NVDA 2012.2.1 Keyboard Commands Quick Reference

Getting started with NVDA

Basic key commands

Name Key Description
Stop speech Control Instantly stops speaking
Pause Speech Shift Instantly pauses speech. Pressing it again will continue speaking where it left off (if pausing is supported by the current synthesizer)
NVDA Menu NVDA+n Pops up the NVDA menu to allow you to access preferences, tools and help etc
Toggle Speech Mode NVDA+s Toggles speech mode between speech, beeps and off.
Toggle Keyboard Help Mode NVDA+1 Pressing any key in this mode will report the key, and the description of any NVDA command associated with it
Quit NVDA NVDA+q Exits NVDA
Pass next key through NVDA+f2 Tells NVDA to pass the next key press straight through to the active application, even if it is normally treeted as an NVDA key command
Toggle application sleep mode on and off NVDA+shift+s sleep mode disables all NVDA commands and speech/braille output for the current application. This is most useful in applications that provide their own speech or screen reading features. Press this command again to disable self voicing mode.

Reporting System Information

Name key Description
Report date/time NVDA+f12 Pressing once reports the current time, pressing twice reports the date
Report battery status NVDA+shift+b Reports the battery status i.e. whether AC power is in use or the current charge percentage.
Report clipboard text NVDA+c Reports the Text in the clipboard if there is any.

Navigating with NVDA

Navigating with the System Focus

Name key Description
Report current focus NVDA+tab announces the current object or control that has the System focus. Pressing twice will spell the information
Report title NVDA+t Reports the title of the currently active window. Pressing twice will spell the information. Pressing three times will copy it to the clipboard
Read active window NVDA+b reads all the controls in the currently active window (useful for dialogs)
Report Status Bar NVDA+end Reports the Status Bar if NVDA finds one. It also moves the navigator object to this location

Navigating with the System Caret

Name Key Description
Say all NVDA+downArrow Starts reading from the current position of the system caret, moving it along as it goes
Read current line NVDA+upArrow Reads the line where the system caret is currently situated. Pressing twice spells the line.
Read current text selection NVDA+Shift+upArrow Reads any currently selected text

When within a table, the following key commands are also available:

Name Key Description
Move to previous column control+alt+leftArrow Moves the system caret to the previous column (staying in the same row)
Move to next column control+alt+rightArrow Moves the system caret to the next column (staying in the same row)
Move to previous row control+alt+upArrow Moves the system caret to the previous row (staying in the same column)
Move to next row control+alt+downArrow Moves the system caret to the next row (staying in the same column)

Object Navigation

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Report current object NVDA+numpad5 NVDA+control+i Reports the current navigator object. Pressing twice spells the information, and pressing 3 times copies this object's name and value to the clipboard.
Move to containing object NVDA+numpad8 NVDA+shift+i Moves to the object containing the current navigator object
Move to previous object NVDA+numpad4 NVDA+control+j Moves to the object before the current navigator object
Move to next object NVDA+numpad6 control+NVDA+l Moves to the object after the current navigator object
Move to first contained object NVDA+numpad2 NVDA+shift+comma Moves to the first object contained by the current navigator object
Move to focus object NVDA+numpadMinus NVDA+backspace Moves to the object that currently has the system focus, and also places the review cursor at the position of the System caret, if it is showing
Activate current navigator object NVDA+numpadEnter NVDA+enter Activates the current navigator object (similar to clicking with the mouse or pressing space when it has the system focus)
Move System focus or caret to current review position NVDA+shift+numpadMinus NVDA+shift+backspace pressed once Moves the System focus to the current navigator object, pressed twice moves the system caret to the position of the review cursor
Report navigator object dimensions NVDA+numpadDelete NVDA+delete Reports the current navigator object's dimensions on screen in per centages (including distance from left and top of screen, and its width and height)

