Basic Desktop Screen Reader Survival Guide
Screen reader keyboard shortcuts > Survival Guide
Also available in a single-page printer-friendly PDF version.
Keystroke | Purpose |
---|---|
Tab / Shift + Tab | Go to next/previous focusable item (link, button, input, etc.) |
Enter | Activate link |
Enter or Space bar | Activate button |
Arrow keys | Navigate within <select> lists, and some types of custom ARIA widgets, e.g. tablists, application menus, tree views, etc. (if they’re coded correctly) |
Keystroke | Purpose |
---|---|
Control + Alt + N | Turn NVDA on |
Control | Stop talking |
Down arrow | Read next item |
Insert + Down arrow | Read continuously from this point on |
H | Go to next heading |
D | Go to next landmark |
Insert + F7 | Show list of links, headings, and landmarks |
T | Go to next table |
Control + Alt + Arrow keys | Navigate table cells |
Shift + (H, D, T, etc.) | Go to previous (heading, landmark, table, etc.) |
Insert + Space bar | Toggle between focus mode (for forms and custom ARIA/JavaScript widgets) and browse mode (for reading/navigating normally) |
Insert + Q | Turn NVDA off |
Keystroke | Purpose |
---|---|
Control | Stop talking |
Down arrow | Read next item |
Insert + Down arrow | Read continuously from this point on |
H | Go to next heading |
R | Go to next landmark (region) |
Q | Go to the main content landmark |
Insert + F6 | Show list of headings |
Insert + F3 | Show list of buttons, frames, graphics, lists, links, etc. |
T | Go to next table |
Control + Alt + Arrow keys | Navigate table cells |
Shift + (H, R, T, etc.) | Go to previous (heading, landmark, table, etc.) |
Keystroke | Purpose |
---|---|
Command + F5 | Turn on/off |
Control | Stop talking |
Control + Option + U | Show Rotor (navigate with arrow keys) |
Control + Option + Right/Left arrow | Read next/previous item |
Control + Option + Command + H | Go to next heading |
Control + Option + Command + T | Go to next table |
Control + Option + Arrow keys | Navigate table cells |
Shift + Control + Option + Command + (H, T, etc.) | Go to previous (heading, table, etc.) |
Control + Option + Shift + Down/Up arrow | Go into/out of objects (like iframes, menus, application regions, etc.) |