NVDA add-on that extends braille output, input, scrolling, and display-specific gestures.
- Authors: André-Abush Clause and contributors
- License: GNU General Public License v2
- Stable build: Download (stable channel)
- Development build: Download (dev channel)
- Source: GitHub — BrailleExtender
Minimum NVDA: 2024.1
After you install the add-on, you can read this same guide from NVDA: use User guide under Braille Extender in the NVDA menu, or open Help from Add-ons Manager when Braille Extender is selected.
- Documentation in NVDA
- Quick start
- How Braille Extender relates to NVDA
- Settings categories (overview)
- Detailed topics
- Feature highlights
- Gestures and profiles
- Feedback and contributing
- Acknowledgements
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| This guide (as a web page) | NVDA menu → Braille Extender → User guide, or Add-ons Manager → Braille Extender → Help. |
| Gestures for your display | NVDA menu → Braille Extender → Gestures for this display… — a list based on your current braille display profile and the add-on’s keyboard shortcuts. |
| On the web | This page on GitHub or the project site, if you are reading online. |
- Install the add-on package (or from the NVDA Add-on Store when it is listed there).
- Open settings: NVDA menu → Braille Extender → Settings… (or Preferences → Braille Extender, depending on your NVDA version).
- Assign commands: NVDA → Preferences → Input gestures → Braille Extender for global shortcuts, and use Gestures for this display… when you want to see what your braille profile defines.
- Open User guide once from the menu if you want the same information in a separate window while you use NVDA.
Braille Extender used to cover a lot of ground that NVDA did not do yet in braille. The first public release was August 2017, the same week as NVDA 2017.3, which is the version that best matches that moment in time.
NVDA’s own Settings → Braille (and related panels) have since gained options many people once relied on the add-on for. Braille Extender still adds extra behavior; check NVDA’s release notes if you want the exact wording for each item below.
| From NVDA | Now in NVDA core (summary) |
|---|---|
| 2022.3 | Interrupt speech when scrolling the braille display. |
| 2024.2 | NVDA+Alt+t toggles braille mode; new display speech output mode (braille mirrors what NVDA speaks). |
| 2024.3 | Unicode normalization for speech and braille. |
| 2024.4 | Speak character when routing in text; more formatting in braille choices (e.g. tags); paragraph start in braille when reading by paragraph; routing fixes. |
| 2025.1 | Input and output tables can follow NVDA’s interface language; speak line or paragraph when using braille navigation keys. |
These match the tabs in Braille Extender settings:
| Category | Summary |
|---|---|
| General | Update channel, speak current line while scrolling, skip blank lines, smart Caps Lock, modifier/volume feedback, two favorite displays and reload, margins, reverse scroll, tab as spaces, terminals (braille follows review), routing cursor behavior, announce character when routing (until NVDA handles it), post-output table, quick launches. |
| Rotor | Which rotor items exist and their order. |
| Auto scroll | Delays and behavior for automatic braille scrolling. |
| Speech History Mode | History length, numbering, optional speech while browsing history. |
| Document formatting | Braille mirrors/overrides for NVDA document formatting (see Detailed topics). |
| Object Presentation | Order properties (name, state, value, role text, description, shortcuts, position, table coords, …), selected marking (dots 7/8 or tags), progress bar style, background progress rules. |
| Braille tables | Input/output table rotation lists, optional automatic tables on NVDA 2025.1+, shortcut table, table dictionaries. |
| Undefined character representation | How characters missing from the table appear (HUC8, numeric bases, custom patterns, descriptions). |
| Advanced input mode | Escape sign, exit-after-one-character, abbreviation dictionary. |
| One-handed mode | Enable and choose one of three one-hand input methods. |
| Role labels | Custom braille labels for roles, landmarks, and states. |
| Advanced | Compatibility toggles (cursor fixes, hide dots 7–8, foreground refresh on name changes). |
- Updates: stable or development channel; automatic or manual checks (see also the add-on’s update settings).
- Say current line while scrolling: speaks the line when you pan the braille display—focus, review, both, or off. On NVDA 2025.1+, NVDA can also speak the line when using braille navigation keys; if you hear double announcements, turn off NVDA Braille → Speak when navigating by line or paragraph or reduce overlap here.