Reviewing Text

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Move to top line in review shift+numpad7 NVDA+7 Moves the review cursor to the top line of the text
Move to previous line in review numpad7 NVDA+u Moves the review cursor to the previous line of text
Report current line in review numpad8 NVDA+i Announces the current line of text where the review cursor is positioned. Pressing twice spells the line. Pressing three times spells the line using character descriptions.
Move to next line in review numpad9 NVDA+o Move the review cursor to the next line of text
Move to bottom line in review shift+numpad9 NVDA+9 Moves the review cursor to the bottom line of text
Move to previous word in review numpad4 NVDA+j Moves the review cursor to the previous word in the text
Report current word in review numpad5 NVDA+k Announces the current word in the text where the review cursor is positioned. Pressing twice spells the word. Pressing three times spells the word using character descriptions.
Move to next word in review numpad6 NVDA+l Move the review cursor to the next word in the text
Move to start of line in review shift+numpad1 NVDA+shift+u Moves the review cursor to the start of the current line in the text
Move to previous character in review numpad1 NVDA+m Moves the review cursor to the previous character on the current line in the text
Report current character in review numpad2 NVDA+comma Announces the current character on the line of text where the review cursor is positioned. Pressing twice reports a description or example of that character. Pressing three times reports the numeric value of the character in decimal and hexadecimal.
Move to next character in review numpad3 NVDA+dot Move the review cursor to the next character on the current line of text
Move to end of line in review shift+numpad3 NVDA+shift+o Moves the review cursor to the end of the current line of text
Say all with review numpadPlus NVDA+shift+downArrow Reads from the current position of the review cursor, moving it as it goes
Copy from review cursor NVDA+f9 NVDA+f9 starts copying text from the current position of the review cursor. The actual copy is not performed until you tell NVDA where to copy to
Copy to review cursor NVDA+f10 NVDA+f10 Copies from the position of the review cursor currently set with Copy from review cursor, to the review cursor's current position. After pressing this key, the text will be copied to the Windows clipboard
Report text formatting NVDA+f NVDA+f Reports the formatting of the text where the review cursor is currently situated

Flat Review

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Move to flat review NVDA+numpad7 NVDA+pageUp Moves to flat review, placing you at the position of the current navigator object, allowing you to review the screen (or document if you are currently inside one) with the text review commands.
Move to object from flat review NVDA+numpad1 NVDA+pageDown navigates to the object represented by the text at the current position of the review cursor in flat review

Navigating with the Mouse

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Left mouse button click numpadDivide NVDA+leftArrow clicks the left mouse button once. The common double click can be performed by pressing this key twice in quick succession
Left mouse button lock shift+numpadDivide NVDA+shift+leftArrow Locks the left mouse button down. Press again to release it. To drag the mouse, press this key to lock the left button down and then move the mouse either physically or use one of the other mouse routing commands
Right mouse click numpadMultiply NVDA+rightArrow Clicks the right mouse button once.
Right mouse button lock shift+numpadMultiply NVDA+shift+rightArrow Locks the right mouse button down. Press again to release it. To drag the mouse, press this key to lock the right button down and then move the mouse either physically or use one of the other mouse routing commands
Move mouse to current navigator object NVDA+numpadDivide NVDA+shift+f9 Moves the mouse to the location of the current navigator object and review cursor
Navigate to the object under the mouse NVDA+numpadMultiply NVDA+shift+f10 Set the navigator object to the object located at the position of the mouse

Browse Mode

Name Key Description
Toggle browse/focus modes NVDA+space Toggles between focus mode and browse mode
Exit focus mode escape switches back to browse mode if focus mode was previously switched to automatically
Refresh browse mode document NVDA+f5 Reloads the current document content (useful if certain content seems to be missing from the document)
Find NVDA+control+f Pops up a dialog in which you can type some text to find in the current document
Find next NVDA+f3 Finds the next occurence of the text in the document that you previously searched for
Find previous NVDA+shift+f3 Finds the previous occurence of the text in the document you previously searched for

