There are a lot of very talented and creative people out there creating awesome add-ons for the NVDA screen reader. Today I’d like to feature one called TextNav. I will include the description provided by the author, Tony Malykh, then I’ll break it down and tell you about how I use it.
TextNav Description
TextNav allows you to find text that you want to read on a web page in just a single keystroke. More precisely, it adds a keystroke to jump to next or previous text paragraphs, that is, a paragraph containing one or more sentences. This feature might be useful to quickly find the textual part of a web page or to skip over menus, advertisements, and other not important page elements.
Keystrokes
ALT+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW: Go to next text paragraph.
ALT+SHIFT+UP ARROW: Go to previous text paragraph.
Usage for TextNav
As you may have noticed, this add-on only has two keyboard commands. You simply hold down the ALT and SHIFT keys, then press either the DOWN ARROW or UP ARROW. When you do this, you may hear a quick low beeping sound. Then you will jump right into the text. As an example, let’s use the TextNav add-on page. By going to the top of the page with CONTROL+HOME, then pressing ALT+SHIFT+DOWN ARROW, you will be placed directly in the paragraph where the content of this page begins. NVDA will then read this paragraph. If you continue pressing the above keyboard command, NVDA will continue skipping blank lines, menus, graphics, ads and the like and seek to find only content for you.
I also use this add-on on forms where there are a lot of comments. This add-on will let me skim through the comments and it will skip all of the crud between the comments, things like signatures, avatars, other graphics and so on. It can make going through comments on these pages much faster. One other thing that I use this add-on for is email messages. You can use this add-on just about anywhere, but I love it in email messages where you have a lot of email addresses in the beginning, or where you have a lot of graphics and ads. This add-on will jump right through the clutter like a hot knife through butter, and take you directly to the content with just one to three presses of the command.
Downloading TextNav
If you haven’t downloaded this add-on yet, download TextNav from the NVDA Add-ons site. Depending on your browser, you may be asked to open the add-on. When you do, you will be prompted to restart NVDA. Press Y or tab to Yes, and you will be able to fly through content quickly, too. Your browser may just download the add-on to your Downloads folder. If so, just navigate to your Downloads folder, find the TextNav add-on and press ENTER on it. Restart NVDA as indicated above and begin flying through information quicker than before!
If you’re new to NVDA, check out my getting started with NVDA guide to get up and running. If you want to stay on top of add-on updates automatically, the Add-on Updater add-on will notify you whenever updates are available.
FAQ
Does TextNav work with all websites?
TextNav works on most websites. It looks for paragraphs of text, so it is most useful on pages that have actual content: articles, blog posts, email messages, comment threads, and similar. On pages with very little text, there may not be much for it to jump to.
Does TextNav work outside of web browsers?
Yes. You can use TextNav in email clients, document viewers, and other applications. It works anywhere NVDA is active and there is text content to navigate.
Will TextNav interfere with other keyboard shortcuts?
The ALT+SHIFT+ARROW shortcuts are not commonly used by other programs, so conflicts are rare. If you do run into a conflict, check the add-on’s documentation for any configuration options.
Does TextNav work with JAWS?
No. TextNav is an NVDA add-on and only works with the NVDA screen reader.
Conclusion
TextNav is one of those add-ons that does one thing and does it well. Two keystrokes, zero configuration, and you’re cutting through the clutter on web pages, emails, and comment threads like a pro.
Until next time, Qapla!