Recently, I found myself sitting in front of a new computer trying to get it up and running with my critical personalization’s. If you are someone who has low or no vision and have ever been dead in the water because you cannot get to anything without sighted assistance, you can empathize. New version of Windows, old versions of software on CD. Update them? Sure, no problem. Just go online and download the new OS compatible versions, right? Except that you don’t have your screen reader loaded onto the new PC. I knew that if I could get something, ANYTHING to talk, I’d have no problem, but I realized that without something that would auto play, like a screen reader loaded onto a USB drive, I was stuck. My NVDA on USB? Older version, wouldn’t work with Win 7. Zoomtext? My CD wouldn’t load on Win 7, unless I made some changes to the compatibility mode, which I could not do without speech. I didn’t even know how to get to Windows Narrator, which I knew would do in a pinch. I even tried matching keystroke for keystroke in tandem with my desktop, but alas, the steps diverge at some point. Grrr! When you cannot see what’s happening on the screen, just randomly pressing keys and hoping for a lucky break can be dangerous. Once you lose your place, who knows what havoc ensues.
In sheer frustration, I went out to Twitter, which is quickly rivaling Google as the repository for all knowledge, and queried my accessibility tweeps how to invoke the Narrator in Windows 7. In fractions of a second, five people produced the answer. A hotkey sequence that was unknown to me brought up the native screen reader in my new version of Windows, and I was off and running. Whatever you may think of Twitter, many of the people who use it are brilliant pros who are eager to help. I was very grateful for their help in this case.
It occurred to me that I cannot be the only person who has ever been sitting blind in front of a computer, with no way to accomplish anything without a screen reader. I began compiling a list of Windows 7 keyboard hotkeys, gathering them from various places, either web sites or help screens or user’s guides. Below is that list.
This is by no means a comprehensive list. Also, keep in mind that not all hotkeys are going to work in all versions of all programs. If you are using a screen reader or other feature-rich programs, hotkeys can often conflict. I have not personally tested every one of these hotkeys with the various versions of each program, but this list will get you started. I suggest you just copy and paste this entire post into a notepad doc, and then clip out what you don’t want. Save it to your desktop, copy it to a USB drive, send it to your friends. You never know when one of these key combinations will get you out of a jam. If I had known that by pressing the Windows key plus U, then pressing alt-n would get me to Windows Narrator, I would have saved an entire day of frustrated attempts trying to get something loaded that would talk.
Finally, if you want to try out a screen reader but don’t want to spend the money, scroll down to the bottom of the list and click the link for NVDA. It’s a great little screen reader, especially for the price..it’s free. Immediately below that, I’ve listed a few of those hotkeys, too.
Windows 7 abbreviated hotkey list:
From the desktop, press Win plus U, then alt plus N to get narrator started
Ease of Access keyboard shortcuts
Right Shift for eight seconds: Turn Filter Keys on and off
Left Alt + Left Shift + PrtScn (or PrtScn): Turn High Contrast on or off
Left Alt + Left Shift + Num Lock: Turn Mouse Keys on or off
Shift five times: Turn Sticky Keys on or off
Num Lock for five seconds: Turn Toggle Keys on or off
Windows logo key + U: Open the Ease of Access Center
General keyboard shortcuts
F1: Display Help
Ctrl + C (or Ctrl + Insert): Copy the selected item
Ctrl + X: Cut the selected item
Ctrl + V (or Shift + Insert): Paste the selected item
Ctrl + Z: Undo an action
Ctrl + Y: Redo an action
Delete (or Ctrl + D): Delete the selected item and move it to the Recycle Bin
Shift + Delete: Delete the selected item without moving it to the Recycle Bin first
F2: Rename the selected item
Ctrl + Right Arrow: Move the cursor to the beginning of the next word
Ctrl + Left Arrow: Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous word
Ctrl + Down Arrow: Move the cursor to the beginning of the next paragraph
Ctrl + Up Arrow: Move the cursor to the beginning of the previous paragraph
Ctrl + Shift with an arrow key: Select a block of text
Shift + any arrow key: Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or
select text within a document
Ctrl + any arrow key + Spacebar: Select multiple individual items in a window or on the
