Keyboard Commands
The NVDA screen reader uses a combination of Windows and NVDA specific keyboard commands. The NVDA key is either "insert" if "desktop" layout was selected during setup, or "caps lock" if "laptop" layout was selected during setup.
NVDA specific commands will take the form of NVDA key + another key to carry out an action. For example, NVDA key plus down arrow starts continuous reading beginning with the current location of the cursor.
NVDA Reading Commands
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Pause/resume reading | Shift key |
| Stop speech | Control key |
| Read previous or next character | Left or Right Arrow |
| Read the previous or next word | Control key + left or right arrow |
| Read previous line | Up arrow |
| Read next line | Down arrow |
| Read current line | NVDA key + up arrow |
| Read previous or next paragraph | Control key + up Arrow or control key + down Arrow |
| Say All | NVDA key + down arrow |
Editing with NVDA
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Copy | Control + c |
| Cut | Control + x |
| Paste | Control key + v |
| Undo | Control + z |
| Select one character to the left or right | Shift + left arrow or shift + right arrow |
| Select one word to the left or right | Control + shift + left arrow or control + shift + right arrow |
| Select until beginning or end of line | Shift + home or Shift + end |
| Select all | Control + a |
Browsing the web with NVDA
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Open a new tab | Control + t |
| Switch between tabs in the same window | control + tab |
| Close the current tab | Control + w |
| Close a window or program | alt + F4 |
| Select a link | Enter key |
| Open links in a new tab | Control + enter |
Quick Navigation Keys with NVDA
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Next or previous radio button | r or shift + r |
| Next or previous button | b or shift + b |
| Next or previous combo box, list box, or tree view | c or shift + c |
| Next or previous edit box | e or shift + e |
| Next or previous form field | f or shift + f |
| Next or previous graphic | g or shift + g |
| Next or previous heading | h or shift + h |
| Next or previous list | l or shift + l |
| Next or previous item in a list | i or shift + i |
| Next or previous link (visited or unvisited) | tab or shift + tab; k or shift + k |
| Next or previous visited link | v or shift + v |
| Next or previous unvisited link | u or shift + u |
| Next or previous table | t or shift + t |
| Next or previous checkbox | x or shift + x |
| Turn on/off Browse mode | NVDA key + space |
Informational and Menu Commands
| Action | Command |
|---|---|
| Say window title | NVDA key + t |
| Access NVDA Settings | NVDA key + n |
| Quit NVDA | NVDA key + q |
| Start NVDA & Windows OCR function | NVDA key r |
| Access the context menu | Shift + F10 or applications key |