Microsoft Narrator

Updated: 05/01/2023 by Computer Hope
Windows logo

Microsoft Narrator, also called Narrator, is a free screen reader utility included with Microsoft Windows. While not as robust as a full-function screen reader, it can read dialog boxes and window controls in most Windows applications. Example uses for Narrator are basic navigation, aiding in installing a different screen reader, or as a backup reader during updates.

Note

Microsoft Narrator was written by Professor Paul Blenkhorn in 2000 and is included with every Windows version released since then.

Starting and stopping Windows Narrator

In current versions of Windows 10, Narrator can be toggled on and off by pressing Windows key+Ctrl+Enter.

In Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, the keyboard shortcut to toggle Narrator is Windows key+Enter.

What is the Narrator key?

With a Windows Narrator keyboard shortcut, you may be told to press the Narrator key, which is the Caps Lock key by default. It can also be the Insert key. However, it cannot be remapped to any other key. Also, when Narrator is enabled, these keys are treated like a modifier key.

Examples of Narrator keyboard shortcuts

Once Windows Narrator is open, you can use the following keyboard shortcuts to navigate and read what is displayed on the screen. This list helps get you started using the Narrator but does not contain all its shortcuts.

Tab and arrow keys

The Tab key and arrow keys navigate between screen elements. For example, pressing Tab on a web page to move between each website element (e.g., hyperlinks).

Ctrl key

Press Ctrl to stop the Narrator from reading.

Caps Lock + Spacebar

Press Caps Lock + spacebar keyboard shortcut to enter and exit scan mode. Scan mode lets you quickly navigate website elements like headings, links, and paragraphs using the following keys:

1-6 - Pressing the one through six number keys moves through each heading. For example, pressing 1 moves to heading one, the first heading on most web pages.
D - Navigate to the next landmark. Pressing Shift+D would move to the previous landmark.
H - Moves to the next heading on a website. Pressing Shift+H would move to the previous heading.
P - Moves to the next paragraph. Pressing Shift+P moves to the previous paragraph.
T - Moves to the next table. Pressing Shift+T would move to the previous table.

Note

If you press any of the letters or numbers above and the Narrator only says the keys pressed, you're not in scan mode. Press Caps Lock+Spacebar to enter scan mode and press 1 again on the keyboard.

Caps Lock+down arrow

Pressing Caps Lock+Down arrow makes the Narrator read from the current position.

Tip

For a list of computer keyboard shortcuts, see our computer keyboard shortcuts section. For a full list of available Narrator keys, see: Microsoft Narrator keyboard commands.

Once you've familiarized yourself with the keyboard shortcut above, you can use Narrator to navigate almost any website. The accessibility of a web page depends on how well it's structured and if accessibility was considered during the design. Below is an example of how you could navigate most websites using the Narrator.

  1. Press Windows key+Ctrl+Enter to open the Narrator in Windows 10.
  2. Press the Windows key to open the Start menu, and type in the browser name you want to use. For example, you could type "Edge" to open the Edge browser.
  3. If a browser window is already open, hold down the Alt and press Tab until you reach the browser window and let go of both buttons.
  4. Once in the browser window, press Ctrl+L to get to the address bar to enter an address or perform a search.
  5. Once a web page has opened, you can browse it using the keyboard shortcuts mentioned earlier. For a page like this page, press 1 to move to the first heading and then Narrator key+Down arrow to start Narrator reading. Computer Hope has made its pages more accessible by having a skip to the main link by pressing Tab when you first open the page and making landmarks for each of its primary sections.

Microsoft Windows, Software terms, TTS, Update, Utility