desktop
Ctrl + A: Select all items in a document or window
F3: Search for a file or folder
Alt + Enter: Display properties for the selected item
Alt + F4: Close the active item, or exit the active program
Alt + Spacebar: Open the shortcut menu for the active window
Ctrl + F4: Close the active document (in programs that allow you to have multiple
documents open simultaneously)
Alt + Tab: Switch between open items
Ctrl + Alt + Tab: Use the arrow keys to switch between open items
Ctrl + Mouse scroll wheel: Change the size of icons on the desktop
Windows logo key + Tab: Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D
Ctrl+ Windows logo key + Tab: Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the
taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D
Alt + Esc: Cycle through items in the order in which they were opened
F6: Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop
F4: Display the address bar list in Windows Explorer
Shift + F10: Display the shortcut menu for the selected item
Ctrl + Esc: Open the Start menu
Alt + underlined letter: Display the corresponding menu
Alt + underlined letter: Perform the menu command (or other underlined command)
F10: Activate the menu bar in the active program
Right Arrow: Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu
Left Arrow: Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu
F5 (or Ctrl + R): Refresh the active window
Alt + Up Arrow: View the folder one level up in Windows Explorer
Esc: Cancel the current task
Ctrl + Shift + Esc: Open Task Manager
Shift when you insert a CD: Prevent the CD from automatically playing
Left Alt + Shift: Switch the input language when multiple input languages are enabled
Ctrl + ShiftL: Switch the keyboard layout when multiple keyboard layouts are enabled
Right or Left Ctrl + Shift: Change the reading direction of text in right-to-left reading
languages
Dialog box keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl + Tab: Move forward through tabs
Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Move back through tabs
Tab: Move forward through options
Shift + Tab: Move back through options
Alt + underlined letter: Perform the command (or select the option) that goes with that letter
Enter: Replaces clicking the mouse for many selected commands
Spacebar: Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box
Arrow keys: Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons
F1: Display Help
F4: Display the items in the active list
Backspace: Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open
dialog box
Windows logo key keyboard shortcuts
Windows logo key: Open or close the Start menu.
Windows logo key + Pause: Display the System Properties dialog box.
Windows logo key + D: Display the desktop.
Windows logo key + M: Minimize all windows.
Windows logo key + Shift + M: Restore minimized windows to the desktop.
Windows logo key + E: Open Computer.
Windows logo key + F: Search for a file or folder.
Ctrl + Windows logo key + F: Search for computers (if you’re on a network).
Windows logo key + L: Lock your computer or switch users.
Windows logo key + R: Open the Run dialog box.
Windows logo key + T: Cycle through programs on the taskbar.
Windows logo key + number: Start the program pinned to the taskbar in the position
indicated by the number. If the program is already running, switch to that program.
Shift + Windows logo key + number: Start a new instance of the program pinned to the
taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Ctrl + Windows logo key + number: Switch to the last active window of the program
pinned to the taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Alt + Windows logo key + number: Open the Jump List for the program pinned to the
taskbar in the position indicated by the number.
Windows logo key + Tab: Cycle through programs on the taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D.
Ctrl+Windows logo key + Tab: Use the arrow keys to cycle through programs on the
taskbar by using Aero Flip 3-D.
Ctrl+Windows logo key + B: Switch to the program that displayed a message in the
notification area.
Windows logo key + Spacebar: Preview the desktop.
Windows logo key + Up Arrow: Maximize the window.
Windows logo key + Left Arrow: Maximize the window to the left side of the screen.
Windows logo key + Right Arrow: Maximize the window to the right side of the screen.
Windows logo key + Down Arrow: Minimize the window.
Windows logo key + Home: Minimize all but the active window.
Windows logo key + Shift + Up Arrow: Stretch the window to the top and bottom of the
screen.
Windows logo key + Shift+ Left Arrow or Right Arrow: Move a window from one monitor
to another.
Windows logo key + P: Choose a presentation display mode.