Single Letter Navigation

The following keys by themselves jump to the next available element, while adding the shift key causes them to jump to the previous element:

To move to the beginning or end of containing elements such as lists and tables:

Name Key Description
Move to start of container shift+, Moves to the start of the container (list, table etc) where the caret is positiond
Move past end of container , Moves past the end of the container (list, table etc) where the caret is positiond

The Elements List

Name Key Description
Browse mode elements list NVDA+f7 Brings up the Elements list which contains links, headings and landmarks from the current document

Embedded Objects

Name Key Description
Move to containing browse mode document NVDA+control+space Moves the focus out of the current embedded object and into the document that contains it

Application Specific NVDA Commands

foobar2000

Name Key Description
Report remaining time control+shift+r Reports the remaining time of the currently playing track, if any.

Miranda IM

Name Key Description
Report recent message NVDA+control+1-4 Reports one of the recent messages, depending on the number pressed; e.g. NVDA+control+2 reads the second most recent message.

Poedit

Name Key Description
Report Comments Window control+shift+c Reports any comments in the comments window.
Report automatic comments window control+shift+a Reports any comments in the automatic comments window.

Configuring NVDA

Preferences

Voice Settings (NVDA+control+v)

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Punctuation/Symbol Level NVDA+p NVDA+p This allows you to choose the amount of punctuation and other symbols that should be spoken as words.

Synth settings ring

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Move to next synth setting NVDA+control+rightArrow NVDA+control+rightArrow Moves to the next available speech setting after the current, wrapping around to the first setting again after the last
Move to previous synth setting NVDA+control+leftArrow NVDA+control+leftArrow Moves to the next available speech setting before the current, wrapping around to the last setting after the first
Increment current synth setting NVDA+control+upArrow NVDA+control+upArrow increases the current speech setting you are on. E.g. increases the rate, chooses the next voice, increases the volume
Decrement current synth setting NVDA+control+downArrow NVDA+control+downArrow decreases the current speech setting you are on. E.g. decreases the rate, chooses the previous voice, decreases the volume

Braille Settings

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Braille Tethered to NVDA+control+t NVDA+control+t This option allows you to choose whether the braille display will follow the system focus, or whether it follows the navigator object / review cursor.

Keyboard Settings (NVDA+control+k)

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Speak Typed Characters NVDA+2 NVDA+2 When enabled, NVDA will announce all characters you type on the keyboard.
Speak Typed Words NVDA+3 NVDA+3 When enabled, NVDA will announce all words you type on the keyboard.
Speak Command Keys NVDA+4 NVDA+4 When enabled, NVDA will announce all non-character keys you type on the keyboard. This includes key combinations such as control plus another letter.

Mouse Settings (NVDA+control+m)

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Enable mouse tracking NVDA+m NVDA+shift+m When enabled, NVDA will announce the text currently under the mouse pointer, as you move it around the screen. This allows you to find things on the screen, by physically moving the mouse, rather than trying to find them through object navigation.

Review Cursor Settings

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Follow System Focus NVDA+7 NVDA+control+7 When enabled, The review cursor will always be placed in the same object as the current system focus as it changes.
Follow System Caret NVDA+6 NVDA+6 When enabled, the review cursor will automatically be moved to the position of the System caret each time it moves.

Object Presentation Settings (NVDA+control+o)

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Progress bar output NVDA+u NVDA+control+f2 This option controls how NVDA reports progress bar updates to you.
Report dynamic content changes NVDA+5 NVDA+5 Toggles the announcement of new content in particular objects such as terminals and the history control in chat programs.

Browse Mode Settings (NVDA+control+b)

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Use screen layout NVDA+v NVDA+v This option allows you to specify whether content in browse mode should place content such as links and other fields on their own line, or if it should keep them in the flow of text as it is visually shown. If the option is enabled then things will stay as they are visually shown, but if it is disabled then fields will be placed on their own line.

