NVDA Class Two
by
CathyAnne Murtha

cathy@blindtraining.com

www.blind.training

 

 

© Copyright 2024 CathyAnne Murtha. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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Access Technology Institute, LLC
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cathy@blind.training
www.blind.training

 

Introduction 

In this lesson, we'll explore NVDA Review Modes and mouse navigation.

 

Review modes are at the core of NVDA. Once you understand NVDA review modes and related keyboard commands, NVDA comes into focus.

 

Mouse navigation and echo locates application elements and orients a user to object and text locations.

 

Let's discuss NVDA Review modes and the mouse in detail.


 

Contents

Introduction. 1

Review Modes. 3

Switch Review modes. 3

The Review Cursor 4

Object Presentation Settings. 5

Object Review.. 6

Navigate a Dialog. 7

Screen Review.. 8

Copy Text with Screen Review.. 9

The Mouse. 10

Mouse Settings. 10

Mouse Navigation. 11

Drag and Drop. 11

Conclusion. 12

Exercises. 12

 


 

 

 

 

Review Modes

There are four NVDA review modes. Each Review Mode has a cursor and mode-specific keyboard commands.

 

All Review Modes are active at the same time. Use a mode by executing the mode-specific keyboard commands.

 

NVDA has the following modes:

 

Let's discuss Review Modes in detail.

 

Switch Review modes

Review modes have different keyboard commands, they are always available.

 

There are keyboard commands to switch review modes if NVDA isn’t responding as expected.

 

Switch review modes with NVDA keyboard accelerators.

 

Switch to the next Review Mode.

 

Switch to the previous Review Mode

 

The Review Cursor

The Review Cursor

The Review Cursor follows System focus. The Review Cursor can navigate any part of the display.

 

Configure review cursor settings in the NVDA Settings dialog.

 

To open Review Cursor settings:

 

Configure the following checkboxes:

 

Activate the OK button to save Review Cursor settings and exit the dialog.

 

Activate the Cancel button to cancel the changes and exit the dialog.

 

Object Presentation Settings

Object Presentation Settings configure what NVDA echoes while navigating objects in Object Review.

 

Open Object Presentation Settings in NVDA Settings or with an NVDA keyboard accelerator.

 

Open NVDA Settings and select the “Object Presentation" property sheet, or press NVDA-CTRL-O.

 

The first controls are checkboxes:

 

The remaining controls are checkboxes:

 

Activate the OK button to save Object Presentation settings and exit the dialog.

 

Activate the Cancel button to cancel the changes and exit the dialog.

 

Object Review

Object Review navigates and accesses Windows objects.

 

Some objects contain other objects. A list contains list items, a toolbar contains individual controls.

 

By default, Object Review navigates primary objects. If there are objects containing other objects, you can navigate containing objects and switch back to navigating primary objects at any time.

 

Using Object Review, you can choose how to navigate objects.

 

Use Object Review to familiarize yourself with a dialog or application.

 

The following Object Review commands are available:

 

Laptop Object Review:

 

Navigate a Dialog

Use the File Explorer "Folder Options" dialog for an example of Object Review Mode.

 

Navigate the dialog with standard Windows navigation. NVDA echoes each control group label, but doesn't navigate each radio button

 

Switch to Object Review commands. Each object is accessed. Focus navigates each radio button not just the selected radio button control.

 

Navigate the dialog with NVDA Object Review commands:

 

Return to System focus (TAB and SHIFT-TAB). NVDA switches between object focus and System focus with different keyboard commands.

 

Object navigation reviews  a dialog and explores each object (control) without changing configurations.

 

Activate the focused control in Object review with the Object review keyboard command: NVDA-ENTER.

 

Screen Review

Screen Review reads text in the focused Window or dialog.

 

This review mode is nice when accessing information Windows that aren’t accessible with System Focus.

 

Use NVDA Screen Review commands to read and navigate Windows.

 

Desktop Layout:

 

Laptop Layout

 

Because the screen review cursor follows system focus, Use these commands at any time to read information at the focus cursor or carat insertion point.

 

Copy Text with Screen Review

Select and copy text using Screen Review.

 

When focused in a dialog or interface where text selection isn’t allowed, select text with Screen Review. Select text with Screen Review in information Windows or dialogs.

 

To select and copy text using Screen Review:

 

NVDA alerts if text can’t be selected. Press NVDA-F10 twice and the text is copied to the Windows Clipboard.

 

After selecting and copying text, paste text to any edit box.

The Mouse

NVDA has Mouse echo and location features that allow a user to review Window objects and text using the physical mouse.

 

Let's explore mouse configurations and navigation.

 

Mouse Settings

Open Mouse Settings in the NVDA menu or with an NVDA keyboard accelerator.

 

Open NVDA Settings and select the “Mouse" property sheet, or

Press NVDA-CTRL-M; and navigate Mouse setting controls.

 

The following are checkboxes unless otherwise specified.

 

Activate the OK button to save the changes and exit the dialog.

 

Activate the cancel button to cancel the changes and exit the dialog.

 

Mouse Navigation

Move the physical mouse to explore the display. NVDA echoes information according to Mouse configurations.

 

NVDA has some basic mouse keyboard commands:

 

Desktop Layout:

 

Laptop layout:

 

Drag and Drop

 

Use the Left mouse button lock to drag and drop data.

 

To drag and drop:

 

The data is dropped at the mouse location.

 

Conclusion

Understanding NVDA Review modes, navigating with the different cursors, and mouse navigation are fundamental to accessing Windows with NVDA.

 

Take some time to explore dialogs with the object cursor, Review Cursor and System focus. Switching easily among cursors and understanding the mouse provides complete access to Windows.

 

Thanks for joining me today! If you have questions or comments, please email CathyAnne, cathy@blind.training.

 

Copyright 2024, CathyAnne Murtha. All rights reserved.

Exercises

·        Open a document and practice switching between the different review modes (object, document, and screen).

·        Navigate objects with Object Cursor.

·        Read the current character, word, line, and paragraph with the Review Cursor.

·        Route the mouse pointer to the Object Cursor.

·        Open File Explorer and select a list box item. Left-click, right-click, and double-click using the numpad.

·        Enable the "Play audio coordinates when mouse moves" checkbox and move the physical mouse.

·        Select various mouse echo options and review the difference when moving the physical mouse.