start Menu search results.

Review

Let’s review the skills you’ve learned in this lesson.

Windows Navigation Commands:

• • TAB and SHIFT-TAB navigate controls
  • The ARROW KEYS navigate within controls
    • The Start Menu toolbar
    • Search Results
    • Drop-down list options
    • The Filter tabs
    • And more

The Start Menu

• • Open the Start Menu with WINDOWS KEY or CTRL-ESCAPE
  • Tap ESCAPE to close menus, drop-down lists, and dialogs
  • You must insert a search text string to use search filters
  • Search filter controls are directly beneath the search edit box
  • Press SPACEBAR to activate Start Menu buttons and tabs
  • Use the NVDA command NVDA-TAB to read the focused control and contents
  • Press CTRL to silence speech
  • Press ENTER to activate an option
  • Press ALT-F4 to close applications

Aside from the NVDA command to read the focused control and data (NVDA-TAB), everything you learned in this lesson are Windows commands.

Practice searching for Windows apps and features in the Start Menu.

You can search for anything on your computer:

Some recommended searches are:

• • Date
  • Remove apps
  • Control Panel
  • American Presidents
  • UK Prime Ministers
  • Lunch Recipes

Please take some time to thoroughly familiarize yourself with Start Menu search and filters. Every lesson in this course builds upon the knowledge in previous lessons.

As you explore your computer, listen to the controls you’re accessing.

• • Edit box – Insert text
  • Button – Press SPACEBAR (press ENTER if SPACEBAR doesn’t work)
  • Collapsed controls
    • Open with SPACEBAR
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate options
    • Press ENTER to activate an option
  • Press ALT-F4 to close applications

These are the basics upon which I will build future lessons.

I’m CathyAnne. For a lesson transcript, please visit www.cathyanne.com.

If you found this information useful, I hope you’ll like this video, subscribe to my channel, and turn on notifications.

If you have any questions or comments, please make use of the comment section below or contact me using the information in the about page.

I’ll see you next time! Thanks George.

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About Me

My name is CathyAnne. I am an Access Technology Trainer with 25 years experience teaching blind and low vision computer users and trainers. I author textbooks that teach students how to access computers with NVDA and JAWS for Windows screen readers.

Introduction

This lesson is the first of many. In this series, I’ll discuss accessing Windows 11 with NVDA.

NVDA is a free screen reader available at NV Access (www.nvaccess.org). While you’re there, please consider donating to this organization.

NV Access has brought computer access to blind and visually impaired consumers across the globe.

Screen readers echo Windows controls and text. Screen readers literally read the screen.

If you are blind and have an interest in learning how to use Windows 11 and other applications, I invite you to join me.

If you are sighted and curious about non visual access to Windows 11 and other applications, join me in a comprehensive exploration of Windows 11 with NVDA.

Let’s discuss some NVDA and Windows basics.

Launch NVDA

When you installed NVDA, you were given the option to create a Desktop shortcut with an associated shortcut key CTRL-ALT-N

Launch NVDA with the Windows keyboard accelerator CTRL-ALT-N.

If you didn’t install the Desktop shortcut and shortcut key, open NVDA in the Windows Start Menu.

NVDA Modifier Key

NVDA has default Modifier Keys.

• • Desktop Layout NUMPAD INSERT (0)
  • Laptop Layout CAPSLOCK

When I reference a keyboard command with NVDA, that indicates the NVDA modifier key.

Reduce Speech Rate

If the NVDA speech rate is so fast that you understand generalities but not specifics, slow down the speech.

I’m going to teach you how to access concepts and controls. In order to learn Windows controls, you need to listen carefully as you navigate Windows.

You can increase the speech rate when reading a document but, for the purposes of these lessons, I recommend slowing speech to a comfortable level.

Silence Speech

Press either CTRL key to silence speech. Don’t do this too quickly. As you learn Windows with NVDA, you’ll depend on the screen reader to access Windows controls. If you silence speech too quickly, you risk missing important information.

I’ve had students open a dialog and immediately silence speech. I ask the focused control and they don’t know. They hit CTRL too quickly!

Read the Focused Control

If you do silence speech to quickly or have difficulty understanding a focused control, use the NVDA command NVDA-TAB to re-read the focused control and contents.

Practice using the command when configuring NVDA speech and general settings.

We’re going to discuss those next.

Adjust NVDA Speech Parameters

Adjust NVDA speech parameters in NVDA Speech Settings.