- Interrupt speech while scrolling: the add-on’s Speech interrupt when scrolling on same line checkbox is disabled on NVDA 2022.3 and later; use NVDA Braille → Interrupt speech while scrolling instead. On older NVDA you can still change the add-on checkbox.
- Skip blank lines: when panning by line, empty lines can be skipped.
- Smart Caps Lock: when this option is on and Windows Caps Lock is on, letters produced from the braille keyboard in an ordinary text field are sent with swapped case (each A–Z becomes the opposite case; other characters are unchanged). This only applies to normal typing, not when you are holding modifier keys for shortcuts. Turn it off if you want the braille table’s output exactly as translated, regardless of Caps Lock.
- Modifier / volume feedback: optional braille, speech, both, or none when modifier locks or volume change gestures are used; optional beeps with modifiers.
- Two favorite displays: pick two saved display names and use the reload gestures to switch the active braille display quickly.
- Margins: per-display left and right margin in cells (each up to 80).
- Reverse scroll buttons: swaps which physical key means “scroll back” vs “scroll forward”.
- Tabs as spaces: show tab characters as a run of spaces; tab width is per display (range 1–42).
- Terminals (braille follows review): when on, entering a terminal (classic console role, or Windows Terminal’s window) makes braille follow the review cursor, keeps the review cursor aligned with the text caret, and refreshes braille when the caret moves, even when NVDA would usually switch braille back to the focused control—so line-based keys act on the terminal text. When you leave the terminal, the add-on stops this behavior and returns to your normal NVDA braille settings. Off if you prefer stock NVDA behavior. Does not apply on the secure desktop when NVDA blocks the check, or when braille mode is set to follow speech output only.
- Routing in edit fields: normal passes the key to NVDA; emulate arrows sends Home/End or repeated Left/Right so the caret jumps to the braille cell under the router (optional beeps). This applies when you are on the usual braille view, the system caret has focus, and you are in a terminal or editable text field.
- Announce character when routing braille cursor: when enabled, after routing the add-on speaks the character under the routing cursor using NVDA’s speech-symbol rules. On NVDA 2024.4+ this checkbox is disabled in favor of NVDA Braille → Speak character when routing cursor in text (same idea).
- Speech interrupt for unknown gestures: checkbox that is saved in your profile; the current add-on code does not read this setting, so changing it has no effect (reserved for a possible future use).
- Post-output table: optional second Liblouis pass after the usual table translation.
- Quick launches: map gestures to applications or URLs; entries live in the “Quick launches” dialog.
- Unicode tools: commands (assign in Input gestures) work on selected text in a browse mode document when a selection exists; if there is no selection, they use the navigator object’s name (the same object the review cursor is on—select text or move the review cursor first). They convert between plain text and Unicode braille (e.g. z ↔ ⠵ depending on table) and between Unicode braille and dot numbers.
- Rotation lists: your input and output table lists are names in order, separated by commas. The next/previous table commands move through that order (assign them in Input gestures if your display profile does not already).
- Automatic table row: On NVDA 2025.1+, you can include automatic entries; the add-on resolves them with NVDA’s language-based default tables. On older NVDA, auto is not supported the same way—use explicit table files.
- Shortcut input table: optional separate table used for certain shortcuts.
- Table dictionaries: three layers—default (for all tables), per output table, and temporary—are combined when the add-on loads; if one file has errors, that layer is skipped until you fix the file. Edit them from the Braille tables category; temporary entries are for short-lived overrides.
Braille Extender does not replace NVDA’s Document formatting dialog. It adds a separate braille presentation step on top of NVDA’s choices:
- Per-row mode: for each report row, typically Follow NVDA (same toggles as NVDA Document formatting—speech and braille, not speech alone), Always in braille (force on the display, with Methods / Tags where applicable), or Off for that row in this layer.
- Plain text: show content without the usual structure chrome from this layer.
- Line by line: braille is built line-at-a-time for the reading unit.
- Alignments: for left / center / right / justified, choose none, line padding (leading blanks on the physical line), dot 7/8/78, tags, or legacy spacing (treated like line padding where relevant).
