How to Change Narrator Keyboard Layout in Windows 10


Narrator is a screen-reading app built into Windows 10.

Narrator lets you use your PC without a display or mouse to complete common tasks if you’re blind or have low vision. It reads and interacts with things on the screen, like text and buttons. Use Narrator to read and write email, browse the internet, and work with documents.

Specific commands let you navigate Windows, the web, and apps, as well as get info about the area of the PC you're in. Navigation is available using headings, links, landmarks, and more. You can read text (including punctuation) by page, paragraph, line, word, and character as well as determine characteristics like font and text color. Efficiently review tables with row and column navigation.

Narrator also has a navigation and reading mode called Scan Mode. Use it to get around Windows 10 using just the up and down arrows on your keyboard. You can also use a braille display to navigate your PC and read text.

Finally, you can personalize Narrator's voice to adjust the speaking rate, pitch, and volume as well as install some third-party text-to-speech voices.

Starting with Windows 10 build 17692, there is a new Standard keyboard layout for Narrator that is designed to be more familiar to screen reader users. The Standard keyboard layout is more like the keyboard layout you may have experienced in other screen readers.

You can explore all the new and updated commands in Appendix B: Narrator keyboard commands and touch gestures. Find scan mode commands in Chapter 3: Using scan mode. When keyboard commands are mentioned in this guide, they’re for the new standard keyboard layout. Some of the new commands include updates to Narrator’s page, paragraph, line, word, and character commands. You’ll also notice new commands like Narrator Find, list of links, list of headings, and list of landmarks. For some commands, you can now use the numeric keypad.

Your keyboard will default to the Standard layout. If you want to change this, choose the Legacy layout. New Narrator commands will not be available in the Legacy keyboard layout if keystrokes for legacy commands conflict with those used in new Narrator features.

For more details about the new Standard keyboard layout for Narrator, see:

This tutorial will show you how to change the Narrator keyboard layout to Standard or Legacy for your account in Windows 10.


 CONTENTS:

  • Option One: Change Narrator Keyboard Layout in Settings
  • Option Two: Change Narrator Keyboard Layout using a REG file





OPTION ONE

Change Narrator Keyboard Layout in Settings


1. Open Settings, and click/tap on the Ease of Access icon.

You can press the Win+Ctrl+N keys to directly open to Narrator settings.

2. Click/tap on Narrator on the left side, and select Standard (default) or Legacy in the Select keyboard layout drop menu for what you want on the right side under the Choose keyboard settings section. (see screenshots below)

You will only be able to change the Narrator modifier key if you have selected the Standard keyboard layout.

3. You can now close Settings if you like.

Change Narrator Keyboard Layout in Windows 10-narrator_keyboard_layout-1.jpg Change Narrator Keyboard Layout in Windows 10-narrator_keyboard_layout-2.jpg






OPTION TWO

Change Narrator Keyboard Layout using a REG file



The downloadable .reg files below will modify the DWORD value in the registry key below.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Narrator

KeyboardLayout DWORD

0 = Legacy
1 = Standard


1. Do step 2 (Standard) or step 3 (Legacy) below for what you would like to do.


 2. To Use Standard Keyboard Layout for Narrator

This is the default setting.

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Use_Standard_keyboard_layout_for_Narrator.reg

Download


 3. To Use Legacy Keyboard Layout for Narrator

A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Use_Legacy_keyboard_layout_for_Narrator.reg

Download

4. Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6. When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7. You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.


That's it,
Shawn


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