A quick reference for using Google Docs in Chrome with JAWS or NVDA on Windows, or VoiceOver on the Mac. It covers turning on screen reader support, moving by headings, formatting, comments and tables.
These shortcuts are for Google Docs in the Chrome browser. Where Windows and Mac differ, both are shown. Some commands take more than one step: hold the first keys down, then press the next letters one after another. For example, "Hold Control + Alt, then press N, then H" means keep holding Control and Alt while you tap N and then H. Before you start, turn on screen reader support (the first shortcut below). Docs then works best with JAWS in forms mode and NVDA in focus mode, which usually switch on by themselves in the document.
Setting up
| To do this | Press |
|---|
| Turn on screen reader support | Windows: Control + Alt + Z. Mac: Command + Option + Z |
| Turn on braille support | Windows: Control + Alt + H. Mac: Command + Option + H |
| Show the list of keyboard shortcuts | Windows: Control + /. Mac: Command + / |
| Search for any menu command with the Tool finder | Windows: Alt + /. Mac: Option + / |
| Open the Accessibility menu (Chrome on Windows, with screen reader support on) | Alt + A |
| Open the File menu (Chrome on Windows) | Alt + F |
| Open the right-click menu | Shift + F10 |
Moving by headings
| To do this | Press |
|---|
| Move to the next heading | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press N, then H. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press N, then H |
| Move to the previous heading | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press P, then H. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press P, then H |
| Move to the next heading at a certain level, 1 to 6 | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press N, then the level number. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press N, then the level number |
| Move to the previous heading at a certain level | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press P, then the level number. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press P, then the level number |
Hearing where you are
| To do this | Press |
|---|
| Hear where the cursor is | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press A, then L. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press A, then L |
| Hear the formatting where the cursor is | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press A, then F. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press A, then F |
| Hear the selected text | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press A, then X. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press A, then X |
| Hear the formatting of the selected text | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press A, then S. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press A, then S |
| Read from the cursor onwards | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press A, then R. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press A, then R |
| Open the word count | Windows: Control + Shift + C. Mac: Command + Shift + C |
Formatting text
| To do this | Press |
|---|
| Make text a heading, levels 1 to 6 | Windows: Control + Alt + the level number. Mac: Command + Option + the level number |
| Change a heading back to normal text | Windows: Control + Alt + 0. Mac: Command + Option + 0 |
| Bold | Windows: Control + B. Mac: Command + B |
| Italic | Windows: Control + I. Mac: Command + I |
| Underline | Windows: Control + U. Mac: Command + U |
| Start or stop a numbered list | Windows: Control + Shift + 7. Mac: Command + Shift + 7 |
| Start or stop a bulleted list | Windows: Control + Shift + 8. Mac: Command + Shift + 8 |
| Add or edit a link | Windows: Control + K. Mac: Command + K |
Comments
| To do this | Press |
|---|
| Add a comment | Windows: Control + Alt + M. Mac: Command + Option + M |
| Move to the next comment | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press N, then C. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press N, then C |
| Move to the previous comment | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press P, then C. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press P, then C |
| Hear the current comment | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press A, then C. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press A, then C |
| Go into the current comment to reply or resolve it | Windows: hold Control + Alt, then press E, then C. Mac: hold Control + Command, then press E, then C |
| Open all comments in the discussion thread | Windows: Control + Alt + Shift + A. Mac: Command + Option + Shift + A |
Tables
| To do this | Press |
|---|
| Hear the row and column headers | Windows: hold Control + Alt + Shift, then press T, then H. Mac: hold Control + Command + Shift, then press T, then H |
| Hear which cell you are in | Windows: hold Control + Alt + Shift, then press T, then N. Mac: hold Control + Command + Shift, then press T, then N |
| Hear the row header | Windows: hold Control + Alt + Shift, then press T, then R. Mac: hold Control + Command + Shift, then press T, then R |
| Hear the column header | Windows: hold Control + Alt + Shift, then press T, then C. Mac: hold Control + Command + Shift, then press T, then C |
Finding and checking
| To do this | Press |
|---|
| Find text | Windows: Control + F. Mac: Command + F |
| Find and replace | Windows: Control + H. Mac: Command + Shift + H |
| Undo | Windows: Control + Z. Mac: Command + Z |
| Hear edits other people make while you work (live edits) | Windows: Control + Alt + Shift + R. Mac: Command + Option + Shift + R |
Tip: press Control + / (Command + / on the Mac) at any time to open the shortcut list, and type a word to search it. NVDA users: Control + Alt + N is also NVDA's own start shortcut, so the "next" commands above can restart NVDA. If that happens, you can remove the shortcut key in the properties of the NVDA desktop shortcut.
