Screen readers and Email

NVDA and Gmail

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Screen readers have a hard job reading email systems, they are not standard documents.

Gmail acts like it is a table but the normal table tools do not work.

Once you have the Gmail inbox open, please press T for table. This should ignore the items at the top and go to the first email.

To step through each email press K (for next link) the system will say the subject of each email.

If you go too far press Shift and K, which will go up the page.

Press enter to open the email.

I have found that the subject line is a size 2 header and the sender is a size 3 header.

Once in the email press

Ctrl + Home to goto the head of the email.
Or 2 or Shift 2 should do the same thing.
You are now at the head of the email.
Press 3 to read the senders name.
Then NVDA + Down arrow and the email will be read to you.

Postscript

I was wrong, the Table navigation keys do work.

Use Ctrl + Alt and Arrow keys to move within the table.

That means that you can use Ctrl + Alt + Down arrow, rather than K.

Gmail uses a table, other email systems may use a List, in which case please use I to step through the list of emails