How screen readers treat links Unvisited links: Screen readers typically say “link” then read the link text. Visited links: If the screen reader user has already activated link, some screen readers will say “visited link”, with the link text. Others will just say “link”. Good practices for link text Links must have link text. […]
Landmark Regions and Screen Readers
How screen readers work with landmarks Latest screen readers will say the type of landmark the user is in as soon as the user enters into that area of that web page. It might say “banner region” or “main region”, for example. When landmarks are added on a page, screen reader users can use them […]
How screen readers Read lists Items
When reading a list, screen readers will normally announce the kind of list (e.g., “bulleted list” or “numbered list”), along with number of items in that list. Example: “Bulleted list with 5 items”. Most screen readers also announce users when they arrive at nested lists (lists with sub-lists). Method 1 Show all lists Screen […]
Forms Elements and Screen Readers
There are few ways that forms elements can be find with a screen reader. Screen reader users can tab to different types of form elements and can hear form field labels. Some screen readers also announce “focus or Form mode when a screen reader user land on any form field. It allows screen reader users […]
Graphics or Images
How screen readers announce images Type of image how screen readers treat the image Alt text: Screen readers read the alt attribute of images if alt text is given and will announce the word “graphic” before the alt text. For example, <img src=”cat_0123.jpg” alt=”A cute cat playing with a ball of string”> Screen reader […]
Navigating Web Sites Through Screen Readers
When you visit any website with a screen reader, it will read the entire web page automatically until it is not interrupted. But screen readers users rarely allow the screen reader to read the entire page and use landmarks and headings to explore the page. A screen reader user may find a landmark, heading, or […]
How screen readers Find headings
Screen reader users can quickly go through the headings and understand the basic outline of the page, and then go back to the section that they’re most interested in. But this way of navigating and quickly understanding a web page is possible only if the page uses real headings and only if the headings create […]
Why we must use keyboard shortcuts
For using a screen reader, one must know how to use some basic keyboard commands. Each screen reader has a different set of keyboard shortcuts, and the list of all available keystrokes is pretty long. The good news is that with these basic keystrokes, you can do most of the important things you need to […]
NVDA for Windows
NVDA (Non-Visual Desktop Access) is a screen reader for Microsoft Windows that is totally free, yet fully functional and portable; you can download it to your PC or to portable media such as a USB stick. Browser Compatibility: NVDA works well with Firefox and Chrome. NVDA also has good support for Internet Explorer and […]
JAWS for Windows
JAWS: Job Access with Speech is a screen reader developed by Freedom Scientific. Browser Compatibility: JAWS works well with Chrome and Internet Explorer. Previously, JAWS has worked best with Internet Explorer, and that combination still work well, but Internet Explorer is old and will never be updated with new features, so it is best to […]