A brief Narrator Overview, From STRIVE Ability, May 1, 2026

[Colin Howard]

Greetings,

I've had little experience using Narator, some reckon it's extremely good,
others, have doubts. I do have Jaws as my main access, NVDA has been used a
few times and Narator, extremely infrequently. Perhaps I ought to learn how
to use it along with NVDA.

I am, therefore, keeping this as a start for using Narator.

Any thoughts folks?

What is Narrator?
Narrator is Microsoft's own screen reader and is built into all Windows 10
and Windows 11 machines. To listen to Narrator and move around your
computer, you will need either a pair of speakers for the sound output, or
wear a pair of headphones which is preferable in a public environment. To
turn on Windows Narrator, press control+Windows key+enter. This is a toggle
so if you no longer want it running, you can turn it off with the same key
combination.

When you first turn on Narrator, the default voice will say: 'Welcome to
Narrator. This is Narrator Home, where you can get help, access your
settings, and learn about new features.' This message can be customised so
you don't have to listen to that each time you turn Narrator on. But it is
helpful because Narrator then tells you that there is a user guide you can
launch, and settings you can customise.

Right at the outset, a useful feature to note in Narrator for beginners is
Input Learning. This tells you what keys you are pressing on your keyboard,
and the Narrator command associated with them. Turn input learning on or
off by pressing Narrator+1 (the number 1 key on the keyboard).

If you are going to use Narrator consistently, however, it is a good idea to
go into Narrator's settings to customise the screen reader a little before
you start navigating websites and other Windows components.

The tab key is a useful way to get to the Narrator settings so press the tab
key a few times until you reach the settings button, and open them by
pressing enter.

The Narrator settings allow you to configure the screen reader to suit your
preference. You can change the voice - and there are some
realistic-sounding voices here to choose from - alter the speed of your
chosen voice, adjust punctuation, add a Braille display, and much more. As
you move through the various settings of Narrator, you will often hear the
word 'collapsed.' This means that there is a group of choices that you can
open by pressing the space bar to expand those elements. Remember that you
can access the full Narrator user guide here as well.

Complete Guide to Narrator

Once you have configured the way you want Narrator to work - or even if you
just want to continue without making any adjustments to the screen reader -
you can simply close the settings window or press Windows+M to minimise
Narrator. This should take you back to the computer's desktop where your
application icons can be seen.

Keen to get started? Let's first open a web browser. In keeping with the
Microsoft theme, you could start with Microsoft Edge as this browser is
built into all Windows machines. You may want to configure Edge, or you may
be used to working with other browsers such as Google Chrome or Mozilla
Firefox. Whichever browser you use, you should be able to navigate it using
Narrator. But for best results, stick to Microsoft Edge because it is
already on the machine and saves you having to download any others.

You can configure the browser to go to a specific web page each time you
open it such as

Google

This is probably the most popular search engine but there are lots more.
From here, you can either search for a product, resource, organisation or
any other information, or you can type in the address of the website you
want to visit if you know its URL, (Uniform Resource Locator.) Suppose you
want to visit the RNIB Reading Services website:

Reading Services

As you type the address or move around the screen, Narrator will be speaking
to you, and when the page has loaded, you should hear Narrator say: 'Home -
Reading Services' because you have just landed there. Now you can start
moving around this website by using some very useful keyboard shortcuts that
will get you to the information you are looking for much faster.

At this point, before we start moving around a website, it is important to
introduce two elements:

Narrator Key
1. The Narrator Key. This key is used in all screen readers, not just
Narrator. If you use JAWS, there is a JAWS key, and same goes for NVDA. It
is a designated key on your computer keyboard that works in combination with
other keys. On all screen readers, it is either the Insert key or the Caps
lock key. You can choose what modifier key you want to use in Narrator
commands. Both the Caps lock and Insert keys serve as your Narrator key by
default. You can use either of these keys in any command that uses the
Narrator key. The Narrator key is referred to as simply 'Narrator' in
commands. You can change your Narrator key in Narrator settings. So, for
example, if you want Narrator to tell you the current time and date, you
would press either the Insert key or Caps lock key with F12. On a webpage,
you might want Narrator to give you a list of links on that page, so you
would press the shortcut Insert key or Caps lock key and F7. Similarly,
pressing Narrator key with F6 brings up a list of all the headings on that
page where you can enter on the one you want.

Scan On Or Off
2. Scan on or off. Scan mode is activated by pressing Narrator key+Space.
When Scan mode is turned on, use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate apps
and webpages. Press Enter or Spacebar to activate an item that you want to
use, such as a button in an app, a link on a webpage, or a text box. In
both JAWS and NVDA, the equivalent Scan mode is toggled by pressing
Insert+Z.

Scan mode turns on automatically when you use Mail, Outlook, Microsoft Edge,
Google Chrome, and Firefox. It also turns on automatically when you open
any Windows app where you turned it on before.

If you turn Scan mode off for an app, it will remain off for that app until
you turn it on again. Scan mode automatically turns off in edit fields so
you can enter text. Press the Up or Down arrow key again to leave the edit
field and resume Scan mode.

Here are some useful navigation shortcuts you can use on the Internet. To
move forward through a page, use the following keys on their own. To move
back up the page, add shift to any of these keys:

Move by button: b
Move to an edit field: e
Move by heading: h
Move by list: l
Move by radio button: r
Move through tables: t
For a full list, go to the

Narrator Appendices

This is a very basic overview of the Narrator screen reader and how to use
it. Both the JAWS and NVDA screen readers do have more powerful features,
but Narrator is a really good place to start if you just want or need to
experiment for the first time, and has grown in to a viable alternative.


https://striveability.uk/2026/05/01/narrator-overview/
David Goldfield,

Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist

http://www.DavidGoldfield.com

Director of Marketing,

Blazie Technologies

http://www.BlazieTech.com

JAWS Certified, 2022

NVDA Certified Expert

Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive blindness technology
news, events and information.

Email: tech-vi+...@groups.io

http://www.DavidGoldfield.com

Colin Howard, living in Southern England.

[Rita Bayliss]

Thanks for this, Colin,


I think I will find it useful as I am just beginning to start using a
screen reader in earnest.


Best wishes,


Rita