NVDA: Web browser Navigation

What is a web browser?

A web browser is the program you use to access the internet. You are using a web browser right now! There are many different web browsers. You have probably heard of at least one of them such as Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Most people have a web browser that they prefer to use, and some websites can behave better if you use them on a specific browser.

Navigating a web browser

To search the web the easiest place to go to is the address bar of the browser. This happens automatically when you open a new browser window. Try it out by pressing ctrl + n, then come back to this page using alt + tab. Listen to what NVDA says when you open the new browser window.

What did it say when you opened the browser? Usually it will say which web browser you’re using like Google Chrome, then something about a tool bar and an address bar.

Next you’re going to open another web browser page and search for a topic of your choice. If you need some ideas, you could type your favourite animal or country into the address bar. Press enter to start the search. Turns out that pressing 3 moves you through all the heading level 3s and is one of the quickest ways to get to the search results. Give it a go!

How did you go? Did you find some results? If you ever need to get back to the address bar you can press ctrl + l do change what you are searching for.

Menus

To access the web browser menus, press alt + f. You can then use arrow keys to move around and listen to the different menus. Depending on the browser you use, you might use up and down arrows, or left and right arrows to move around the menus. There may also be shortcuts provided for you so you can get to the spot you want more quickly next time. Explore the menus and listen for the shortcut to get to downloads, then come back here and check if it’s the correct shortcut in the next paragraph.

The shortcut for downloads in a web browser is: ctrl + j

Another menu you may need to get to is Bookmarks (or Favourites). Go back to your web browser of choice, use alt + f to access the menus, then listen for Bookmarks/Favourites and the shortcut to manage them. When you have found it, come back here to check your listening skills.

The shortcut to manage bookmarks/favourites is: ctrl + shift + o

Well done if you found this one, sometimes it can be hidden inside a second menu level!