Screen Readers course

Screen Readers Lesson 4

Navigate Windows, Dialogs, and Controls

First-time setup and success checks

Lesson goal in plain language: Move reliably through Windows applications and identify focus.

Prepare before step 1

  1. Open the correct application, website, or device screen and wait for its name to be announced.
  2. Open Screen Readers manual and review the matching procedure if any command or term is unfamiliar.
  3. Use only fictional, public, disposable, or instructor-provided practice information. Make a copy before changing an important file.
  4. Read all numbered instructions once before performing them so you know the intended final result.

Commands used or referenced

Use the exact keyboard or device commands stated in the numbered instructions.

For a plus-sign command, hold the modifier key, press and release the final key, then release the modifier. For a sequence, press and release each key in order. Stop after every command and listen for the result.

Work and verify

  1. Perform one numbered instruction and stop. Identify the active window, focused control, selected item, cell, slide, message, field, or device area before continuing.
  2. Compare the result with the lesson goal. A sound alone is not enough; verify the name, state, value, location, permission, or content.
  3. If the result is wrong, press Escape once to leave an unexpected menu, identify focus again, and use Undo only when the change is safely reversible.
  4. Save or synchronize at natural stopping points. Confirm the filename and location before closing.
  5. Complete the “Before submitting” checklist from top to bottom. Correct missing items before marking the lesson complete.
  6. Close and reopen the practice item, or return to it from the product’s main screen, to prove you can locate and verify the result independently.

Success standard: Explain what each major command did, show the finished result, and recover from one harmless focus or navigation error without another person naming the next key.

Choose your screen reader

Complete this lesson with JAWS, Windows Narrator, or NVDA. Use one primary screen reader at a time. Follow the column for your selection whenever commands differ.

Goal

Move reliably through Windows applications and identify focus.

Shared practice steps

  1. Open the Start menu and search for Settings.
  2. Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move between controls.
  3. Use Arrow keys within lists, menus, and groups.
  4. Press Spacebar to toggle a checkbox and Enter to activate a button when appropriate.
  5. Press Alt+Tab to switch applications and use the screen-reader focus command.
  6. Press Esc to close a menu or cancel a practice dialog without changing important settings.

JAWS, Narrator, and NVDA comparison

Commands and differences for Lesson 4
TaskJAWSNarratorNVDA
Windows navigationTab, Shift+Tab, Arrow keys, Enter, Spacebar, Alt+Tab, and Esc are shared Windows commands.The same Windows commands apply; Narrator announces focus.The same Windows commands apply; NVDA announces focus.
Describe focusInsert+Tab.Narrator+Tab.NVDA+Tab.
Open settingsInsert+F2 opens JAWS managers; use Windows settings for operating-system controls.Windows+Ctrl+N opens Narrator settings.NVDA+N opens the NVDA menu.

Command note: JAWS key, Narrator key, and NVDA key each mean that screen reader’s modifier key. Commands can vary by keyboard layout, software version, application, and user settings. Confirm differences in the official references linked from the manual.

Your assignment

Create a control-navigation report covering a button, checkbox, edit field, list, and dialog.

Use fictional, public, instructor-provided, or redacted information only. Never submit passwords, license information, account codes, or private workplace data.

Save your work with a filename beginning Screen-Readers-Lesson-4.

Before submitting