Supported Applications

Application-specific features and support in NVDA

NVDA provides enhanced support for many popular applications with specialized features and commands. This guide covers application-specific functionality.

Web Browsers

NVDA offers comprehensive support for modern web browsers with full browse mode functionality.

Supported Browsers

Mozilla Firefox

Full support with browse mode, single letter navigation, and ARIA landmarks

Google Chrome

Complete support including browse mode and web content accessibility

Microsoft Edge

Full Chromium-based Edge support with all browse mode features

Additional supported browsers:

• Internet Explorer 11 (legacy support)
• Browsers based on Chromium (Brave, Opera, Vivaldi)

Browser Features

Browse Mode

Read web pages as flat documents:

• Cursor keys navigate like text
• Single letter navigation for elements
• Elements list (NVDA+F7) for quick access
• Search function (NVDA+Control+F)
• Native selection mode for copying formatted content

Form Interaction

Automatic switching to focus mode:

• Enter text in edit fields
• Select from combo boxes
• Toggle checkboxes
• Activate buttons
• Press Escape to return to browse mode

ARIA Support

Full support for accessible web applications:

• ARIA landmarks (D key navigation)
• Live regions announce updates automatically
• Custom roles and properties
• Application mode for web apps

Browser Tips

Press NVDA+Space to manually toggle between browse and focus modes if automatic switching doesn’t work as expected.

Microsoft Office

NVDA provides deep integration with Microsoft Office applications.

Microsoft Word

Supported Versions

• Microsoft Word 365/2019/2016 (recommended)
• Microsoft Word 2013 (older features)
• Word Online (basic support)

Word-Specific Features

Document Navigation

Sentence navigation:

• Next sentence: Alt+Down Arrow
• Previous sentence: Alt+Up Arrow

Heading navigation:

• Use single letter H in browse mode
• Specific levels with 1-6 keys

Track Changes

Toggle tracking: Control+Shift+E

NVDA announces:

• Inserted text
• Deleted text
• Formatting changes
• Comments
• Author information

View Switching

Change view with announcements:

• Print layout: Control+Alt+P
• Outline view: Control+Alt+O

NVDA announces the view type when switching.

Mathematical Content

Read and navigate math equations:

• Navigate equation structure with arrow keys
• Interact with equations: NVDA+Alt+M
• Supports Office Math and MathType
• LaTeX input supported

Word Settings

In Document Formatting settings, enable:

• Report revisions
• Report editor revisions
• Report comments
• Report font attributes
• Report heading levels

Microsoft Excel

Excel-Specific Features

Cell Navigation

Standard Excel navigation works with speech:

• Arrow keys: Navigate cells
• Control+Arrow: Jump to edge of data region
• Control+Home: Jump to A1
• Control+End: Jump to last used cell

NVDA announces:

• Cell address
• Cell content
• Cell formatting
• Comments/notes

Formula Reading

NVDA reads formulas in cells:

• Press F2 to edit: Hears formula
• Announces formula bar contents
• Speaks result when navigating away
• Reports calculation errors

Data Validation

Access dropdown lists:

• Press Alt+Down Arrow to open list
• Navigate with arrow keys
• Press Enter to select
• Press Escape to cancel

Charts and Objects

Navigate embedded objects:

• Use Tab to move to charts
• NVDA announces chart type
• Arrow keys navigate chart elements
• Press Escape to exit chart

Excel Tips

Enable “Report table row/column headers” in Document Formatting settings to hear column headers (row 1) when navigating data tables.

Microsoft Outlook

Outlook Features

Email Reading

Enhanced email message access:

• Sender name
• Subject line
• Received date/time
• Unread status
• Attachment indicator
• Importance (high/low)
• Action status (replied/forwarded)

Message list: Arrow keys navigate, Enter opens

Email Composition

Full access to message editor:

• Word-based composition (uses Word features)
• Sentence navigation: Alt+Arrow keys
• Spell check integration
• Attachment list with Alt+Tab in composition window

Calendar

Navigate appointments and meetings:

• Day/Week/Month views accessible
• Arrow keys navigate dates
• Enter to open appointments
• Reports all-day events
• Announces meeting details

Contacts

Access contact information:

• Name, company, job title
• Email addresses
• Phone numbers
• Addresses
• Navigate with arrow keys

Microsoft PowerPoint

PowerPoint Support

Slide Navigation

Navigate presentation slides:

• Arrow keys navigate objects on slide
• Page Down/Up change slides
• Announces slide numbers
• Reads slide titles
• Navigates text placeholders

Presenter View

Access presenter features:

• Current slide content
• Speaker notes
• Upcoming slide preview
• Timer information

Slide Show

Run accessible presentations:

• Navigate slides during presentation
• Read slide content
• Access MathType equations
• Announce animations (limited)

Email Clients

Mozilla Thunderbird

Message List

Full message list access:

• Arrow keys navigate messages
• Announces sender, subject, date
• Unread/flagged status
• Thread indicators
• Enter opens message

Message Reading

Browse mode for HTML messages:

• Single letter navigation
• Quick navigation to links
• Access inline images
• Read quoted text

Composition

Write accessible emails:

• Standard edit fields
• To/Cc/Bcc accessible
• Subject and body
• Attachment list
• Spell checking

PDF Readers

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Browse Mode

Read PDF documents as flat text:

• Cursor navigation
• Single letter navigation
• Heading navigation
• Link navigation
• Form filling support

Tagged PDFs

Enhanced access for properly tagged documents:

• Reading order follows tags
• Heading structure preserved
• Lists and tables accessible
• Form fields properly labeled
• Alternative text for images

Mathematical Content

Read math in accessible PDFs:

• MathML structure elements
• Interactive math navigation
• Speak math expressions

Foxit PDF Reader

Similar support to Adobe Reader:

• Browse mode for reading
• Tagged PDF support
• Form field access
• MathML support
• Annotation reading

Development Tools

Visual Studio Code

Install the “NVDA add-on for VS Code” for enhanced support.