Windows logo key + G: Cycle through gadgets.
Windows logo key + U: Open Ease of Access Center.
Windows logo key + X: Open Windows Mobility Center.
Windows Explorer keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl + N: Open a new window
Ctrl + W: Close the current window
Ctrl + Shift + N: Create a new folder
End: Display the bottom of the active window
Home: Display the top of the active window
F11: Maximize or minimize the active window
Ctrl + Period (.): Rotate a picture clockwise
Ctrl + Comma (,): Rotate a picture counter-clockwise
Num Lock + Asterisk (*) on numeric keypad: Display all subfolders under the selected
folder
Num Lock + Plus Sign (+) on numeric keypad: Display the contents of the selected
folder
Num Lock + Minus Sign (-) on numeric keypad: Collapse the selected folder
Left Arrow: Collapse the current selection (if it’s expanded), or select the parent folder
Alt + Enter: Open the Properties dialog box for the selected item
Alt + P: Display the preview pane
Alt + Left Arrow: View the previous folder
Backspace: View the previous folder
Right Arrow: Display the current selection (if it’s collapsed), or select the first subfolder
Alt + Right Arrow: View the next folder
Alt + Up Arrow: View the parent folder
Ctrl + Shift + E: Display all folders above the selected folder
Ctrl + Mouse scroll wheel: Change the size and appearance of file and folder icons
Alt + D: Select the address bar
Ctrl + E: Select the search box
Ctrl + F: Select the search box
Taskbar keyboard shortcuts
Shift + Click on a taskbar button: Open a program or quickly open another instance of
a program
Ctrl + Shift + Click on a taskbar button: Open a program as an administrator
Shift + Right-click on a taskbar button: Show the window menu for the program
Shift + Right-click on a grouped taskbar button: Show the window menu for the group
Ctrl + Click on a grouped taskbar button: Cycle through the windows of the group
Magnifier keyboard shortcuts
Windows logo key + Plus Sign or Minus Sign: Zoom in or out
Ctrl + Alt + Spacebar: Preview the desktop in full-screen mode
Ctrl + Alt + F: Switch to full-screen mode
Ctrl + Alt + L: Switch to lens mode
Ctrl + Alt + D: Switch to docked mode
Ctrl + Alt + I: Invert colors
Ctrl + Alt + arrow keys: Pan in the direction of the arrow keys
Ctrl + Alt + R: Resize the lens
Windows logo key + Esc: Exit Magnifier
Click here to download NVDA 2010
NVDA command key quick reference
Many of these commands use the NVDA key. The NVDA key is the insert key found either
on the numberpad or near the delete, home, end, page up and page down keys on
your keyboard. NVDA can also be configured so that you can use the capslock key as
the NVDA key.
Global commands
Control: Pause speech
Shift: Continue speech
NVDA+1: keyboardHelp
turns on keyboard help mode so you can press any combination of keys on the
keyboard and NVDA will tell you its name and what command it performs if it has one.
To turn off keyboard help, press NVDA+1 again.
NVDA+t: title
Announces the title of the currently active application. Spels it when pressed twice and
copies to the clipboard when pressed three times..
NVDA+b: speakForeground
Speaks the content of the currently active application. Useful to read information in a
dialog box that you perhaps missed when it first was announced.
NVDA+n: showGui
Press this key to activate the NVDA menu where you can access NVDA’s settings.
NVDA+q: quit
Asks if you want to exit NVDA. Pressing yes will exit, pressing no will not.
NVDA+s: speechMode
Toggles between the three speech modes (talk, beeps and off).
NVDA+F12: dateTime
Announces the current time, pressing twice quickly announces the current date.
NVDA+End: reportStatusLine
Announces the status bar of the current application if it can find one.
NVDA+f: reportFormatting
Announces formatting information at the current position in a document
Control+NVDA+f1: speakApplicationName
Announces the currently active application’s name, and also spells it out. It also
announces the currently loaded NVDA app module.
NVDA+Shift+b: say_battery_status
Announces the current battery level and whether AC power is plugged in.
