NVDA Coach

Version 1.5.2

Created by Tony Gebhard, Assistive Technology Instructor

What is NVDA Coach?

NVDA Coach is an interactive training add-on that teaches you NVDA commands through short, hands-on drills. Instead of reading about commands in a manual, you practice them in real time with spoken feedback. The Coach guides you step by step and keeps you moving at your own pace from inside NVDA itself.

NVDA Coach is designed specifically for absolute beginners and people who are just starting out with screen readers. It was built by an assistive technology instructor who works with these students every day.

Getting Started

Press NVDA+Shift+C to open NVDA Coach. A persistent Coach window will appear on screen. The first time you open it, you will see an introduction and a lesson picker. Use the arrow keys to select a lesson and press Enter to begin.

The Coach window stays open throughout your session so you always have your instructions in front of you. Press NVDA+Shift+C at any time during a lesson to return to the Coach window if you have switched away to practice in another window.

During a Lesson

Each lesson guides you through a short series of steps. For steps that ask you to try an NVDA command, switch to another window and perform the action, then press NVDA+Shift+C to return to the Coach window and press Enter to confirm and continue. For steps with inline practice text, simply arrow down into the text area inside the Coach window and practice there directly. The following keys are always available during any lesson:

Navigating Between Lessons

After completing a lesson, you can move to the next one without reopening the picker:

Lessons Included

1. Getting Started with NVDA

Thirteen short drills covering the essential commands every beginner needs, beginning with a framework for understanding how NVDA commands work. No prior experience required.

  1. Understanding Command Categories — Learn the three categories of keyboard commands (Windows, program, and screen reader) and why NVDA commands only inform rather than change things.
  2. Meet Your NVDA Key — Find and use the NVDA modifier key (Insert or Caps Lock).
  3. Read the Title Bar — Learn NVDA+T to identify the active window at any time.
  4. Read the Time — Learn NVDA+F12 to hear the current time and date.
  5. Stop NVDA from Talking — Use the Control key to silence speech instantly.
  6. Find Out Where You Are — Learn NVDA+Tab to identify the focused control. Includes a live practice login form.
  7. Move Between Controls with Tab — Navigate dialogs and forms with Tab and Shift+Tab. Includes a live practice form.
  8. Activate Buttons and Controls — Use Enter and Space to activate what you land on. Includes live practice controls.
  9. Read the Current Line — Learn NVDA+Up Arrow to re-read any line on demand. Includes inline practice text.
  10. Explore Keys with Input Help — Use NVDA+1 to safely discover what any key does.
  11. Open the User Guide — Find the NVDA help system from the NVDA menu.
  12. Understanding Your Keyboard — Physical keyboard reference: Ctrl key location variants, Fn+Arrow keys as Home/End/Page Up/Page Down, Fn Lock, and multimedia vs F-key mode.
  13. Switching Windows with Alt+Tab — Single Alt+Tab to toggle between two windows; hold Alt and tap Tab to cycle through multiple windows.

2. Your Keyboard

Three lessons to orient you to the physical keyboard before command learning begins. Covers standard and laptop keyboard variants.

  1. Modifier Keys and Their Locations — Where to find Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Windows key, and NVDA key (Insert and Caps Lock) on standard and laptop keyboards.
  2. Function Keys and the Fn Key — F1 through F12, multimedia vs F-key mode, Fn+Arrow keys as Home/End/Page Up/Page Down, and Fn Lock.
  3. Desktop vs Laptop Keyboard Layout — What the layout setting means, how to check and change it, and how NVDA Coach presents both alternatives throughout every lesson.

3. Reading and Moving Through Text

Seven lessons for navigating documents, emails, and text fields with precision. Each lesson includes an inline practice text area built directly into the Coach window — no switching to another application required.

  1. Move by Character — Right and Left Arrow to step through text one character at a time.
  2. Jump Word by Word — Control+Right and Control+Left Arrow to move word by word.
  3. Move Line by Line — Down and Up Arrow to read through a document line by line.
  4. Jump to Start and End — Control+Home and Control+End to jump to either end instantly.
  5. Read Everything from Here — Say All reads without stopping. Desktop: NVDA+Down Arrow. Laptop: NVDA+A.
  6. Select and Highlight Text — Shift plus arrow keys to select by character, word, and line; report selection with NVDA+Shift+Up Arrow (desktop) or NVDA+Shift+S (laptop); copy with Control+C.
  7. Navigate by Paragraph and Page — Control+Up/Down Arrow to move by paragraph; Page Up/Page Down for larger jumps.