- Methods: for font-like attributes (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, strong, emphasised, marked, sub/superscript, spelling/grammar flags) choose none, dots 7/8, tags, etc. NVDA’s own spelling/grammar attributes can still be driven by NVDA when you use Follow NVDA on those rows.
- Lists: options such as show level for list items.
- Tags: configurable start/end strings (defaults often
[/]) for tag-style markers. - Report options: a long list of choices (alignment names, colors, links, tables, line numbers, spelling, …) aligned with NVDA’s document-formatting categories—each can follow NVDA, always show in braille, or stay off.
- Excel cell formulas: when on, if a cell reports has formula and a formula string exists, the formula can be moved into the description field for braille so the state line is not overloaded (states are adjusted accordingly).
On NVDA 2024.4+, NVDA adds its own global braille formatting choices; Braille Extender still offers this row-by-row layout, tags, padding, and methods.
Order properties
Controls the left-to-right sequence of pieces on the braille line when NVDA shows a single object’s summary (focus/context): state, table cell coordinates, value, name, role text, description, keyboard shortcut, position (e.g. 3/10), outline level (lv n), current markers (for example “current page” on the web), placeholder, and similar fields.
- Open Object presentation → Order Properties… to move lines up/down. Buttons reset to NVDA’s default order or the add-on default (add-on default puts states and cell coordinates ahead of name for quicker scanning).
- Only properties that exist for the current object are shown; empty pieces are skipped.
- Description, shortcut, position, and cell coordinates still respect NVDA’s own presentation toggles (e.g. “report descriptions”) or the add-on’s document-formatting report for table cell coordinates—if NVDA omits them, they are not magically recreated here.
- Math: if the object is math and NVDA can provide math braille, that content can be added after the usual summary.
- Visited links: visited state may be folded into shorter role text (e.g. “vlnk”) so the state list stays compact.
Selected element marking
How to highlight the current selection in braille: none, dot 7, dot 8, dots 7 and 8, or tags. When this is not none and a name is present, selected / selectable states are dropped from the state text so you do not hear redundant “selected” next to dots 7–8 marking.
Progress bar output
Matches the choices in Object presentation settings:
- Disabled: same idea as NVDA’s usual progress reporting.
- Enabled, raw value: shows the underlying value as a temporary braille message while the bar updates. NVDA may still speak progress according to its own Progress bar updates settings; this add-on option does not drive speech by itself.
- Enabled, bar: a row of ⣿ cells whose length reflects the percentage across your display width (very long percentage text is shortened).
Background progress windows
These choices work together with NVDA’s Report background progress bars setting: you can match NVDA, always allow background bars, or foreground only so braille is not filled by progress bars for windows you are not working in.
Characters not defined in the active output table (including many emoji) use the chosen method: table default, full 1–8 or 1–6 dot cell, empty, custom dot pattern (6-123456 style), question mark, custom sign (?? style), hex (Liblouis, HUC8, HUC6), decimal, octal, binary.
Descriptions: optional character description, extended description, full extended, optional size line, optional Unicode data as a last resort, and an exclude list (character codes or ranges) so description is skipped for ranges you find noisy.
Precedence: table rules and table dictionaries take priority over descriptions; descriptions take priority over the generic undefined pattern.
More on HUC: danielmayr.at/huc
Toggle advanced input (defaults include NVDA+Windows+i or ⡊+space). While active:
- HUC8: type the Unicode HUC8 braille pattern for the character; the add-on waits until the sequence is valid and complete, then inserts the character (many symbols need about four cells; some need more—see the HUC site). Works for emoji and other supported code points.
- Numeric bases: after the escape sign, send ⠭ or ⠓ (hex), ⠙ (decimal), ⠕ (octal), ⠃ (binary), type digits, then Space.
- Abbreviations: stored with the add-on’s advanced input dictionary (one entry per abbreviation and table); if you add the same abbreviation twice, the new text replaces the old one. Expand with abbreviation + Space.