NVDA+5: toggleReportDynamicContentChanges
Turns on and off the automatic speaking of content changes (such as when new text
appears in a dos console window).
NVDA+6: toggleCaretMovesReviewCursor
Turns on and off the automatic movement of the review cursor as the caret moves.
NVDA+7: toggleFocusMovesNavigatorObject
Turns on and off the setting of the navigator object to the object with focus as it
changes.
NVDA+Tab: reportCurrentFocus
Announces the object you are currently focused on.
NVDA+f2: passNextKeyThrough
Pressing this key then allows you to press any other key on the keyboard and NVDA will
let it go straight to the operating system with out running its NVDA specific command if it
has one.
Shift+NVDA+upArrow: reportCurrentSelection
Announces the current selection in edit controls and documents. If there is no selection it
says so.
NVDA+upArrow: reportCurrentLine
Announces the current line in edit controls and documents.
NVDA+downArrow: sayAll
Starts reading from the current position in a document or edit control
Control+NVDA+c: saveConfiguration
Saves the configuration.
Control+NVDA+r: revertToSavedConfiguration
Resets the configuration.
NVDA+c: reportClipboardText
Reports the text on the Windows clipboard.
Change Settings (found in the settings dialogues)
NVDA+2: toggleSpeakTypedCharacters
Turns on or off the speaking of characters when you type them.
NVDA+3: toggleSpeakTypedWords
Turns on or off the speaking of words as you type them.
NVDA+4: toggleSpeakCommandKeys
Turns on or off the speaking of any keys as you type them.
NVDA+p: toggleSpeakPunctuation
Turns on or off the speaking of punctuation symbols as NVDA speaks information.
NVDA+m: toggleMouseTracking
Turns on or off announcement of the object or word at the mouse pointer’s current
position, as it moves.
NVDA+u: toggleBeepOnProgressBarUpdates
Controls how NVDA anounces progress bar updates. It can either beep for all the
progress bars within the active window (default), beep for all the bars currently in
progress within the whole system, or it can even anounce each 10 percent by speech.
Control+NVDA+leftArrow: previousSetting
Moves to and announces the previous voice setting
Control+NVDA+rightArrow: nextSetting
Moves to and announces the next voice setting
Control+NVDA+upArrow: increaseSetting
Increases the current voice setting
Control+NVDA+downArrow: decreaseSetting
decreases the current voice setting
Show dialogues
Control+NVDA+g: activateGeneralSettingsDialog
Shows the general settings dialog.
Control+NVDA+s: activateSynthesizerDialog
Shows the synthesizer selection dialog.
Control+NVDA+v: activateVoiceDialog
Shows the voice settings dialog.
Control+NVDA+k: activateKeyboardSettingsDialog
Shows the keyboard settings dialog.
Control+NVDA+m: activateMouseSettingsDialog
Shows the mouse settings dialog.
Control+NVDA+o: activateObjectPresentationDialog
Shows the object presentation dialog.
Control+NVDA+b: activateVirtualBuffersDialog
Shows the virtual buffer settings dialog.
Control+NVDA+d: activateDocumentFormattingDialog
Shows the document formatting settings dialog.
Control+NVDA+z: activatePythonConsole
Shows the python console.
navigator object navigation
NVDA+numPad5: navigatorObject_current
Announces the current navigator object. If pressed twice spels it out and if pressed three
times copyes its name and value to the clipboard.
NVDA+numpadDelete: navigatorObject_currentDimensions
Announces the size and location of the current navigator object.
NVDA+numPad8: navigatorObject_parent
Sets the navigator object to the current navigator object’s parent (i.e. the object that
contains it).
NVDA+numPad2: navigatorObject_firstChild
Sets the navigator object to the current navigator object’s first child (i.e. the first object
inside it)
NVDA+numPad4: navigatorObject_previous
Sets the navigator object to the current navigator object’s previous object (i.e. the
object before it, on the same level).
Shift+NVDA+numPad4: navigatorObject_previousInFlow
Sets the navigator object to the current navigator object’s previous object in flow (i.e.
the object before it, not necessarily on the same level).