4. Browse Mode and Web Navigation

Ten lessons for navigating web pages using NVDA's browse mode. A practice web page opens automatically when you start any lesson in this category.

  1. About Browse Mode — What browse mode is and how to switch to your browser.
  2. Navigate by Heading — H and Shift+H to jump between headings on any page.
  3. Jump to Heading Levels — Number keys 1 through 6 to jump to specific heading levels.
  4. Navigate by Link — K and Shift+K to move between links; Tab for interactive elements.
  5. Interact with Forms — F, E, and B to find form fields, edit fields, and buttons.
  6. Focus Mode vs Browse Mode — NVDA+Space to toggle between reading and typing modes; focus mode places your cursor in the edit box.
  7. Landmarks and Lists — D to jump between page landmarks; L to jump between lists.
  8. The Elements List — NVDA+F7 to open a full list of all headings, links, or form fields.
  9. Find Text on a Page — NVDA+Ctrl+F to search within a page; NVDA+F3 and NVDA+Shift+F3 to move forward and backward through results.
  10. Navigate Tables — Ctrl+Alt+Arrow keys to move between table cells; what NVDA announces when entering a table.

5. Object Navigation

Six lessons for reaching controls that Tab cannot access. Uses a levels/pyramid model throughout — "one level above," "one level below," same level — rather than parent/child terminology. Desktop and laptop layouts documented throughout.

  1. What Is Object Navigation? — The pyramid model, when to use object navigation, and the importance of maximizing your window first.
  2. Move to the Next and Previous Object — NVDA+NumPad6 and NumPad4 (desktop); NVDA+Shift+Right/Left Arrow (laptop). Distinction between NVDA+Tab and the object navigator.
  3. Move Up and Down Levels — NVDA+NumPad8 and NumPad2 (desktop); NVDA+Shift+Up/Down Arrow (laptop).
  4. Read the Current Navigator Object — NVDA+NumPad5 (desktop); NVDA+Shift+Comma (laptop). Press twice to spell the name.
  5. Move Keyboard Focus to a Navigator Object — Route focus to any object found via navigation; sync navigator to current focus.
  6. When Object Navigation Helps — Three scenarios where object navigation is the right tool; practice recommendations.

6. Customizing NVDA

Two lessons on adjusting NVDA to fit your keyboard and voice preferences. Completing this chapter triggers the Certificate of Completion.

  1. Changing Your Keyboard Layout — Switch between desktop (numpad) and laptop (letter keys) layout in NVDA Settings.
  2. The Synth Settings Ring — Adjust speech rate, pitch, volume, and voice on the fly without opening a dialog. Includes the NVDA Settings Speech panel for precise control.

Practice Environments

Several lessons include built-in practice environments so you can try real commands without leaving the lesson:

Progress Tracking

NVDA Coach remembers which lessons you have completed. Completed lessons are marked in the lesson picker so you can see your progress at a glance. Your progress is saved in your NVDA user configuration folder and persists across NVDA restarts.

For Instructors

Lessons are stored as plain JSON files in the add-on's lessons folder. Each JSON file defines one lesson category with an ordered list of lessons, and each lesson is a list of steps. Steps can be informational (the student reads and presses Enter), gesture-based (the student performs the action themselves and confirms with Enter), or include inline practice text for in-window navigation drills. You can create new lesson categories by adding a new JSON file — see the included files as templates.

For custom lesson development, training consultations, or questions about using NVDA Coach with your students, contact Tony directly:

System Requirements

Support and Contact

If you have questions, run into a problem, or want to suggest new lessons, reach out directly:

Acknowledgments

NVDA Coach is shaped by the people who use it. Thank you to everyone who has shared feedback, corrections, and encouragement.

What's New

Version 1.5.2

Version 1.5.1

Version 1.5

Version 1.4

For full version history, see the CHANGELOG.