HUC6 input is not implemented.
| Character | HUC8 | Hex | Decimal | Octal | Binary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 👍 thumbs up | ⣭⢤⡙ | 1F44D | 128077 | 372115 | 11111010001001101 |
| 😀 grinning face | ⣭⡤⣺ | 1F600 | 128512 | 373000 | 11111011000000000 |
| 🍑 peach | ⣭⠤⠕ | 1F351 | 127825 | 371521 | 11111001101010001 |
| 🌊 water wave | ⣭⠤⠺ | 1F30A | 127754 | 371412 | 11111001100001010 |
Uses the character at the review cursor (navigator). The braille cells in the report are produced with your current output translation table (the same Liblouis chain used for on-screen braille, including table dictionaries when they apply)—not the separate input table. One press: short summary; double press: browseable block.
Example (“.”):
.: 0x2e, 46, 0o56, 0b101110
dot (FULL STOP [Po])
⠲ (256)
⣥⣺⢃, ⠿⠺⠏⠔
Compose a cell in several steps—useful if you type with one hand. In Braille Extender settings, the three methods appear in this order: Fill a cell in two stages using one side only, Fill a cell in two stages using both sides, Fill a cell dots by dots. Toggle one-handed mode with NVDA+Windows+h (often ⡂+space on supported displays). If the stored method is unknown, the add-on speaks unsupported and clears any partly typed cell.
First step: dots 1–2–3–7. Second step: 4–5–6–8. Space means “this half is empty”. Space twice gives a completely empty cell.
- ⠛: 1–2 then 1–2, or 4–5 then 4–5
- ⠃: 1–2 then Space, or 4–5 then Space
- ⠘: Space then 1–2, or Space then 4–5
Type left bank dots, then right bank. If one side is empty, press the same dots twice, or enter the non-empty side in two steps.
- ⠛: dots 1–2, then 4–5
- ⠃: 1–2 then 1–2, or 1 then 2
- ⠘: 4–5 then 4–5, or 4 then 5
Each key press flips a dot. Press Space when the cell is the one you want.
⠛ can be built as: 1–2 then 4–5 then Space; or 1–2–3, dot 3 again to correct, then 4–5, Space; or 1, then 2–4–5, Space; and other paths.
Do not confuse this with NVDA’s shortcut for toggling braille mode (NVDA+Alt+t).
In current NVDA (see Commands Quick Reference → Braille and Input help):
NVDA+Alt+t— Toggle braille mode (shortcut documented since NVDA 2024.2, which added display speech output mode: braille can mirror what NVDA speaks). NVDA cycles its braille modes, including display vs speech output. That is still not Braille Extender’s separate speech history list and routing workflow.
What Braille Extender does instead
While Speech History Mode is on, the add-on records what NVDA speaks as plain-text lines you can browse, uses line scroll on the display to move through that list, and switches the braille line to show those lines instead of the usual focus or review text. Turning the mode off returns braille to normal and refreshes the display.
- Assign a gesture: the add-on does not ship a mandatory desktop shortcut—use Input gestures → Braille Extender → Turn Braille Extender speech history mode on or off… Many display profiles use a gesture such as ⡞+space; use Gestures for this display… to see yours.
- Gesture conflict: avoid mapping this add-on command to
NVDA+Alt+tunless you mean to replace NVDA’s toggle braille mode command on that key. - While browsing history: speech is captured as text only (no sounds or tones in the list); the forward/back line commands move through stored lines when you are in this mode.
- Limit: how many lines to keep (the settings panel allows a very high maximum).
- Number entries: each line is prefixed with
#and the entry number (padded with leading zeros so all numbers use the same width), then:and the text—for example#3:or#0003:depending on your history limit. - Speak entries: optionally read the line aloud when you move in the history.
- Routing: key 0 copies the current line; key
displaySize − 1opens browseable text; middle keys jump by a distance that depends on left vs right of center on the display.
The rotor switches active quick-nav / review category. Categories include text navigation, selection, object / review, links (visited/unvisited), landmarks, headings (per level), lists, form controls, tables, same/different formatting, input/output table lists, and more.
- Settings: enable/disable each category and set master order. Only enabled items appear when cycling.
- Which categories appear: in browse mode–style views (many web pages, similar documents, and some app views with quick navigation), the add-on asks NVDA whether each rotor type is supported; types that would always fail (for example some formatting jumps in certain Word views) are hidden so you are not stuck on “not supported”.
- Gestures: assign next/previous rotor item and next/previous rotor set in Input gestures; display profiles may already bind them.