Saving and Reloading the configuration

Name Desktop key Laptop key Description
Save configuration NVDA+control+c NVDA+control+c Saves your current configuration so that it is not lost when you exit NVDA
Revert to saved configuration NVDA+control+r NVDA+control+r Restores NVDA to the settings that existed when you last saved NVDA's configuration

Supported Braille Displays

Freedom Scientific Focus/PAC Mate Series

Name Key
Toggle left wiz wheel action leftWizWheelPress
Move back using left wiz wheel action leftWizWheelUp
Move forward using left wiz wheel action leftWizWheelDown
Toggle right wiz wheel action rightWizWheelPress
Move back using right wiz wheel action rightWizWheelUp
Move forward using right wiz wheel action rightWizWheelDown
Route to braille cell routing

Optelec ALVA BC640/680

Name Key
Scroll braille display back t1
Move braille display to previous line t2
Move braille display to next line t4
Scroll braille display forward t5
Route to braille cell routing
shift+tab key sp1
alt key sp2
escape key sp3
tab key sp4
upArrow key spUp
downArrow key spDown
leftArrow key spLeft
rightArrow key spRight
enter key spEnter
NVDA Menu sp1+sp3
windows+d key (minimize all applications) sp1+sp4
windows key sp2+sp3
alt+tab key sp2+sp4

Handy Tech Displays

Name Key
Scroll braille display back left, up
Scroll braille display forward right, down
Move braille display to previous line b4
Move braille display to next line b5
Route to braille cell routing
shift+tab key esc
alt key b2+b4+b5
escape key b4+b6
tab key enter
enter key esc+enter
upArrow key leftSpace
downArrow key rightSpace
NVDA Menu b2+b4+b5+b6
Handy Tech configuration b4+b8

MDV Lilli

Name Key
Scroll braille display backward LF
Scroll braille display forward RG
Move braille display to previous line UP
Move braille display to next line DN
Route to braille cell route
shift+tab key SLF
tab key SRG
alt+tab key SDN
alt+shift+tab key SUP

Baum/Humanware/APH Braille Displays

Name Key
Scroll braille display back d2
Scroll braille display forward d5
Move braille display to previous line d1
Move braille display to next line d3
Route to braille cell routing

For displays which have a joystick:

Name Key
upArrow key up
downArrow key down
leftArrow key left
rightArrow key right
enter key select

hedo ProfiLine USB

Name Key
Scroll braille display back K1
Scroll braille display forward K3
Move braille display to previous line B2
Move braille display to next line B5
Route to braille cell routing
Toggle braille tethered to K2
Say all B6

hedo MobilLine USB

Name Key
Scroll braille display back K1
Scroll braille display forward K3
Move braille display to previous line B2
Move braille display to next line B5
Route to braille cell routing
Toggle braille tethered to K2
Say all B6

HumanWare Brailliant BI/B Series

Name Key
Scroll braille display back left
Scroll braille display forward right
Move braille display to previous line up
Move braille display to next line down
Route to braille cell routing
Toggle braille tethered to up+down
upArrow key space+dot1
downArrow key space+dot4
leftArrow key space+dot3
rightArrow key space+dot6
NVDA Menu c1+c3+c4+c5 (command n)
shift+tab key space+dot1+dot3
tab key space+dot4+dot6
alt key space+dot1+dot3+dot4 (space+m)
escape key space+dot1+dot5 (space+e)
enter key dot8
windows+d key (minimize all applications) c1+c4+c5 (command d)
windows key space+dot3+dot4
alt+tab key space+dot2+dot3+dot4+dot5 (space+t)
Say all c1+c2+c3+c4+c5+c6

BRLTTY

Name BRLTTY command
Scroll braille display back fwinlt (go left one window)
Scroll braille display forward fwinrt (go right one window)
Move braille display to previous line lnup (go up one line)
Move braille display to next line lndn (go down one line)
Route to braille cell route (bring cursor to character)