Tony Gebhard

NVDA Coach

Version 1.5.3  ·  Free  ·  No account required

NVDA Coach is a free add-on for the NVDA screen reader that teaches you commands
through short, guided practice sessions — from inside NVDA itself. No videos, no PDFs,
no switching between windows to follow along. Press one key and the Coach begins walking
you through what to do and why, one step at a time.


Download NVDA Coach — Free (v1.5.3)

View source code on GitHub
 · 
Release notes

“The hardest part of learning a screen reader isn’t finding the right resource —
it’s the gap between reading about a command and actually using one. NVDA Coach closes that gap.”

— Tony Gebhard, Assistive Technology Instructor

What’s New in v1.5.3

  • Bug fix — lesson text corrected. A character encoding error caused em dashes in three English lesson files to display and be spoken as garbled text instead of a natural pause. All 144 instances have been corrected. No lesson content, commands, or instructions were changed.

Full version history on GitHub →

What Makes It Different

  • Guided, step-by-step lessons. Each step speaks an instruction, tells you which key to press, and waits for you. F1 repeats the instruction, F2 cycles through up to three hints, F3 skips the step.
  • Inline practice text. Reading and navigation lessons embed a practice text area directly inside the Coach window. Arrow down from the instruction into real text — no extra windows needed.
  • Live practice forms. Tab navigation and control lessons open a real accessible form alongside the Coach window — actual buttons, checkboxes, and text fields to practice on.
  • Practice web page. Browse mode lessons open a fully accessible HTML practice page in your browser, complete with headings, links, forms, landmarks, lists, and a table section.
  • Command category framework. Chapter 1 opens with a dedicated lesson on what distinguishes Windows commands, program commands, and screen reader commands — so learners understand who controls what from the very start. Labels throughout all lessons reinforce this.
  • Physical keyboard orientation. Chapter 2 covers modifier key locations, function keys, Fn key behavior, and NVDA layout selection — the foundational knowledge that makes every other lesson easier.
  • Progress tracking. Completed lessons are marked in the picker and saved across NVDA restarts so you pick up exactly where you left off.
  • Instructor-extensible. All lessons are plain JSON files. Add a new file to the lessons folder to create custom lesson sets for your students or organization.

45 Lessons Across Six Chapters

Chapter 1: Getting Started with NVDA — 14 lessons

Starts with an orientation to the three categories of keyboard commands — Windows commands, program commands, and screen reader commands — so learners understand who controls what before they touch a single shortcut. Then covers the essential commands every beginner needs: the NVDA modifier key, reading the title bar and time, silencing speech, identifying current focus, Tab navigation, activating buttons and checkboxes, reading the current line, Input Help mode, opening the user guide, physical keyboard orientation, switching windows with Alt+Tab, and checking battery status (NVDA+Shift+B). Several lessons include a live accessible practice form alongside the Coach window.

Chapter 2: Your Keyboard — 3 lessons

Physical keyboard orientation before command learning begins: where modifier keys live on standard and laptop keyboards (Ctrl, Shift, Alt, Windows key, and the NVDA key — Insert or Caps Lock), how function keys and the Fn key work (including Fn+Arrow keys as Home/End/Page Up/Page Down and Fn Lock), and how to select and switch your NVDA keyboard layout setting.

Chapter 3: Reading and Moving Through Text — 8 lessons

Character-by-character navigation, word-by-word navigation, line-by-line navigation, jumping to document start and end, Say All (continuous reading with both desktop and laptop layout shortcuts documented), text selection with Shift plus arrow keys including the NVDA report-selection command, navigating by paragraph and page, and checking font and formatting (NVDA+F reports font name, size, bold, italic, and underline — double-press opens a full formatting dialog). Every lesson includes an inline practice text area built directly into the Coach window.

Chapter 4: Browse Mode and Web Navigation — 10 lessons

What browse mode is and how it works, heading navigation, heading level shortcuts, link navigation, form field navigation, toggling between browse mode and focus mode (with explicit explanation that focus mode places the cursor in the edit box), landmark and list navigation, the Elements List dialog, finding text with NVDA Find, and table cell navigation with Ctrl+Alt+Arrow keys. A fully accessible practice web page opens automatically in your browser when you start this chapter.

Chapter 5: Object Navigation — 6 lessons

How NVDA’s object pyramid works — using levels/pyramid terminology throughout. Moving across objects at the same level, climbing up one level to the container, descending one level into contents, reading the current navigator object, routing keyboard focus to any object on screen, and when object navigation is the right tool. Includes tip to maximize the application window first for best results. Desktop and laptop keyboard layouts are both covered throughout.

Chapter 6: Customizing NVDA — 4 lessons

Changing your keyboard layout between desktop (numpad) and laptop (letter keys); adjusting speech settings through the synthesizer settings ring and NVDA Speech Settings dialog (NVDA+Ctrl+Right/Left to move between items, NVDA+Ctrl+Up/Down to adjust values); changing the audio output device (NVDA+Ctrl+U for headphones, speakers, or HDMI); and controlling audio ducking (NVDA+Shift+D to set whether NVDA lowers other audio while speaking). Completing this chapter earns you the Certificate of Completion.

How to Get Started

  1. Make sure NVDA is installed. NVDA is free at nvaccess.org. Any version from 2024.1 onward works.
  2. Download NVDA Coach. Click the download button on this page to get nvdaCoach-1.5.3.nvda-addon.
  3. Open the file. Double-click or press Enter on the downloaded file. NVDA handles the installation automatically and asks you to confirm.
  4. Press NVDA+Shift+C. That is the only shortcut you need to know. The Coach window opens, the lesson picker appears, and you are ready to begin.
  5. Work at your own pace. Each lesson takes 2–5 minutes. Press Ctrl+N after finishing a lesson to move to the next one, or press NVDA+Shift+C at any time to jump to a different chapter.

For AT Instructors and TVIs

NVDA Coach was designed for classroom and one-on-one instruction. Assign a chapter as pre-session homework, use it as a structured warm-up, or give it to students for independent practice between appointments. The lesson picker shows completed lessons at a glance so you and the student can track progress together.

Need custom lessons for your program, organization, or specific student population? All lessons are plain, human-readable JSON files and are designed to be extended. Get in touch to discuss custom lesson development or training consultations.


Download NVDA Coach — Free (v1.5.3)

No account. No internet connection after install. Just open the file and press NVDA+Shift+C to begin.
Questions or feedback: info@tonygebhard.me