When auto scroll is on, the display advances by itself on a timer while you stay on the usual braille view. If you switch to another view (for example speech history), auto scroll pauses until you return.
- Delay: stored per braille display model, between about 0.2 and 42 seconds between steps (default about 3 seconds).
- Faster / slower keys: each press changes the delay by a configurable step (roughly 25 ms up to 7 s per step, depending on settings).
- Adjust to content: the delay can shorten or lengthen based on how much of the current line fits on your display.
- Ignore blank lines: optional skip of empty lines while auto scrolling.
- Beeps when turning auto scroll on or off.
When Use custom role labels is checked, you can edit role, landmark, and positive / negative state labels per language from this panel (stored with your other Braille Extender settings). When unchecked, NVDA’s default labels apply.
- Fix cursor positions: helps in awkward controls by cleaning up combining Unicode symbols next to letters so braille and the routing cursor line up more reliably.
- Hide dots 7–8: toggle (assign Input gestures → Braille Extender if you want a shortcut) that clears dots 7 and 8 from braille cells when NVDA is not showing an in-line text selection on that line—useful for a flatter view with contracted braille (NVDA describes this command as hiding dots 7–8 in contracted output).
- Refresh when object name changes: when enabled, a name-change event causes the add-on to refresh braille for the foreground window—useful when titles or labels update often (timers, live counters) so the display does not look stuck.
- Reload two favorite braille displays with shortcuts.
- Terminals: braille can follow the review cursor while you edit (PuTTY, PowerShell, cmd, bash, …).
- Auto scroll with timing and blank-line options.
- Multiple input/output tables and automatic selection on NVDA 2025.1+.
- Dots 7/8, tags, and spacing / line padding for structure and attributes.
- Post-output Liblouis table.
- Tabs as spaces; reverse scroll buttons.
- Speak current line while scrolling (coordinate with NVDA’s braille speech options).
- Unicode braille and cell-description tools for the selection.
- Lock braille keyboard; lock modifiers from braille.
- Quick launches and dictionaries.
- One-handed input; undefined characters (including emoji); advanced input and abbreviations.
- Speech History Mode; extended display gesture maps where profiles exist.
- Keyboard: listed under Input gestures → Braille Extender. Gestures for this display… shows a live list for your current braille profile and add-on keyboard bindings.
- Braille display: some displays ship with a predefined map for this add-on. If yours does not, assign the commands you need in Input gestures like any other NVDA command.
Bug reports, suggestions, and pull requests are welcome on GitHub — BrailleExtender. If you change user-visible text or behavior, please update this guide and any translations you maintain so everyone stays in sync.
If you work on the source code, build steps and developer tooling are described in the repository on GitHub (not in this user guide).
- Copyright: © 2016-2026 André-Abush Clause and other contributors — see addon page.
- Arabic: Ikrami Ahmad
- Chinese (Taiwan): 蔡宗豪 Victor Cai <surfer0627@gmail.com>
- Croatian: Zvonimir Stanečić <zvonimirek222@yandex.com>
- Danish: Daniel Gartmann <dg@danielgartmann.dk>
- English and French: Sof <hellosof@gmail.com>, Joseph Lee, André-Abush Clause <dev@andreabc.net>, Oreonan <corentin@progaccess.net>
- German: Adriani Botez, Karl Eick, Rene Linke, Jürgen Schwingshandl
- Hebrew: Shmuel Naaman, Afik Sofer, David Rechtman, Pavel Kaplan
- Italian: Simone Dal Maso, Fabrizio Marini
- Persian: Mohammadreza Rashad
- Polish: Zvonimir Stanečić, Dorota Krać
- Russian: Zvonimir Stanečić, Pavel Kaplan, Artem Plaksin
- Spanish: Eric Duarte Quintanilla
- Turkish: Umut Korkmaz
- Ukrainian: VovaMobile
- Speech History Mode feature: Emil Hesmyr <emilhe@viken.no>
- Maintenance / cleanup: Joseph Lee <joseph.lee22590@gmail.com>
- Attribra (third-party): Copyright © 2017 Alberto Zanella — attribra
Thanks also to Daniel Cotto, Daniel Mayr, Dawid Pieper, Corentin, Louis, and everyone who reported feedback.