Reading Combo Box Headers

[Dean Masters]

I come to NVDA after using JAWS for many years. There is one program I installed on my windows 11 PC where I tab from combo box to combo box but don't know what each box is for. I assume there is a heading but how does one read the heading? In JAWS you could use the JAWS cursor.

Thanks for any help,

Dean

[darrell....@gmail.com]

Hi Dean,

 

The review cursor is used instead of the JAWS cursor. IMHO, it works a lot better.

 

Please see section 5.5 in the NVDA User’s Guide.

 

Thanks,

 

Darrell

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[joseph....@gmail.com]

Hi,

You mean combo box labels are not announced by NVDA? Which program is this?

Cheers,

Joseph

 

From: nvda-...@nvaccess.org <nvda-...@nvaccess.org> On Behalf Of Dean Masters
Sent: Saturday, March 7, 2026 12:05 PM
To: NVDA Users <nvda-...@nvaccess.org>
Subject: [NVDA] Reading Combo Box Headers

 

I come to NVDA after using JAWS for many years. There is one program I installed on my windows 11 PC where I tab from combo box to combo box but don't know what each box is for. I assume there is a heading but how does one read the heading? In JAWS you could use the JAWS cursor.

 

Thanks for any help,

Dean

--

[Gene Asner]

I don't think it works better. Movement commands are different. In
addition, because of changes in Windows 10 and 11, often the review
cursor doesn't work in either JAWS nor NVDA. In those cases, it's the
touch cursor in JAWS and object navigation that would be used in NVDA.
There are materials teaching how to use object navigation in NVDA.
Depending on ow you use a computer, you may not need to use object
navigation at all or you may need to use it.

Gene

On 3/7/2026 1:08 PM, darrell....@gmail.com wrote:
> Hi Dean,
>
> The review cursor is used instead of the JAWS cursor. IMHO, it works a
> lot better.
>
> Please see section 5.5 in the NVDA User’s Guide.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Darrell
>

> *From:*nvda-...@nvaccess.org <nvda-...@nvaccess.org> *On Behalf Of
> *Dean Masters
> *Sent:* Saturday, March 7, 2026 12:05 PM
> *To:* NVDA Users <nvda-...@nvaccess.org>
> *Subject:* [NVDA] Reading Combo Box Headers

>
> I come to NVDA after using JAWS for many years. There is one program I
> installed on my windows 11 PC where I tab from combo box to combo box
> but don't know what each box is for. I assume there is a heading but how
> does one read the heading? In JAWS you could use the JAWS cursor.
>
> Thanks for any help,
>
> Dean
>
> --
> ***
> Please note: the NVDA project has a Citizen and Contributor Code of Conduct.
> NV Access expects that all community members will read and abide by the
> rules set out in this document while participating in this group.
> https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
> <https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md>
>
> You can contact the group owners and moderators via

> nvda-user...@nvaccess.org <mailto:nvda-user...@nvaccess.org>.

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>
> --
> ***
> Please note: the NVDA project has a Citizen and Contributor Code of Conduct.
> NV Access expects that all community members will read and abide by the
> rules set out in this document while participating in this group.
> https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
> <https://github.com/nvaccess/nvda/blob/master/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md>
>
> You can contact the group owners and moderators via
> nvda-user...@nvaccess.org.
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> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
> Groups "NVDA Screen Reader Discussion" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
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[Sarah Alawami]

I tend to use both. Not at the same time but in programs where object
nav does not give me a hint sometimes the review cursor will or vice versa.

[Quentin Christensen]

The review cursor is used to move around text within the current object.

Object navigation is used to move between objects.

Exactly what an "object" is might vary between programs, but one example we use in Basic Training for NVDA is the Windows version dialog.  (Type WINVER in the start menu or run dialog).

When you open that dialog, if you try reading with the review cursor, all it will tell you is "OK" because the current object is the OK button and "OK" is the only text in it.  If you use the move to previous object command, you can move back through the objects in this dialog such as the windows version, the links to the license and so on (the OK button is the last object at the bottom of the dialog, hence needing to move backwards in this case).

In the OPs case of moving to controls which don't have an attached label, you may also need to press NVDA+numpad 4 or NVDA+shift+left arrow from the unlabeled control to read its label.  See the full list of controls in the user guide: https://download.nvaccess.org/documentation/userGuide.html#ObjectNavigation

Note that to really learn them (as it is an advanced feature), I would strongly recommend "Basic Training for NVDA": https://www.nvaccess.org/shop/

Kind regards

Quentin

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Quentin Christensen

Training and Support Manager

NV Access

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