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Getting Started with NVDA

5:01 with Aisha Blake

You might not be able to get your hands on some the assistive technologies we’ve discussed so far right now, but there are free options to help get you started. In this video, I’ll walk you through getting started with NVDA, or NonVisual Desktop Access, on a Windows machine.

Further Reading:

Basics of NVDA
NVDA Cheat Sheet
JAWS website

  • 0:00

    You might not be able to get your hands on all the assistive technologies

  • 0:04

    we've mentioned right now.

  • 0:06

    Some like specialized bluetooth switch controls or braille keyboards

  • 0:11

    would require a considerable investment of money and/or time.

  • 0:15

    To get much use out of them if you're not accustomed to using equipment like that.

  • 0:19

    And don't have a need for it in your daily life, but

  • 0:23

    there are free easy to use options to help you get started.

  • 0:27

    In this video, I'll walk you through getting started with NVDA or

  • 0:31

    non visual desktop access on a Windows machine.

  • 0:35

    There is no option for Mac, but we'll also explore Voice Over which comes packaged

  • 0:40

    with your Apple device in another video.

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    NVDA is a screen reader developed by Michael Curran and James Teh.

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    When the two men both completely blind themselves set out to build this tool.

  • 0:52

    It was difficult and sometimes impossible for a blind person to gain access to

  • 0:57

    a screen reader without spending thousands of dollars.

  • 1:00

    To this day, it remains one of the most popular screen readers for Windows users.

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    Because it provides a robust set of features and

  • 1:08

    is available in its entirety for free.

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    You'll first one to navigate the nvaccess.org,

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    where you'll see a brief explanation of what NVDA is and what it does.

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    The main points are that it will read texts that you point out with your cursor

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    or navigate to with your arrow keys.

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    What's cool is that it can also be integrated with the use of

  • 1:30

    a braille display.

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    So if your user reads and writes in braille,

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    they'll be able to have text translated in that way.

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    When you click the Download button, you'll be prompted to donate to nvaccess.

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    They do wonderful work, so it would be great if you donated,

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    but you needn't feel obligated to donate right this minute.

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    Simply choose your donation preference.

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    Note that the last option is Skip donation at this time.

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    Type in your email address and hit Download.

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    Once it's finished, go ahead and run the executable file.

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    NVDA will begin setting things up in the background and

  • 2:11

    it will start up pretty soon.

  • 2:13

    I'm going to go ahead and install NVDA on this computer.

  • 2:17

    [MUSIC]

  • 2:25

    >> NVDA Dialog, license agreement [INAUDIBLE],

  • 2:28

    license agreement [INAUDIBLE].

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    Agree checkbox not checked [INAUDIBLE], Install NVDA on this computer,

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    install NVDA dialog to install NVDA to your hard drive.

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    [INAUDIBLE].

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    >> Since I've already got NVDA installed on this computer.

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    My dialogue box is going to be a little bit more different but go ahead and

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    continue through the wizard.

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    >> [INAUDIBLE]

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    >> [SOUND] Welcome to NVDA dialog, welcome to NVDA.

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    Most commands for controlling and.

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    >> If at any point you want to pause the voice reading your screen,

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    just hit the Control button.

  • 3:18

    Note that under Options,

  • 3:20

    we'll want to be able to use Caps Lock as an NVDA modifier key.

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    If your keyboard does not have an Insert key.

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    Insert is the default NVDA key, which you'll use,

  • 3:33

    combined with other keys to execute NVDA commands.

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    Once all of this is done, start navigating around your screen.

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    Remember to move your mouse around to direct the screen reader,

  • 3:43

    as well as using the keyboard >> Options, welcome to NVDA,

  • 3:46

    welcome to NVDA, mouse OK.

  • 3:48

    [INAUDIBLE] >> To turn NVDA off,

  • 3:55

    you'll hit the Insert key or Caps Lock + Q.

  • 3:59

    >> [INAUDIBLE] NVDA dialog, what would you like to do?

  • 4:02

    [INAUDIBLE].

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    >> This will give you the option to exit, restart or restart with add-ons disabled.

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    I'm gonna go ahead and exit and then hit the OK button.

  • 4:14

    >> [INAUDIBLE] What would you like to do?

  • 4:17

    OK.

  • 4:20

    >> Great job, you've taken a step towards better understanding of how tons of

  • 4:25

    users are likely to access your work.

  • 4:28

    If you'd like to learn more about NVDA,

  • 4:31

    consider purchasing the official basic training e-book.

  • 4:35

    Nvaccess offers a free sample, so you can try before you buy.

  • 4:39

    You may also wish to compare this software with another

  • 4:42

    commonly used on Windows machines, JAWS or Job Access With Speech.

  • 4:47

    You'll need to pay for a license to use JAWS, but

  • 4:50

    it may be worth it to familiarize yourself with this extremely popular screen reader,

  • 4:55

    as it does have some features that NVDA doesn't support.

  • 4:59

    Check out the teacher's notes for a link.

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