Narrator offers two keyboard layouts: standard and legacy. By default, the standard layout is used, as its commands are similar to those of most other screen readers. We recommend choosing the standard layout. The corresponding commands are listed in Appendix B: Narrator keyboard commands and touch gestures. If you need to use the legacy layout for any reason, you can find its commands below.
General commands
| Press these keys | To do this |
|---|---|
Windows
Key+Ctrl+N |
Open Narrator settings |
| Windows
key+Ctrl+Enter |
Start or stop Narrator |
| Narrator+Esc | Stop Narrator |
| Narrator+1 | Toggle input learning |
| Narrator+Right arrow | Move to next item |
| Narrator+Left arrow | Move to previous item |
| Narrator+Up or Down arrow | Change view |
| Narrator+F1 | Show commands list |
| Narrator+F2 | Show commands for current item |
| Narrator+Enter | Do primary action |
| Narrator+Shift+Enter | Toggle search mode |
| Narrator+C | Read current time and date |
| Narrator+Shift+B | Read Battery and Network status |
| Narrator+Shift+D | Describe image using an online service |
| Narrator+E Narrator+Alt+F |
Provide Narrator feedback |
| Narrator+Z | Lock Narrator key |
| Narrator+Shift+F12 | Toggle developer mode |
| Narrator+Ctrl+X | Copy last spoken phrase to clipboard |
| Narrator+X | Pass keys to application |
| Narrator+Num lock | Turn mouse mode on or off |
| Press Caps lock twice in quick succession | Turn Caps lock on or off |
Adjust speech
| Press these keys | To do this |
|---|---|
| Narrator+Page Up | Increase voice volume |
| Narrator+Page Down | Decrease voice volume |
| Narrator+the Plus sign (+) Narrator+Add (numeric keypad) |
Increase voice speed |
| Narrator+the Minus sign (-) Narrator+Subtract (numeric keypad) |
Decrease voice speed |
| Narrator+Alt+the Plus sign (+) Narrator+Alt+Add (numeric keypad) |
Move to the next voice |
| Narrator+Alt+the Minus sign (-) Narrator+Alt+Subtract (numeric keypad) |
Move to the previous voice |
| Narrator+Alt+Left bracket ([) | Change to the prior punctuation reading mode |
| Narrator+Alt+Right bracket (]) | Change to the next punctuation reading mode |
| Narrator+A Narrator+Ctrl+the Plus sign (+) Narrator+Ctrl+Add (numeric keypad) |
Increase verbosity mode |
| Narrator+Ctrl+the Minus sign (-) Narrator+Ctrl+Subtract (numeric keypad) |
Decrease verbosity mode |
| Narrator+F12 | Toggle character reading |
| Narrator+Forward slash (/) | Read context |
| Alt+Narrator+Forward slash (/) | Change how much context is read (verbosity) |
| Narrator+Ctrl+Forward slash (/) | Change read context order |
Read and work with text
| Press these keys | To do this |
|---|---|
| Ctrl | Stop reading |
| Narrator+D | Read item |
| Narrator+S | Read item spelled out |
| Narrator+0 (zero) | Read item advanced |
| Narrator+T | Read window title |
| Narrator+W | Read window |
| Narrator+V | Repeat phrase |
| Narrator+R | Read from cursor |
| Narrator+M | Start reading document |
| Narrator+H | Read document |
| Narrator+Close square bracket (]) | Read text from start to cursor |
| Narrator+Shift+U | Read previous page |
| Narrator+Ctrl+U | Read current page |
| Narrator+U | Read next page |
| Narrator+Shift+I | Read previous paragraph |
| Narrator+Ctrl+I | Read current paragraph |
| Narrator+I | Read next paragraph |
| Narrator+Ctrl+M | Read previous sentence |
| Narrator+Ctrl+comma (,) | Read current sentence |
| Narrator+Ctrl+period (.) | Read next sentence |
| Narrator+Shift+O | Read previous line |
| Narrator+Ctrl+O | Read current line |
| Narrator+O | Read next line |
| Narrator+Shift+P | Read previous word |
| Narrator+Ctrl+P | Read current word |
| Narrator+P | Read next word |
| Narrator+Shift+Open square bracket ([) | Read previous character |
| Narrator+Ctrl+Open square bracket ([) | Read current character |
| Narrator+Open square bracket ([) | Read next character |
| Narrator+F | Read next group of formatting information |
| Shift+Narrator+F | Read previous group of formatting information |
| Narrator+Y | Move to beginning of text |
| Narrator+B | Move to end of text |
| Narrator+J | Read previous word |
| H (with scan mode on) | Jump to next heading |
| Shift+H (with scan mode on) | Jump to previous heading |
| Narrator+L | Jump to next link |
| Narrator+Shift+L | Jump to previous link |
| Narrator+Shift+Down Arrow | Read current selection |
Navigate tables
| Press these keys | To do this |
|---|---|
| Narrator+F3 | Jump to next cell in row |
| Narrator+Shift+F3 | Jump to previous cell in row |
| Narrator+F4 | Jump to next cell in column |
| Narrator+Shift+F4 | Jump to previous cell in column |
| Narrator+F10 | Read current row header |
| Narrator+F9 | Read current column header |
| Narrator+F8 | Read current row |
| Narrator+F7 | Read current column |
| Narrator+F5 | Read which row and column Narrator is in |
| Narrator+F6 | Jump to table cell |
| Narrator+Shift+F6 | Jump to cell contents |
| Narrator+K | Jump to next table |
| Narrator+Shift+K | Jump to previous table |
Narrator focus commands
| Press these keys | To do this |
|---|---|
| Narrator+Home | Move to first item in window |
| Narrator+End | Move to last item in window |
| Narrator+Backspace | Go back one item |
| Narrator+N | Move to main landmark |
| Narrator+G | Move Narrator cursor to system cursor |
| Narrator+tilde (~) | Set focus to item |
| Narrator+Insert | Jump to linked item |
| Narrator+Shift+Insert | Jump to annotated content |
| Ctrl+Narrator+Up arrow | Navigate to parent (when structural navigation is provided) |
| Ctrl+Narrator+Right arrow | Navigate to next sibling (when structural navigation is provided) |
| Ctrl+Narrator+Left arrow | Navigate to previous sibling (when structural navigation is provided) |
| Ctrl+Narrator+Down arrow | Navigate to first child (when structural navigation is provided) |
| Narrator+Q | Move to last item in containing area |
Next: Appendix J: History of Narrator Updates
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