NVDA's scan mode not working everywhere.

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muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 25, 2025, 10:17:04 AM (2 days ago) Sep 25
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"Hello. Today, while navigating the Settings app with NVDA, I noticed I couldn't activate the scan mode. I know scan mode is intended for web content, and that NVDA doesn't typically use it outside the web. However, when I use Narrator in the same app, it announces the settings as headings, and I can move around using the up/down arrows. I can even use single-key navigation shortcuts, like pressing 'E' to jump to the next edit field. Is it feasible to integrate this kind of functionality into NVDA, or would that be an inefficient approach? Best regards."

joseph....@gmail.com

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Sep 25, 2025, 11:21:09 AM (2 days ago) Sep 25
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Hi,

What 6ou are looking for is already available: ObjPad add-on.

Cheers,

Jospeh

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muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 25, 2025, 12:08:19 PM (2 days ago) Sep 25
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"Hello, thank you, but I know and use this add-on; however, it's not quite as advanced as the Narrator's. For example, Narrator adds headings in the settings and has more navigation keys. Regards."

<joseph....@gmail.com> adresine sahip kullanıcı 25 Eyl 2025 Per, 18:21 tarihinde şunu yazdı:
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Mujtaba Merchant

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Sep 25, 2025, 12:47:55 PM (2 days ago) Sep 25
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Correction it’s called Browse mode and not Scan mode for NVDA, the Scan mode is available in Narrator. Sorry nothing to add to help with a solution. I would be interested to know what settings are you trying to change and if this is on a Windows 11 computer?

 

From: nvda-...@nvaccess.org <nvda-...@nvaccess.org> On Behalf Of muhammed ali çiçek
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2025 7:47 PM
To: NVDA Screen Reader Discussion <nvda-...@nvaccess.org>
Subject: [NVDA] NVDA's scan mode not working everywhere.

 

"Hello. Today, while navigating the Settings app with NVDA, I noticed I couldn't activate the scan mode. I know scan mode is intended for web content, and that NVDA doesn't typically use it outside the web. However, when I use Narrator in the same app, it announces the settings as headings, and I can move around using the up/down arrows. I can even use single-key navigation shortcuts, like pressing 'E' to jump to the next edit field. Is it feasible to integrate this kind of functionality into NVDA, or would that be an inefficient approach? Best regards."

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muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 25, 2025, 1:21:34 PM (2 days ago) Sep 25
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"Hello, I'm using Windows 10 and NVDA 2025.3.
I've found that NVDA's Browse Mode is limited to the web, but Narrator's Scan Mode works universally in places like the Settings app, Notepad, and the Taskbar.
Is there an NVDA setting or feature that allows for this broader "scan" functionality across non-web applications?
Regards,"

Mujtaba Merchant <mujt...@gmail.com>, 25 Eyl 2025 Per, 19:47 tarihinde şunu yazdı:

Noelia

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Sep 25, 2025, 2:36:14 PM (2 days ago) Sep 25
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Hello:
Browse mode everywhere is not available in NVDA itself.
There is an open issue waiting for implementation of this feature.
Perhaps Joseph can tell more about the objPad add-on and its feature named Scan mode emulation, mentioned in the issue:


Hope this helps.
Noelia


Noelia

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Sep 25, 2025, 2:37:26 PM (2 days ago) Sep 25
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Sorry, I missed this message and replied too.

jacob kruger

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Sep 26, 2025, 3:13:34 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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Screen review mode, or flat review mode, but, if you want to just use cursor keys, and you'd need to use something like objpad - that's if you want to interact with elements, or else, if you just want to scan contents using cursor keys, something like virtual review might help?


Jacob Kruger
"Resistance is futile...acceptance is versatile..."

Steve Nutt

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Sep 26, 2025, 4:05:56 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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I don’t believe so. You’ve have to use object navigation as Joseph says.

Actually, as an aside, Narrator is really getting quite good now.

All the best


Steve

 

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NVDA Screen Reader Discussion

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Sep 26, 2025, 4:38:28 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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Hello:
To be useful, please let's try to investigate before replying, aboiding to repeat information. Joseph mentioned the ObjPad add-on, and I provided the reference of an issue about this.
Also, I suggest to read this message so that this group can serve the community:


Thanks,
Noelia

muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 26, 2025, 5:42:33 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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"Hello, thank you. Perhaps the only good feature of Narrator is its scan mode feature, which works everywhere. Best regards."

