This guide is intended for Syracuse University staff who would like to use NVDA as part of a WCAG 2.x assessment of a web site or web application. It is not intended to be a comprehensive introduction to the NVDA screen reader. For in-depth instruction on using NVDA please refer to the training materials on the NV Access Get Help page.
The WCAG 2.x A and AA Manual Evaluation form used by Syracuse University staff for testing web sites and web applications includes a number of checkpoints that are best tested using a screen reader. The following table lists the relevant checkpoints, a recommended testing technique with the corresponding NVDA keystrokes, and video clips illustrating NVDA output for each command.
Remember, if you want NVDA to stop talking, just hit your CTRL key!
Getting Started Tips:
- NVDA is designed for use in Firefox and may not work well with other browsers.
- When you start NVDA it will start with mouse tracking enabled, this means that if you move your mouse it will interrupt what is being read and move the focus to your mouse. You may want to turn this off because you will be using your mouse to scroll the screen view during testing. To toggle mouse tracking on/off, use Ins + M.
- To speed up or slow down NVDA reading speed, click the NVDA icon in your Windows notification area and choose Preferences > Settings > Speech.
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