Navigation

Master NVDA’s powerful navigation features including object navigation, browse mode, and text review

NVDA provides multiple navigation methods to efficiently explore applications, documents, and the Windows interface.

Navigation Methods Overview

System Focus

Standard keyboard navigation using Tab, Arrow keys, and shortcuts

Object Navigation

Navigate the hierarchical structure of interface elements

Text Review

Review text character by character, word by word, or line by line

System Focus Navigation

The system focus is the interface element that receives keyboard input. NVDA automatically announces focused elements as you navigate.

Basic Focus Navigation

Action	Keystroke	Description
Next control	Tab	Move to the next interactive control
Previous control	Shift+Tab	Move to the previous control
Menu access	Alt	Access application menu bar
Menu navigation	Arrow keys	Navigate menu items
Application switch	Alt+Tab	Switch between running applications

Reporting Focus Information

Report Current Focus

Keystroke: NVDA+Tab

Reports the current control with focus including:

• Control name
• Control type (button, edit field, checkbox, etc.)
• Current value or state
• Position information

Press twice to spell the information.

Report Shortcut Key

Desktop: Shift+Numpad 2
Laptop: NVDA+Control+Shift+Period

Reports the shortcut (accelerator) key for the focused control, if available.

Object Navigation

Object navigation allows you to explore interface elements hierarchically, accessing elements that may not be keyboard accessible.

Understanding Objects

Applications consist of objects organized in a hierarchy:

• Containing objects: Parent elements (windows, toolbars, lists)
• Contained objects: Child elements (buttons, list items)
• Sibling objects: Elements at the same level

Object Navigation Commands

Desktop Layout (Numpad)

Requires Num Lock to be OFF.

Command	Key	Description
Report current object	Numpad 5	Announces the navigator object
Move to containing object	Numpad 8	Move to parent object
Move to first contained object	Numpad 2	Move to first child object
Move to previous object	Numpad 4	Move to previous sibling
Move to next object	Numpad 6	Move to next sibling
Move to focus object	Numpad Minus	Jump to the focused object
Activate object	Numpad Enter	Click or activate the object

Laptop Layout

Command	Keys	Description
Report current object	NVDA+Shift+O	Announces the navigator object
Move to containing object	NVDA+Shift+Up	Move to parent object
Move to first contained object	NVDA+Shift+Down	Move to first child object
Move to previous object	NVDA+Shift+Left	Move to previous sibling
Move to next object	NVDA+Shift+Right	Move to next sibling
Move to focus object	NVDA+Backspace	Jump to the focused object
Activate object	NVDA+Enter	Click or activate the object

Flattened View Navigation

For linear navigation through all objects:

Command	Desktop	Laptop
Next in flattened view	Numpad 9	NVDA+Shift+]
Previous in flattened view	Numpad 3	NVDA+Shift+[

Flattened view navigation automatically enters containers and navigates through all objects sequentially, making it easier to explore unfamiliar interfaces.

Text Review

Text review allows you to read screen content by character, word, or line without moving the system cursor.

Review Commands Grid (Desktop Layout)

Think of the numpad as a 3x3 grid:

	Previous	Current	Next
Line	Numpad 7	Numpad 8	Numpad 9
Word	Numpad 4	Numpad 5	Numpad 6
Character	Numpad 1	Numpad 2	Numpad 3

Special commands:

• Shift+Numpad 7: Move to top line
• Shift+Numpad 9: Move to bottom line
• Shift+Numpad 1: Move to start of line
• Shift+Numpad 3: Move to end of line
• Numpad Plus: Say all from current position

Laptop Layout Text Review

Command	Keys	Description
Previous line	NVDA+Up	Move up one line
Current line	NVDA+Shift+Period	Read current line
Next line	NVDA+Down	Move down one line
Previous word	NVDA+Control+Left	Move to previous word
Current word	NVDA+Control+Period	Read current word
Next word	NVDA+Control+Right	Move to next word
Previous character	NVDA+Left	Move to previous character
Current character	NVDA+Period	Read current character
Next character	NVDA+Right	Move to next character
Say all with review	NVDA+Shift+A	Read from current position

Copy from Review Cursor

1. Set Start Marker

   Navigate to the start position and press NVDA+F9

2. Set End Marker

   Navigate to the end position and press NVDA+F10 once. Text is selected.

3. Copy to Clipboard

   Press NVDA+F10 again to copy the selected text to the clipboard

Review Modes

NVDA offers three review modes for different contexts:

Object Review

Reviews content within the current navigator object only.

Best for:

• Reading text in specific controls
• Examining individual interface elements
• Reading list item content

Document Review

Reviews the entire document or web page.

Best for:

• Reading web pages
• Reviewing complete documents
• Navigating complex content

NVDA automatically switches to document review when browsing web pages.

Screen Review

Reviews text as it appears visually on screen.

Best for:

• Reading visually rendered text
• Accessing legacy applications
• Reading text that other methods miss

Screen review may not work with modern applications using newer graphics technologies.

