Getting Started with NVDA

You might not be able to get your hands on all the assistive technologies 0:00 we've mentioned right now. 0:04 Some like specialized bluetooth switch controls or braille keyboards 0:06 would require a considerable investment of money and/or time. 0:11 To get much use out of them if you're not accustomed to using equipment like that. 0:15 And don't have a need for it in your daily life, but 0:19 there are free easy to use options to help you get started. 0:23 In this video, I'll walk you through getting started with NVDA or 0:27 non visual desktop access on a Windows machine. 0:31 There is no option for Mac, but we'll also explore Voice Over which comes packaged 0:35 with your Apple device in another video. 0:40 NVDA is a screen reader developed by Michael Curran and James Teh. 0:42 When the two men both completely blind themselves set out to build this tool. 0:47 It was difficult and sometimes impossible for a blind person to gain access to 0:52 a screen reader without spending thousands of dollars. 0:57 To this day, it remains one of the most popular screen readers for Windows users. 1:00 Because it provides a robust set of features and 1:05 is available in its entirety for free. 1:08 You'll first one to navigate the nvaccess.org, 1:11 where you'll see a brief explanation of what NVDA is and what it does. 1:13 The main points are that it will read texts that you point out with your cursor 1:20 or navigate to with your arrow keys. 1:24 What's cool is that it can also be integrated with the use of 1:27 a braille display. 1:30 So if your user reads and writes in braille, 1:31 they'll be able to have text translated in that way. 1:33 When you click the Download button, you'll be prompted to donate to nvaccess. 1:37 They do wonderful work, so it would be great if you donated, 1:41 but you needn't feel obligated to donate right this minute. 1:45 Simply choose your donation preference. 1:50 Note that the last option is Skip donation at this time. 1:52 Type in your email address and hit Download. 1:56 Once it's finished, go ahead and run the executable file. 2:05 NVDA will begin setting things up in the background and 2:08 it will start up pretty soon. 2:11 I'm going to go ahead and install NVDA on this computer. 2:13 [MUSIC] 2:17 >> NVDA Dialog, license agreement [INAUDIBLE], 2:25 license agreement [INAUDIBLE]. 2:28 Agree checkbox not checked [INAUDIBLE], Install NVDA on this computer, 2:30 install NVDA dialog to install NVDA to your hard drive. 2:35 [INAUDIBLE]. 2:38 >> Since I've already got NVDA installed on this computer. 2:41 My dialogue box is going to be a little bit more different but go ahead and 2:45 continue through the wizard. 2:48 >> [INAUDIBLE] 2:50 >> [SOUND] Welcome to NVDA dialog, welcome to NVDA. 3:07 Most commands for controlling and. 3:10 >> If at any point you want to pause the voice reading your screen, 3:13 just hit the Control button. 3:16 Note that under Options, 3:18 we'll want to be able to use Caps Lock as an NVDA modifier key. 3:20 If your keyboard does not have an Insert key. 3:25 Insert is the default NVDA key, which you'll use, 3:29 combined with other keys to execute NVDA commands. 3:33 Once all of this is done, start navigating around your screen. 3:36 Remember to move your mouse around to direct the screen reader, 3:40 as well as using the keyboard >> Options, welcome to NVDA, 3:43 welcome to NVDA, mouse OK. 3:46 [INAUDIBLE] >> To turn NVDA off, 3:48 you'll hit the Insert key or Caps Lock + Q. 3:55 >> [INAUDIBLE] NVDA dialog, what would you like to do? 3:59 [INAUDIBLE]. 4:02 >> This will give you the option to exit, restart or restart with add-ons disabled. 4:05 I'm gonna go ahead and exit and then hit the OK button. 4:11 >> [INAUDIBLE] What would you like to do? 4:14 OK. 4:17 >> Great job, you've taken a step towards better understanding of how tons of 4:20 users are likely to access your work. 4:25 If you'd like to learn more about NVDA, 4:28 consider purchasing the official basic training e-book. 4:31 Nvaccess offers a free sample, so you can try before you buy. 4:35 You may also wish to compare this software with another 4:39 commonly used on Windows machines, JAWS or Job Access With Speech. 4:42 You'll need to pay for a license to use JAWS, but 4:47 it may be worth it to familiarize yourself with this extremely popular screen reader, 4:50 as it does have some features that NVDA doesn't support. 4:55 Check out the teacher's notes for a link. 4:59