Windows User Setup

If you’re a Windows user and you don’t already have it set up, take a minute to install NVDA. It’s a free, open source screen reader that you should use for testing.

• Install NVDA: https://www.nvaccess.org/download/ (opens in a new tab)

For Mac users

NVDA is still important to test if you’re on a Mac computer, since it’s so widely used and it works differently than VoiceOver.

You can install NVDA on a Virtual Machine using software like Parallels (opens in a new tab) or VMWare Fusion (opens in a new tab). Parallels comes with a Windows license, it just takes a little bit to install.

Remap keys for Windows

With a Windows VM on your Mac, you will want to remap some of your keyboard keys to work better since a Mac laptop doesn’t include an Insert key. I personally use a Microsoft keyboard (opens in a new tab) at my workstation, and I remapped the Control and Alt Keys to match the layout of a Mac keyboard.

Here are some tips on remapping keys: https://www.marcozehe.com/how-to-map-your-macs-capslock-key-to-a-nvda-or-jaws-key-in-a-windows-virtual-machine/ (opens in a new tab)