Open NVDA Speech Settings in the NVDA menu:

• • Open the NVDA Menu (NVDA-N)
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate menu options
  • Select and press ENTER on the Preferences submenu
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate submenu options
  • Select and press ENTER on “Settings”
  • The NVDA Settings dialog opens
    • The NVDA Settings dialog has a list of property sheets on the left side of the dialog
      • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate property sheets
      • Select the “Speech” property sheet
    • Controls for each property sheet are on the right side of the dialog
      • Press TAB and SHIFT-TAB to navigate property sheet controls

Configure the following:

• • Synthesizer – A read-only edit box displays the active synthesizer
  • Change – Activate this button to configure a different speech synthesizer
    • If you aren’t familiar with installed synthesizers, I recommend leaving this set at the default
  • Voice – A combo box selects a synthesizer voice
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to review synthesizer voices
    • As you navigate, the voice changes to reflect the selection
    • After selecting a voice, press TAB to move to the next control
  • Three slider bars configure voice parameters
    • Configure slider bars with Windows slider bar commands:
      • UP and DOWN ARROW
      • RIGHT and LEFT ARROW
      • PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN
      • HOME and END
    • The slider bars are:
      • Rate
      • Pitch
      • Volume

The remaining controls are checkboxes unless specified. Press SPACEBAR to toggle checkboxes. You can explore these and configure them as needed.

I’ll explain the most important options.

• • Automatic language switching (when supported) – If the synthesizer supports it, NVDA automatically switches languages
  • Automatic dialect switching (when supported) – If the synthesizer supports it, NVDA automatically switches dialects
  • Punctuation symbol level – Select a punctuation level in this combo box
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to select an option
    • Press TAB to move to the next control
      • Choose from:
        • None
        • Some
        • Most
        • All
    • Change the punctuation level at any time with the NVDA keyboard accelerator NVDA-P
  • Capital pitch change percentage – Configure the capitalization pitch change in this edit box
    • Insert a positive or negative pitch change value
    • The NVDA voice pitch change when echoing capital letters
  • Say cap before capitals – NVDA echoes “Cap” before each capital letter when reading by letter
  • Beep for capitals – NVDA beeps when it encounters a capital letter when reading by letter
  • Use spelling functionality (if supported) – NVDA attempts to correctly pronounce homonyms based on textual context

Save or cancel the changes with buttons at the bottom of the dialog. Press SPACEBAR to activate buttons:

• • Activate the OK button to save the changes and exit the dialog
  • Activate the Cancel button to cancel the changes and exit the dialog

Speech Parameter Keyboard Accelerators

Use NVDA keyboard accelerators to temporarily change NVDA speech parameters.

Adjust speech parameters:

• • Desktop layout: Press NVDA-CTRL and don’t release the keys.
  • Laptop layout: Press NVDA-SHIFT-CTRL and don’t release the keys
  • While holding NVDA-CTRL or NVDA-SHIFT-CTRL, press RIGHT ARROW to choose a speech parameter
    • Voice – Select a voice you want to use
    • Rate – Adjust the speech rate
    • Pitch – Adjust the pitch
    • Volume – Adjust speech volume

Select a parameter you want to configure.

With NVDA-CTRL or NVDA-SHIFT-CTRL pressed, press UP and DOWN ARROW to configure the selected parameter

Repeat these steps to configure each parameter.

After configuring speech parameters, release all keys.

To make the changes permanent, save the configuration file.

NVDA General Settings

Some general settings manage when NVDA launches and how NVDA closes.

Open NVDA General settings in the NVDA Menu or with an NVDA keyboard accelerator.

In the NVDA Menu:

• • Open the NVDA Menu (NVDA-N)
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate menu options
  • Select and press ENTER on the Preferences submenu
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate submenu options
  • Select and press ENTER on “Settings”
  • The NVDA Settings dialog opens
    • The NVDA Settings dialog has a list of property sheets on the left side of the dialog
      • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate property sheets
      • Select the “General” property sheet
    • Property sheet controls are on the right side of the dialog
      • Press TAB and SHIFT-TAB to navigate property sheet controls

NVDA keyboard accelerator:

• • Press NVDA-CTRL-G

Navigate to:

