Having worked with multiple screen readers over the years has always excited me as it gives me one more option to explore. Especially screen readers that are bundled with the operating system as we do not have to install additional software in order to use our computer.

In the past, have already tried my hands with VoiceOver on Mac, ChromeVox on Chrome Book, TalkBack on Android and VoiceOver on an iPhone, so decided to try my hands on Narrator for Windows.

Let’s start with the basics of Narrator.

Narrator Basics

Press Windows Logo key + Control + Enter to turn Narrator on and off!

As soon as we launch Narrator, the QuickStart guide begins. The purpose of QuickStart is to help users learn basics of Narrator quickly. This is certainly a good-to-have feature when you are learning Narrator but later on it is something that users will get annoyed with. Microsoft has done the right thing by providing users with an option to prevent it from starting automatically each time Narrator is launched.

Simply select the checkbox “Don’t show this guide again” to prevent the QuickStart guide from starting automatically. One can turn it back on by selecting the “Learn Narrator basics with QuickStart” link available in Narrator Settings.

Just like any other screen reader, Narrator also has a key assigned to it which is referred to as Narrator key”. In fact, Narrator has two keys!

By default, both Caps lock and Insert keys function as Narrator keys. We can change the Narrator key any time from the Narrator Settings.

We can also lock the Narrator key so we do not have to press it for every keyboard shortcut!

Press Caps lock + Z to lock the Narrator key.

Tip: Press Ctrl key to silence Narrator temporarily.

The following table lists few of the basic Narrator commands for accessing information:

Tip: Press Caps lock + F2 to show the commands for interacting with the current item!

Having learnt the basic commands of Narrator, let’s now move ahead and find out how to browse the web using Narrator.

Narrator works pretty well with Microsoft’s Edge browser. So let’s get started!

Reading web pages

By default, Narrator switches to Scan mode while reading web pages using Edge. One can toggle Scan mode On/Off by pressing Caps lock + Spacebar in any application.

Narrator remembers the previously used Scan mode setting for an application and switches to it when you launch the application again. For edit boxes on the web, Scan mode is turned off automatically to help users type the text with ease.

Another important option that Narrator offers to its users is to work with different views. There are 11 views that users can chose from:

• Items
• Characters
• Words
• Lines
• Paragraphs
• Headings
• Links
• Form fields
• Tables
• Landmarks
• Suggestions

To cycle through different Narrator views press Caps lock + Up Arrow or Caps lock + Down Arrow

Switching between different views is especially helpful if you are using Narrator on a touch screen device. Yes that’s right, Narrator also supports touch screen gestures!

Along with reading text, Narrator identifies different web page elements, such as headings, lists, links, images, tables, form fields, etc. to help users access and interpret the information with ease. The following table lists down the commands to access different web page elements.

Apart from the above one can press number keys 1 to 9 on the Numeric row to jump to the headings at different levels on a web page. Yes, that’s correct 1 to 9 headings! Narrator gives options to jump to headings at level 7, 8 and 9 which are not commonly used on the web.

Just like any other screen reader, Narrator also provides users with several commands for accessing tabular information. So let’s find out the commands for accessing tables using Narrator.

Reading tables with Narrator

Tip: Press Caps lock + Ctrl + F to find text on a web page!

All in all Narrator has matured in to a useful screen reader option for users with visual impairments and is certainly a useful option not only to browse the web but also test web pages for accessibility!

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