Noelia <nrm...@gmail.com>, 25 Eyl 2025 Per, 21:36 tarihinde şunu yazdı:

muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 26, 2025, 5:57:45 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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I understand. Thanks for your help. Best regards,

Steve Nutt <st...@comproom.co.uk>, 26 Eyl 2025 Cum, 11:05 tarihinde şunu yazdı:

Richard Wells

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Sep 26, 2025, 10:06:31 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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Gene Asner

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Sep 26, 2025, 10:15:37 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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If you want to look at the screen, that's fine. If you want to d
something like press a button or work with some other control, you can't
do that in virtual review.

Gene
>> *From:*nvda-...@nvaccess.org <nvda-...@nvaccess.org>
>> *On Behalf Of *muhammed ali çiçek
>> *Sent:* Thursday, September 25, 2025 7:47 PM
>> *To:* NVDA Screen Reader Discussion <nvda-...@nvaccess.org>
>> *Subject:* [NVDA] NVDA's scan mode not working everywhere.
>> <https://groups.google.com/a/nvaccess.org/d/msgid/nvda-users/d35cbe61-8b6c-4fd8-a46d-62e7665801b8n%40nvaccess.org?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>.
>>
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>> abide by the rules set out in this document while
>> participating in this group.
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>> nvda-user...@nvaccess.org
>> <mailto:nvda-users%2Bman...@nvaccess.org>.
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muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 26, 2025, 10:18:38 AM (yesterday) Sep 26
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"Hello, thank you. I didn't quite understand what this addon does exactly. Best regards."

Richard Wells <richwe...@gmail.com>, 26 Eyl 2025 Cum, 17:06 tarihinde şunu yazdı:

Steve Nutt

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Sep 26, 2025, 12:00:28 PM (yesterday) Sep 26
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From what I can see, it lets you review the screen, but you can’t perform any actions, like clicking, double clicking, etc. If I have that wrong, I apologise.

All the best


Steve

 

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muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 26, 2025, 12:31:46 PM (yesterday) Sep 26
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"Yes, I think it does. I downloaded and installed the plugin and tried it, but it doesn't have the exact features I'm looking for. I will keep using the object navigation plugin. Thank you."

Steve Nutt <st...@comproom.co.uk>, 26 Eyl 2025 Cum, 19:00 tarihinde şunu yazdı:
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Richard Wells

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Sep 26, 2025, 12:51:30 PM (yesterday) Sep 26
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It will virtualize any focused window, allowing you to navigate with arrow keys, even if it only has static text. This is what scan mode does in Narrator, if my understanding is correct.

muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 26, 2025, 12:57:23 PM (yesterday) Sep 26
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"No, Narrator's Scan Mode also allows us to hover over elements and activate them, meaning we can use the same web navigation methods in Windows applications. Even without this, the computer can be used naturally, but adding this feature to the NVDA screen reader would enable faster navigation. Sincerely,"

Richard Wells <richwe...@gmail.com>, 26 Eyl 2025 Cum, 19:51 tarihinde şunu yazdı:

joseph....@gmail.com

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Sep 26, 2025, 1:04:49 PM (yesterday) Sep 26
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Hi,

Not exactly – the idea behind Narrator’s scan mode is to review screen elements regardless of hierarchy as if you are using browse mode (after all, browse mode works by collecting elements present in complex documents and formatting it for ease of screen reader navigation). This is what ObjPad emulates with its own scan mode – it will navigate objects regardless of parent-child-sibling relationships. Narrator calls it “scan mode” because it scans the app interface, gathering elements and giving you a slightly more linear representation when in fact it is not (for example, Settings app in Windows is divided into columns yet Narrator’s scan mode and NVDA’s ObjPad add-on/scan mode presents the app interface in a linear way).

Browse mode is primarily used to navigate complex documents such as webpages. It is not really designed with scan mode like functionality in mind because not all apps can be thought of as documents.

Cheers,

Joseph

muhammed ali çiçek

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Sep 26, 2025, 1:21:03 PM (yesterday) Sep 26
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I understand. Thank you for your answer.
Sincerely.

<joseph....@gmail.com> adresine sahip kullanıcı 26 Eyl 2025 Cum, 20:04 tarihinde şunu yazdı:
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