Links Management

Author: Amir Soleimani
NVDA compatibility: 2026.1 and later

Overview

Links Management is an opt-in NVDA add-on that improves Browse Mode navigation when Screen Layout is turned off.

When enabled, each link behaves as a separate line for Up/Down arrow navigation. Trailing punctuation is intelligently attached to the link line to prevent blank or punctuation-only lines.

Inspired by JAWS, this add-on focuses on clarity, predictability, and navigation control.

Settings

A dedicated settings panel is available at:

NVDA menu → Preferences → Settings → Links management

Enable Links management

When enabled (and Screen Layout is off):

• Each link is treated as a separate navigation "line" in Browse Mode.
• Trailing punctuation is attached to the link line.
• Blank or punctuation-only lines are avoided.

Notes

• This add-on only affects Browse Mode behavior.
• It is opt-in and must be enabled in Settings.
• Designed for users who prefer structured link-by-link navigation.

Version 1.0.1 changes

• Fixed an issue where certain interactive elements exposed as buttons (e.g. <a role="button"> on Google “Search instead for…” suggestions) could be merged into a single line when Screen layout was off.
• The add-on now preserves NVDA’s original line boundaries and only applies link line-splitting when actual links exist within the current NVDA line.
• Improved semantic handling to avoid interfering with elements that behave like buttons.

Version 1.0.2 changes

• Added support for attaching the bullet character (•) to the preceding link line, preventing it from being placed on a separate line in Browse Mode when Screen layout is off.
• This improves navigation in content where links are separated by bullets, such as author lists and inline metadata.