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Resources Windows 10How to Use and Customize Narrator in Windows 10

How to Use and Customize Narrator in Windows 10

By Michael | Last Updated

Narrator is a built-in screen reader feature that is designed to help user with visual impairments in navigating and using the Windows operating system. In this article, you can learn how to enable Narrator and customize Narrator settings in Windows 10.

how to use and customize Narrator in Windows 10

Part 1: How to Disable and Enable Narrator in Windows 10

How to Disable Narrator in Windows 10

Step 1: Open Narrator Properties.

Sub-step 1: Press Windows+F, type narrator in the Start Menu's search box and find Narrator in the results.

find narrator

Sub-step 2: Right-tap Narrator and click Open file location.

click Open file location

Sub-step 3: Right-click Narrator in the next window, and tap Properties.

tap Properties

Step 2: Go to edit the security settings.

In the Narrator Properties window, choose Security and tap Edit.

choose Edit

Step 3: Deny permissions for user.

As the Permissions for Narrator window appears, select the user you want to deny his or her permissions, check the box of Read & execute permission in Deny line and click OK. FYI, the box of Read permission in the same line is automatically chosen.

deny permissions for user

Tip: During this step, you may ask what you can do when the target user is not shown in the list. In this case, follow the procedures below to select your object user.

1. Go to add target user.

Select Add to continue.

select Add

2. Select user.

Situation 1: In the Select Users or Groups window, if you remember the object user name, enter it in the empty box, tap Check Names and click OK.

enter user name confirm selection

Situation 2: If you can't remember its full name, follow the sub-procedures below to choose user.

Sub-procedure 1: Tap Advanced button.

tap advanced

Sub-procedure 2: Click Find Now, select object user in the results and tap OK.

find and choose user

Sub-procedure 3: Click OK to finish selecting user.

click OK

3. Deny permissions and confirm the changes.

Choose Read & execute in the Deny line and tap OK. As mentioned before, the Read permission is denied automatically.

deny permissions

Step 4: Move on to the next step.

Choose Yes in the Windows Security dialog to continue.

choose Yes

Step 5: Confirm and complete disabling Narrator.

Select OK in the Narrator Properties window.

select OK

How to Enable Narrator

Step 1: Open Narrator Properties.

Open it according to the above instruction.

Step 2: Go to edit permissions in the security settings.

Select Security and click Edit.

click Edit

Step 3: Allow permissions for target user.

Choose user whose permissions for Narrator are denied, deselect the permissions one by one, and then tap OK, as shown in the following picture.

deselect permissions denied

Step 4: Confirm and finish enabling Narrator.

Hit OK in the Narrator Properties window.

hit OK

Part 2: How to Start Narrator Automatically in Windows 10

Way 1: Control whether to start Narrator automatically in Narrator settings.

Step 1: Open Narrator.

Step 2: Type narrator in the search box and choose Narrator settings in the result.

choose narrator settings

Step 3: Tap the switch under Start Narrator automatically to turn it on or off.

turn on start narrator automatically

Way 2: Choose whether to start Narrator automatically in Ease of Access Center.

Step 1: Open Ease of Access Center by Windows+U.

Step 2: Click Use the computer without a display to move on.

tap use the computer without a display

Step 3: Select or deselect Turn on Narrator and hit OK.

choose turn on narrator

Part 3: How to Customize Command Keyboard Shortcut on Windows 10

Step 1: Turn on Narrator.

Step 2: Select Commands in Narrator Settings.

choose commands

Step 3: Choose a command and tap Change command keyboard shortcut to move on.

tap Change command keyboard shortcut

Step 4: As the dialog named Type a keyboard shortcut appears, press a shortcut composed of any modifier key (Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Caps Lock or Windows key) and a single non-modifier key on the keyboard.

In this example, the keyboard shortcut, Windows+1, is set as the command shortcut for the selected command.

type keyboard shortcut

Step 5: Click Save changes in Narrator Settings.

click Save changes

Tips: If you do not want the changes, you can restore them to the default by clicking Restore default button.

choose restore default

Part 4: How to Choose What Narrator Hears as You Type

Step 1: Launch Narrator.

Step 2: Tap the Narrator icon on taskbar, and choose General in the Narrator Settings window.

open narrator general settings

Step 3: Deselect or select Hear characters as you type and Hear words you type, and then close the dialog.

deselect words and characters settings

Tips: You can also customize the Notification time here. On the right of Retain notifications to be read for, click the time bar and choose a time from 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes and 10 minutes.

Part 5: How to Lock Caps and Lock Key for Narrator

When Narrator is on, press Caps Lock+Z on the keyboard to lock the Caps Lock key. Or you can finish it in Narrator settings with below steps.

Step 1: Turn on Narrator.

Step 2: Click Narrator on the taskbar.

tap Narrator on taskbar

Step 3: Choose General in Narrator Settings.

choose general

Step 4: Select Lock the Narrator key so you don't have to press them for each command (Caps Lock).

select Lock the narrator key

Part 6: How to Set the Volume of other apps when Narrator is Running

Step 1: Tap Narrator on the taskbar and choose General to open General settings.

Step 2: Deselect or select Lower the volume of other apps when Narrator is running.

turn off or on lower the volume of other apps

Part 7: How to Change Narrator Navigation Settings

Step 1: Start Narrator.

Step 2: Open Narrator Settings by clicking Narrator on the taskbar.

Step 3: Choose Navigation in the settings.

Step 4: Click the down arrow and select a Narrator cursor movement mode from Normal and Advanced in the list.

click down arrow and select mode

Part 8: How to Change Narrator Voice Volume in Windows 10

Step 1: Open Narrator.

Step 2: Choose Voice in the Narrator Settings window.

choose voice

Step 3: On the volume bar, move the slider to the left to lower/quiet the voice volume, or move it to the right to raise the volume, and then select Save changes.

tap save changes

Part 9: How to Change Narrator Voice and Its Speed and Pitch

Step 1: Press Windows+C to open Charms Menu, and select Search on it to open Search bar.

open search on charms menu

Step 2: Type pc in the empty search box, and choose PC settings.

choose PC settings

Tip: For more methods to access PC settings (or Settings), you can refer to 3 Ways to Open PC Settings on Windows 10.

Step 3: Click Ease of Access to enter it.

enter ease of access

Step 4: In the Narrator settings, click the voice bar (i.e. Microsoft David) under Voice settings, and then select another voice from the system-provided options, as exhibited in the following screen shot.

click voice bar and choose another voice

After these four steps, the Narrator voice in Windows 10 computer will be changed with success. Besides, you can change speed and pitch respectively in the Voice settings after choosing the voice.

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