NVDA+numPad6: navigatorObject_next
Sets the navigator object to the current navigator object’s next object (i.e. the object
after it, on the same level).
Shift+NVDA+numPad6: navigatorObject_nextInFlow
Sets the navigator object to the current navigator object’s next object in flow (i.e. the
object after it, not necessarily on the same level).
NVDA+numpadEnter: navigatorObject_doDefaultAction
Performs the default action on the current navigator object (e.g. presses a button,
activates a list item).
NVDA+numPadDivide: moveMouseToNavigatorObject
Move the mouse pointer to the current navigator object
NVDA+numPadMultiply: moveNavigatorObjectToMouse
Sets the navigator object to the current object under the mouse pointer
numpadSubtract: review_moveToCaret
Moves the review cursor to the location of the caret.
Control+numpadSubtract: review_moveCaretHere
Moves the caret to the location of the review cursor
NVDA+numPadSubtract: navigatorObject_toFocus
Sets the navigator object to the current object with focus.
NVDA+shift+numPadSubtract: navigatorObject_moveFocus
Sets the keyboard focus to the navigator object
numPadDivide: leftMouseClick
Clicks the left mouse button once where ever it may be at the time.
shift+numpadDivide: toggleLeftMouseButton
Locks or unlocks the left mouse button
numPadMultiply: rightMouseClick
Clicks the right mouse button once where ever it may be at the time.
shift+numpadMultiply: toggleRightMouseButton
Locks or unlocks the right mouse button
numpadAdd: review_sayAll
Uses the review cursor to read from its position to the end of the currently reviewable
text.
NVDA+numPadAdd: navigatorObject_sayAll
Starts to read all the objects after the navigator object, in flow order.
reading objects
numpad1: review_previousCharacter
Moves the review cursor to the previous character.
Shift+numpad1: review_startOfLine
Moves the review cursor to the start of the line.
numpad2: review_currentCharacter
speaks the character at the review cursor.
numpad3: review_nextCharacter
Moves the review cursor to the next character.
Shift+numpad3: review_endOfLine
Moves the review cursor to the end of the line.
numpad4: review_previousWord
Moves the review cursor to the previous word.
numpad5: review_currentWord
speaks the word at the review cursor.
numpad6: review_nextWord
Moves the review cursor to the next word.
numpad7: review_previousLine
Moves the review cursor to the previous line.
Shift+numpad7: review_top
Moves the review cursor to the first line.
numpad8: review_currentLine
speaks the line at the review cursor.
numpad9: review_nextLine
Moves the review cursor to the previous line.
Shift+numpad9: review_bottom
Moves the review cursor to the last line.
NVDA+f9: review_markStartForCopy
Marks the current position of the review cursor as the start of text to be copied.
NVDA+f10: review_copy
Retrieves the text from the previously set start marker up to and including the current
position of the review cursor and copies it to the clipboard.
VirtualBuffer commands:
NVDA+space: toggleVirtualBufferPassThrough
Turns virtualBuffer pass-through mode on or off.
control+NVDA+f: find
NVDA+f3: find next
NVDA+f7: elements list
NVDA+f5: refresh buffer
NVDA+v: toggleScreenLayout
VirtualBuffer quick keys to skip to the next element of a particular type (also use shift with
the key to go backwards):
h: heading
l: list
i: list item
t: table
k: link
f: form field
u: unvisited link
v: visited link
e: edit field
b: button
x: checkbox
c: combo box
r: radio button
q: block quote
s: separator
m: frame
g: graphic
d: ARIA landmark
n: nonLinked text
o: embedded object
1 to 6: headings 1 to 6 respectively
If you have a USB drive, be sure to get the “portable” version of NVDA, so you can have speech anywhere, on any computer. While you’re there, make a donation! NVDA is a free and open source program, and your generosity keeps the good stuff coming.
LL
The problem I have with computers is the mute being turned on – in which case no speech comes out no matter what screenreader is loaded. Is there a generic hot key to toggle mute? Great stuff otherwise – thanks