The Basics of Using Narrator in Windows 10
Welcome to the tutorial:
The Basics of Using Windows Narrator in Windows 10
In this tutorial you will learn how easy it is to turn narrator on
or off and navigate the Windows 10 environment with the
keyboard.
You will also learn a few useful Narrator commands to get
you started with reading screens and documents as well as
some popular Windows keystrokes.
What is Narrator?
Windows Narrator is the screen reader that is built into the
Windows operating system. it is worth mentioning that
previous versions of Narrator have not been as functional or
useful for computer users who are blind. Windows 10 saw
major improvements in Narrator and new features are added
with each update.
Turning Narrator on or off
It is very easy to turn Narrator on or off with the built-in
shortcut key Ctrl plus Windows key plus Enter.
If you press Ctrl plus Windows key plus Enter again, Narrator
will turn off.
The Narrator key
The narrator key is the modifier key you will use with most
narrator commands. By default, you can use either the insert
key or the caps lock key as the Narrator key.
For example, if the command is Narrator key plus T, you can
press insert plus T or Caps Lock plus T with the same result.
This tutorial will refer to the Narrator modifier key as the
“Narrator key” when giving keystrokes.
Getting help with Narrator
There are a couple of quick keystrokes that can assist you
with finding commands while working with Narrator.
You can press the Narrator key plus F1 to bring up a list of
Narrator commands.
If you are looking for help with commands for the particular
element you are focused on, you can press Narrator key plus
F2.
Finding Narrator settings
To quickly go to narrator settings
Press Ctrl plus Windows key plus N
Here you can change startup options, change voice
parameters, view the Narrator user guide, and more.
Ease of access center
Narrator can also be found in the ease of access center. You
can also find other settings there including high contrast,
magnification, and many other settings to make Windows 10
easier to use.
To go to the ease of access center
Press Windows key plus U
Adjusting speech
To increase speech volume
Press Ctrl plus Narrator key plus the plus sign
To decrease speech volume
Press Ctrl plus Narrator key plus the minus sign
To increase speech rate
Press Narrator key plus the plus sign
To decrease speech rate
Press Narrator key plus the minus sign
Reading items on the screen
The following are some useful Narrator keystrokes to read
different items in the Windows environment:
To read the window title
Press Narrator key plus T
To read the current window
Press Narrator key plus W
To read the current item
Press Narrator key plus Tab
To repeat the last phrase
Press Narrator key plus X
To read the next item
Press Narrator key plus right arrow
To read the previous item
Press Narrator key plus left arrow
To begin reading a document
Press Narrator key plus down arrow
To read from the current cursor position
Press Narrator key plus R
To silence speech
Press Ctrl
To read the time and date
Press Narrator key plus F12
Windows keystrokes
As with using other screen readers, many of the commands
you will use to navigate the Windows environment are
Windows keystrokes and not screen reader keystrokes.
For example, to go to the desktop, you can press Windows
key plus M or Windows key plus D.
Here are a few more Windows keystrokes that may come in
handy:
To go to the start menu
Press the Windows key
Or Windows key plus S
To switch between open windows,
press Alt plus Tab
To close a window,
press Alt plus F4
To maximize a window
Press Windows key plus up arrow
To minimize a window
Press Windows key plus down arrow
To open file explorer
Press Windows key plus E
To go directly to the task bar
Press Windows key plus T
Pressing this keystroke repeatedly cycles through the
buttons on the task bar.
To go to the system tray.
(This is sometimes called the notification area)
Press Windows key plus B
You can then use the left and right arrows to navigate this
area and press enter to activate an item.
Those are all windows commands which will work regardless
of which screen reader or magnification program you are
using.
This is the end of the tutorial Using Windows Narrator in
Windows 10.