Switching Review Modes

Command	Desktop	Laptop
Next review mode	NVDA+Numpad 7	NVDA+Page Up
Previous review mode	NVDA+Numpad 1	NVDA+Page Down

Browse Mode

Browse mode presents complex documents as flat, navigable text. It’s used for:

• Web pages (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Internet Explorer)
• Email messages (Outlook, Thunderbird)
• PDF documents (Adobe Reader, Foxit Reader)
• Microsoft Word documents (optional)
• Kindle books

Browse vs Focus Mode

Browse Mode

Purpose: Navigate and read content efficiently

Features:

• Cursor keys move through text like a document
• Single letter navigation for quick jumping
• All text review commands available
• Virtual representation optimized for reading

Indicator: NVDA announces “Browse mode”

Focus Mode

Purpose: Interact with form controls and editable fields

Features:

• Keys pass directly to the application
• Type in edit fields
• Use form controls normally
• Select items from combo boxes

Indicator: NVDA announces “Focus mode” with a rising tone

Mode Switching

Action	Keystroke	Description
Toggle modes	NVDA+Space	Manually switch between browse and focus mode
Exit focus mode	Escape	Return to browse mode
Refresh document	NVDA+F5	Reload browse mode document

NVDA automatically switches to focus mode when you tab to editable controls, and back to browse mode for non-editable content.

Single Letter Navigation

Quickly jump to elements in browse mode:

Key	Element	Example Use
H	Heading	Navigate page structure
1-6	Heading levels	Jump to specific heading levels
K	Link	Find clickable links
F	Form field	Locate edit boxes, buttons
T	Table	Navigate to data tables
L	List	Find bulleted or numbered lists
D	Landmark	Jump to ARIA landmarks
E	Edit field	Locate text input fields
B	Button	Find clickable buttons
X	Checkbox	Locate checkboxes
C	Combo box	Find dropdown menus
R	Radio button	Locate radio buttons
G	Graphic	Navigate to images

Add Shift to any single letter key to navigate backwards (e.g., Shift+H for previous heading).

Elements List

Access a searchable list of page elements:

Open Elements List: NVDA+F7

Available lists:

• Links
• Headings
• Form fields
• Buttons
• Landmarks

1. Open List

   Press NVDA+F7 to open the elements list

2. Choose Type

   Use radio buttons to select element type (links, headings, etc.)

3. Filter (Optional)

   Type in the search field to filter the list

4. Navigate

   Select an item and press Enter to jump to it, or Activate to click it

Table Navigation

Special commands for navigating data tables:

Command	Desktop	Laptop	Description
Next column	Control+Alt+Right	Control+Alt+Right	Move right in same row
Previous column	Control+Alt+Left	Control+Alt+Left	Move left in same row
Next row	Control+Alt+Down	Control+Alt+Down	Move down in same column
Previous row	Control+Alt+Up	Control+Alt+Up	Move up in same column
First column	Control+Alt+Home	Control+Alt+Home	Jump to first column
Last column	Control+Alt+End	Control+Alt+End	Jump to last column
First row	Control+Alt+Page Up	Control+Alt+Page Up	Jump to first row
Last row	Control+Alt+Page Down	Control+Alt+Page Down	Jump to last row
Say all in column	NVDA+Control+Alt+Down	NVDA+Control+Alt+Down	Read column downward
Say all in row	NVDA+Control+Alt+Right	NVDA+Control+Alt+Right	Read row rightward
Read entire column	NVDA+Control+Alt+Up	NVDA+Control+Alt+Up	Read full column without moving
Read entire row	NVDA+Control+Alt+Left	NVDA+Control+Alt+Left	Read full row without moving

Mouse Navigation

NVDA can report text under the mouse pointer and provide audio coordinates.

Mouse Tracking

Enable/Disable: NVDA+M

When enabled, NVDA announces:

• Text under the mouse pointer
• Object type (optional, enable in settings)
• Audio coordinates (optional, enable in settings)

Mouse Emulation

Action	Desktop	Laptop	Description
Left click	Numpad Divide	NVDA+[	Click left button
Left lock	Shift+Numpad Divide	NVDA+Control+[	Lock left button for dragging
Right click	Numpad Multiply	NVDA+]	Open context menu
Right lock	Shift+Numpad Multiply	NVDA+Control+]	Lock right button
Move to navigator object	NVDA+Numpad Divide	NVDA+Shift+M	Move mouse to object
Navigate to mouse position	NVDA+Numpad Multiply	NVDA+Shift+N	Set navigator to object under mouse

Touch Gestures

On touchscreen devices, NVDA supports touch navigation:

Basic Touch Gestures

Gesture	Action
Single tap	Announce item under finger
Double tap	Activate item
Flick right	Next item
Flick left	Previous item
Flick down	Next line (text mode)
Flick up	Previous line (text mode)
2-finger tap	Stop speech
2-finger double tap	Open NVDA menu
3-finger tap	Toggle touch modes

Touch Modes

Text Mode

Navigate and read text:

• Flick up/down: Previous/next line
• Flick left/right: Previous/next character
• 2-finger flick left/right: Previous/next word

Object Mode

Navigate objects:

• Flick up: Containing object
• Flick down: First contained object
• Flick left/right: Previous/next object in flattened view

Toggle touch support: NVDA+Control+Alt+T

Search Functions

Find text in documents and web pages:

1. Open Find Dialog

   Press NVDA+Control+F

2. Enter Search Text

   Type the text you want to find

3. Find Next

   Press NVDA+F3 to find the next occurrence

4. Find Previous

   Press NVDA+Shift+F3 to find the previous occurrence

Check “Case sensitive” to distinguish between uppercase and lowercase letters in searches.

Tips for Efficient Navigation

Learn Single Letters

Master single letter navigation for fastest web browsing

Use Elements List

Press NVDA+F7 to quickly find links and headings

Try Review Modes

Experiment with different review modes for stubborn content

Combine Techniques

Use object navigation to reach areas, then text review to read