Features:

• Code editor access
• Syntax highlighting announced as attributes
• Line number reporting
• Autocomplete list navigation
• Terminal window access
• Debug console accessibility

Eclipse

Specialized support for Eclipse IDE:

• Editor pane access
• Code completion
• Error list navigation
• Console output
• Debug variable inspection

Command Line

Windows Console

Console Support

Applications:

• Command Prompt
• PowerShell
• Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Features:

• Output reading with review commands
• Text selection and copying
• Full buffer access (Windows 11 22H2+)
• Arrow key navigation

Console Navigation

Scroll commands:

• Scroll up: Control+Up Arrow
• Scroll down: Control+Down Arrow
• Scroll to start: Control+Home
• Scroll to end: Control+End

Required for older Windows versions to read scrolled output.

Terminal Emulators

Supported terminals:

• Windows Terminal
• PuTTY
• SecureCRT
• mintty (Git Bash, Cygwin)

Communication Apps

Microsoft Teams

Access collaboration features:

• Chat messages
• Channel conversations
• Meeting chat
• Participant list
• File sharing
• Video call controls (limited)

Zoom

Accessible video conferencing:

• Participant list
• Chat window
• Meeting controls
• Screen sharing notifications
• Waiting room indicators

Skype

Full messaging and calling:

• Contact list
• Chat messages
• Call controls
• File transfers
• Screen sharing announcements

Media Players

Windows Media Player

Basic playback control:

• Play/pause
• Track information
• Playlist navigation
• Volume control

foobar2000

Enhanced support with app module:

Command	Key	Description
Report remaining time	Control+Shift+R	Announces time remaining on current track

• Playlist navigation
• Track information
• Queue management
• Status bar access

Spotify

Basic music playback:

• Track information
• Playback controls
• Playlist browsing
• Search functionality

Text Editors

Notepad++

Enhanced text editing:

• Multi-tab support
• Syntax highlighting
• Find/replace dialogs
• Line number reporting
• Plugin access

Notepad

Full Windows Notepad support:

• Standard text editing
• Find/replace
• Status bar (line/column)
• Word wrap handling

E-Book Readers

Kindle for PC

Reading Features

Browse mode for reading:

• Single letter navigation
• Page turning: Page Down/Up
• Bookmark navigation
• Notes and highlights
• Dictionary lookup

Text Selection

Selection menu: Applications or Shift+F10

Actions:

• Add note
• Add highlight
• Copy text
• Dictionary definition
• Search web

Mathematical Books

Early support for accessible math:

• Navigate math structure
• Interactive equation exploration
• Must be marked “Screen Reader: Supported”

Bookshelf (VitalSource)

Digital textbook access:

• Browse mode reading
• Page navigation
• Table of contents
• Search within book
• Highlighting and notes

Translation Tools

Poedit

Accessible translation software (Poedit 3.5+):

Command	Key	Description
Report notes	Control+Shift+A	Translator notes (2x=browse mode)
Report comment	Control+Shift+C	Comments (2x=browse mode)
Report old source	Control+Shift+O	Original text (2x=browse mode)
Report warning	Control+Shift+W	Translation warnings (2x=browse mode)

Features:

• Source text access
• Translation field
• Plural forms
• Context information
• Fuzzy/untranslated indicators

File Managers

Windows Explorer

Complete file system navigation:

• File list with details
• Tree view navigation
• Search results
• Context menus
• Properties dialogs
• Quick access toolbar

Total Commander

Dual-pane file manager:

• Two panel navigation
• Directory trees
• File operations
• Built-in viewers
• Archive handling

Archive Managers

7-Zip

Accessible archive management:

• File list in archives
• Extract operations
• Compress dialogs
• Password protection
• Multi-format support

System Utilities

Task Manager

Monitor system resources:

• Process list
• Performance graphs (descriptive text)
• Startup programs
• Services list
• Details tab

Windows Settings / System Settings

Full access to Windows 10/11 settings:

• All settings categories
• Search functionality
• Toggle switches
• Combo boxes
• Buttons and links

Social Media

Twitter/X

Web interface via browsers:

• Tweet reading
• Compose tweets
• Navigate timeline
• Notifications
• Messages

Facebook

Web access through browsers:

• News feed reading
• Post composition
• Comments and reactions
• Messenger
• Notifications

Application-Specific Modules

NVDA includes 79 app modules for specialized support:

Notable app modules:

• Microsoft Office suite
• Web browsers
• Email clients
• PDF readers
• Development tools
• Media players
• Communication apps
• System utilities

App modules load automatically when you run supported applications, providing enhanced features without configuration.

Requesting Support

For applications without specialized support:

1. Check Accessibility

   Verify the application uses standard Windows controls or accessibility APIs

2. Report Issues

   Submit feature requests or bug reports on the NVDA GitHub repository

3. Community Add-ons

   Search the NVDA Add-on Store for community-developed support

4. Contact Developer

   Encourage application developers to improve built-in accessibility

Tips for Unsupported Applications

Try Review Modes

Use screen review or object navigation for inaccessible content

Use OCR

Windows 10+ OCR (via add-on) can read visual text

Check Updates

Newer versions of applications often improve accessibility

Alternative Apps

Consider accessible alternatives that work better with screen readers

Getting More Help

Resources:

• NVDA User Guide: Full application support details
• Add-on Store: Community enhancements
• Email list: Ask about specific application support
• Certified Experts: Professional assistance

Enable Input Help (NVDA+1) when learning a new application to discover what keyboard commands do without executing them.