NVDA Screen Reader

Non Visual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free full function screen reader for Windows. It is a good alternative for JAWS. It is becoming a much more common application for accessing windows and is popular among students in technical programs.

The links below give access to the homepage and download pages for NVDA. On the Download page they request, but don't require, a donation to support the project.

• NV Access Homepage
• Download NVDA

NVDA uses many of the same hotkeys as JAWS. The Insert key or the Caps Lock can be used as the NVDA key just like JAWS. The dialogs for program configuration and web navigation differ, but are still intuitive. To access configuration and help press NVDA+N (Usually Insert+N). The default synthesizer is at times difficult to understand. you can use SAPI voices in Windows by selecting them in the Synthesizer dialog under Preferences in the NVDA menu. If you want the configuration changes to save select Save Configuration from the NVDA menu.