• • Save Configuration on Exit – When you exit NVDA, configuration changes are saved
    • This is a checkbox
    • Press SPACEBAR to toggle checkboxes
  • Show exit options when exiting NVDA – When this checkbox is toggled off, NVDA shuts down immediately, bypassing the shutdown dialog
    • Press SPACEBAR to toggle checkboxes
  • Play sounds when starting or exiting NVDA – When this checkbox is checked, NVDA plays sounds when NVDA starts and exits
  • Start NVDA after I log in – When this checkbox is checked, NVDA automatically starts after login
  • Use NVDA during sign-in (requires administrative privileges)
    • When this checkbox is checked, NVDA starts at the sign-in page
    • Administrative privileges are required for this setting
  • Use currently saved settings during sign-in and on secure screens (requires administrative privileges)
    • Current saved settings are used at the sign-in screen
    • This is a button
      • Press SPACEBAR to activate buttons
    • A dialog asks if you’re sure you want to make these changes
      • Press TAB and SHIFT-TAB to navigate dialog buttons
      • Press SPACEBAR to activate a button
      • After accepting the change, you’ll need to accept an administrative alert
  • Automatically check for updates to NVDA – Each time you launch NVDA, the application checks for updates and alerts you if one is available
    • This is a checkbox
  • Notify for pending update on startup – If you don’t install an update, NVDA alerts you the next time you launch the screen reader
    • This is a checkbox
  • Allow the NVDA project to gather NVDA usage statistics
    • The NVDA project gathers anonymous data about NVDA
    • This is a checkbox
  • Activate the OK button to save the changes and exit the dialog.
    • Press SPACEBAR to activate buttons
  • Activate the Cancel button to cancel the changes and exit the dialog.

If you save the changes, the changes are applied and active.

If you enabled the option to save settings on exit, NVDA saves the changes to the default configuration when NVDA exits.

Save the Default Configuration

After configuring NVDA, you can manually save the default configuration in the NVDA Menu or with an NVDA keyboard accelerator.

In the NVDA MenuL

• • Open the NVDA menu (NVDA-N)
    • Press UP and DOWN ARROW to navigate menu options
  • Select and press ENTER on “Save Configuration”

You can also save configurations with an NVDA keyboard accelerator

• • Press NVDA-CTRL-C

The configurations are saved.

Exit NVDA

To exit NVDA, use the NVDA keyboard accelerator NVDA-Q.

If you unchecked the General settings “Show exit options when exiting NVDA” checkbox, NVDA immediately shuts down.

If you didn’t uncheck the General settings “Show exit options when exiting NVDA,” checkbox, a dialog opens.

By default, focus is in a list box. Press UP and DOWN ARROW to select a list box option:

• • Exit
  • Restart
  • Restart with add-ons disabled
  • Restart with debug logging disabled

Press TAB And SHIFT-TAB to navigate dialog controls.

After selecting an option, activate the OK button to take the selected action.

Press SPACEBAR to activate the button.

Windows Text Navigation Commands

Windows features text navigation keyboard commands. These commands are used by both sighted and blind computer users.

These commands work in any edit box and on the Internet.

Open an email, word processing document, or web page and practice using these keyboard commands.

• • Move to the next character RIGHT ARROW
  • Move to the previous character LEFT ARROW
  • Move to the next line DOWN ARROW
  • Move to the previous line UP ARROW
  • Move to the next paragraph CTRL-DOWN ARROW
  • Move to the previous paragraph CTRL-UP ARROW
  • Move to the next screen PAGE DOWN
  • Move to the previous screen PAGE UP
  • Move to the next page CTRL-PAGE DOWN
  • Move to the previous page CTRL-PAGE UP
  • Move to the top of the page CTRL-HOME
  • Move to the bottom of the page CTRL-END

Using these Windows keyboard commands, you can navigate text in any Windows edit field and on the Internet.

Press CTRL at any time to silence speech.

NVDA Say All

The NVDA Say All keyboard accelerator reads text from the cursor location to the end of the document. The cursor moves as NVDA reads the text.

This command works in all edit fields and on the Internet.

To execute the NVDA Say All command:

• • Focus in an edit field or web page at the location you want to start reading
  • Execute the NVDA Say All command:
    • Desktop layout: NVDA-DOWN ARROW
    • Laptop layout: NVDA-A

NVDA reads the text from the cursor to the end of the document. The cursor follows the echoed text.

Press CTRL to silence speech. The cursor is focused after the last echoed word.

Read the System Clock

Read the system clock with an NVDA keyboard accelerator. To read the time, press NVDA-F12.

• • Press NVDA-F12 to echo the time
  • Press NVDA-F12 twice quickly to echo the date
    • Hold down the NVDA modifier key and tap F12 twice quickly

This keyboard accelerator can be used anywhere in Windows.

Conclusion

You learned three NVDA specific commands in this lesson:

• Read the focused control NVDA-TAB
• Say All NVDA-DOWN ARROW or NVDA-A
• Read the system clock NVDA-F12

Everything else you learned in this lesson is Windows including navigating dialogs, toggling checkboxes, accessing combo boxes, etc.

Please take the time to configure NVDA speech parameters to suit your needs. Practice navigating text edit fields and web pages with the Windows text navigation commands and Say All.

For a lesson transcript, please visit www.cathyanne.com.

If you found this information useful, I hope you’ll subscribe to my channel and turn on notifications.

If you have any questions or comments, please make use of the comment section below or contact me using the information in the about page.

I’ll see you next time! Thanks George!

–END–