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Screen readers

How to use a screen reader?

This guide assumes you will use NVDA on Windows which is our recommended screen reader software.

If you are on a Mac machine you can use the inbuilt screen reader Voice Over but will have to figure it out on your own. Sorry.

Do not use Narrator - Windows' built in screen reader - as it is terrible and rarely used.

Step 0 - Download NVDA

  1. Go to https://www.nvaccess.org/download/ and scroll down until you see the large orange Download button

    [pic]

  2. Run the install file.
    Do not be alarmed, it's a chatty screen reader that will immedately start talking to you.

  3. Agree to the ToS and click on Install NVDA on this computer

  4. Do not forget to uncheck Use NVDA during sign-in

  5. Allow it to make changes to your device if Windows prompts you.

Step 1 - Start up

Ways to start:

  • Click on the icon on your desktop (if you have saved it there)
  • Search for it amongst your installed programmes

It is recommended you pin NVDA to your taskbar if you use it regularly enough.

Step 2 - Navigating with your screenreader

  1. Open the window where you want to use the screen reader and click inside the page somewhere above the content you want to test.
    Do not move your mouse as that will prompt the reader to read whatever your mouse is pointing at. Only use your keyboard to navigate.

  2. Press the Tab key on your keyboard to navigate through the page (press Shift + Tab to move backwards.). The screen reader will announce every piece of information available to it.

  3. Within a form use the arrow keys to navigate between options in a dropdown/radio/checkbox list

Sometimes it helps to close your eyes and try and just go off on the details given by the reader whilst asking yourself: Does this make sense? Would I know what's going on without knowing the UI?

Important!
Screen readers only interact with focusable elements. Read a more detailed explanation on focus handling on the main Accessibility page.

Note that you can navigate with the screen reader in other ways as well, for instance, users mainly navigate by headings or they can also make the screen reader read out previous or next lines/words. However, the above method is preferred and also makes sure that our tab order is in order.

Useful keyboard shortcuts

Go ahead in Tab order - Tab

Go backwards in Tab order - Shift + Tab

Stop speech - Ctrl

Pause or resume speech - Shift

Quit NVDA - Insert + q

See the complete list of keyboard shotrcuts here

Step 3 - Turning off NVDA

Keyboard shortcut: Insert + q

You can find NVDA in your taskbar's notification area (next to your clock).

Right click the icon and Exit should be the last option in the popup menu.