Screen Reader Cheat Sheets

You can pull these cheat sheets up on your phone while you're practicing your screen reader on your computer

Jump to NVDA

Jump to JAWS

Jump to VoiceOver with QuickNav

Jump to VoiceOver Standard interaction

Jump to VoiceOver for iOS

Jump to TalkBack for Android

NVDA Cheat Sheet

Operational

Turn on / off - control + alt + n / NVDA + q

NVDA key - insert, or caps lock if set

Stop Speech - Ctrl

moving - up arrow or down arrow to move from element to element

Perform default action - enter

next/prev interactive element - tab / shift + tab

List Elements - NVDA + F7

Read Window Title - NVDA + T

next/prev element of a certain type - single key, or shift + single key

Browse Mode and Forms Mode

Toggle forms mode and browse mode - NVDA + Space

Single-key navigation

tap the key to go to the next of an element type. shift + single key takes you to the previous

Single keys:

  • h, 1 - 6: Heading, H1 - H6
  • d: Landmark
  • k: Link
  • b: Button
  • f: Form Field
  • x: Check Box
  • t: Table | down arrow to enter a table cell, then control + alt + arrow keys to navigate table cells
  • l: List | i: List Item
  • g: Graphic/Image

JAWS Cheat Sheet

Operational

Turn on / off - control + alt + n / JAWS + q

JAWS key - insert, or caps lock if set

Stop Speech - Ctrl

moving - up arrow or down arrow to move from element to element

Perform default action - enter

next/prev interactive element - tab / shift + tab

List Elements - JAWS + F7

Read Window Title - JAWS + T

next/prev element of a certain type - single key, or shift + single key

Browse Mode and Forms Mode

Toggle forms mode and browse mode - JAWS + Space

Single-key navigation

tap the key to go to the next of an element type. shift + single key takes you to the previous

Single keys:

  • h, 1 - 6: Heading, H1 - H6
  • d: Landmark
  • k: Link
  • b: Button
  • f: Form Field
  • x: Check Box
  • t: Table | down arrow to enter a table cell, then control + alt + arrow keys to navigate table cells
  • l: List | i: List Item
  • g: Graphic/Image

VoiceOver for Mac - QuickNav navigation

Operational

Turn on in Settings > Accessibility > Voiceover, or command-f5 or command-triple-click fingerprint sensor

activate or deactivate QuickNav - left arrow + right arrow

next or previous element - right arrow or left arrow

next/previous rotor-type element - down arrow / up arrow

change rotor type - up arrow + right arrow, or up arrow + left arrow

activate the current element - up arrow + down arrow

enter an element - down arrow + right arrow

exit an element - down arrow + left arrow

Single-key navigation

Go to next/previous element of type by pressing the single key / shift + key

Single keys

  • h, 1-6: Heading, H1 - H6
  • l: Link
  • b: Button
  • c: Checkbox
  • j: Control (e.g form element)
  • g: Image - if image is in a link, you need to move past before you can jump to next image
  • x: List - right arrow, left arrow to navigate list items
  • f: Form Field - up arrow + down arrow to enter field, left arrow + right arrow to turn QuickNav off to be able to type, tab to next field
  • t: Table - left arrow + right arrow to turn QuickNav off, VO + arrows to move around table

VoiceOver for Mac - standard navigation

Operational

Turn on in Settings > Accessibility > Voiceover, or command-f5 or command-triple-click fingerprint sensor

VO key - control + option, or caps lock

VO lock - VO + ; locks it on for one-handed use

open rotor - VO + u, then arrows to navigate, and enter to jump to the component

moving - VO + left arrow or right arrow to move from element to element

Perform default action - VO + shift + space

enter an element - VO + shift + down arrow

leave an element - VO + shift + up arrow

next/prev interactive element - tab / shift + tab

next/prev element of a certain type - VO + command + single key / VO + command + shift + key

Single keys:

  • h: Heading
  • l: Link
  • j: Control (like form element)
  • g: Image - if image is in a link, you need to move past before you can jump to next image
  • x: List - VO + right arrow/left arrow to navigate list items

VoiceOver for iOS

Operational

Turn on in Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver, or triple click side button if enabled in settings

next/previous element - swipe right/left

read continuously from where you are - two-finger swipe down

read continuously from top of page - two-finger swipe up

select rotor type - rotate two fingers on the screen, like turning a dial

previous/next rotor-type element - swipe up/down

perform default action - double tap

Filling forms

Type in a form field by landing in it, then dragging your finger across the bottom of the screen where the keyboard pops up until it announces the character you want. Double tap the screen to insert that character. When you’re done composing, swipe right anywhere off the keyboard area to move to the next element, often a submit button. Double tap to activate.

Talkback for Android

Operational

Turn on in Settings > Accessibility > TalkBack, or holding volume up and down if enabled in settings

next/previous element - swipe right/left

read continuously from where you are - triple tap with two fingers

select control type - swipe right/left with three fingers, or with single finger down-then-up, or up-then-down

previous/next control-type element - swipe up/down

perform default action - double tap

Filling forms

Type in a form field by landing in it, then dragging your finger across the bottom of the screen where the keyboard pops up until you find the character you want. Double tap the screen to insert that character. When you’re done composing, swipe right anywhere off the keyboard area to move to the next element, often a submit button. Double tap to activate.