Accessibility features

This document describes accessibility features in Android Studio 2.2and higher.

Screen reader compatibility

Screen readers are currently only supported for Android Studio on Windows.

A variety of screen readers are available for Windows, but the compatibilitywith Android Studio varies:

  • NVDA: We recommend usingNVDA 2015 or later, as this was theprevalent screen reader during the development of accessibility supportfor Android Studio. If you use the 32-bit version of NVDA, you mustinstall the 32-bit JRE on your machine, as this version of NVDA requiresC:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsAccessBridge-32.DLL to work with Android Studio.If NVDA cannot locate this file, the NVDA Event Log window displays themessage, "Java Access Bridge not available".
  • Jaws: To enable Android Studio accessibility features, start Jaws beforeyou start Android Studio. If Android Studio accessibility is not enabled,restart Studio.
  • Windows Eyes: We do not recommend using Android Studio with WindowsEyes, as during setup, Windows Eyes overwrites the accessibility libraries ofall JDKs and JREs on your machine with older versions that are not compatiblewith Android Studio.
  • Built-in Windows Narrator: We do not recommend Windows Narrator, as it isnot compatible with Java accessibility in general.

Activate support for screen readers

To set up a screen reader with Android Studio on a Windows machine, use thefollowing steps:

  • Install your screen reader.

  • Ensure you have installed the proper Java version for your screen reader, asfollows:

    • If your screen reader is 32-bit, install the 32-bit JRE version 1.7 orhigher.
    • If your screen reader is 64-bit, install the 64-bit JRE version 1.7 orhigher.

  • To turn on the Java Access Bridge, open the command prompt and type"[JRE_HOME]\bin\jabswitch -enable", where [JRE_HOME] is the directory ofthe JRE on your machine.

  • Your machine may have multiple versions of some importantcomponents of the Java Access Bridge, which may not be compatible acrossversions. To verify your Java Access Bridge configuration is correct, confirmthat you have the correct versions of the following important files asdescribed below:

    • If your screen reader is 32-bit:
      • Ensure that C:\Windows\SysWOW64\WindowsAccessBridge-32.DLLis present and has a version number of 7.x.x.x or higher. The file'sdescription should read "Java(TM) Platform SE 7".
      • Confirm that the Date Modified of the[JRE_HOME]\lib\ext\access-bridge-64.jar and[JRE_HOME]\jre\lib\ext\jaccess.jar files (where[JRE_HOME] is the home directory of the JRE on your machine)are the same as the other files in their directories. If those files' lastmofified dates differ from those of the other files in their respectivedirectories, they may have been overwritten by the Windows Eyes installer;in this case, you must re-install the JDK/JRE to ensure that you're runningthe correct versions of these files.
    • If your screen reader is 64-bit:
      • Ensure that C:\Windows\System32\WindowsAccessBridge-64.DLLis present and has a version number of 7.x.x.x or higher. The file'sdescription should read "Java(TM) Platform SE 7".
      • Confirm that the Date Modified of the[JRE_HOME]\lib\ext\access-bridge-64.jar and[JRE_HOME]\jre\lib\ext\jaccess.jar files (where[JRE_HOME] is the home directory of the JRE on your machine)are the same as the other files in their directories. If those files' lastmofified dates differ from those of the other files in their respectivedirectories, they may have been overwritten by the Windows Eyes installer;in this case, you must re-install the JDK/JRE to ensure that you're runningthe correct versions of these files.
  • To activate support for screen readers in Android Studio, clickFile > Settings > Appearance & Behavior > System Settings, check theSupport screen readers checkbox, and then restart Android Studio. Thissetting ensures that the Android Studio experience is optimized for screenreader users, for example by customizing keyboard navigation. If you are usingJaws, remember that you must start Jaws before you start Android Studio inorder for this setting to take effect.

Use the keyboard

You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate through all controls in AndroidStudio.

Note: Some Android Studio elements arekeyboard-accessible only when using the object navigation (or similar) featureof your screen reader. For help with object navigation or equivalent, consultyour screen reader documentation, such as the NVDAuser guide.

This section includes the most useful keyboard shortcuts for navigating aroundAndroid Studio. For a complete guide to the default Android Studio keyboardshortcuts, read Keyboardshortcuts.

Activate the main menu

To open the main menu and other top-level menus, use these shortcuts:

  • To open the main menu, press F10.
  • To open a top-level menu on a Windows machine, press Alt+[mnemonic].For example, to open the File menu, press Alt+F.

Navigate between files and tool windows

To navigate between files and tool windows, use these shortcuts:

  • To move to a tool window, press Alt+[number] (on Mac,Command+[ number ]). For example, to move to the Project structure toolwindow, press Alt+0 (on Mac, Command+0).
  • To move between files and tool windows, press Control+Tab (on Mac,Command+Tab). To move through all entries, keep pressing Control+Tab.

Use the navigation bar

The navigation bar lets you move between files in a project using the followingshortcuts:

  • To activate the navigation bar, press Alt+Home (on Mac, Option+Fn+Left).
  • To switch between items in the navigation hierarchy, press the left arrow orthe right arrow.
  • To open a popup window displaying the contents of the current item, pressthe spacebar.

Disable code folding

By default, the Android Studio editor folds part of the text into expandableregions. For example, the "import" list at the beginning of a Java source fileis folded into a single line containing the text "import …".

When using a screen reader, code folding can make navigation difficult. Tomodify code folding options, clickFile > Settings > Editor > General > Code Folding (on a Mac,File > Properties > Editor > General > Code Folding).

Disable auto-insertion features

By default, Android Studio automatically inserts closing curly braces, quotes,or parentheses.

When using a screen reader, automatic insertion may not be useful. To modifyautomatic insertion options, clickFile > Settings > Editor > General > Smart Keys (on a Mac,File > Properties > Editor > General > Smart Keys).

Disable automatic code completion popup

By default, Android Studio automatically shows the code completion popup whencertain keystrokes are typed, and if it finds only a single match, auto-insertsthat match. This behavior can create a confusing experience with screen readers.

To modify autopopup and auto-insertion options for code completion, clickFile > Settings > Editor > General > Code Completion (on a Mac,File > Properties > Editor > General > Code Completion).

Access errors, warnings, and code inspections

Use your keyboard to view and navigate through errors, warnings, and codeinspections.

Review errors in all files in a project

When you click Build > Make Project, all warnings and errors appear inthe Messages window. The Messages window is accessible as of AndroidStudio 2.2.(View bug history.)

To review errors in the Messages window, use these shortcuts:

  • To activate the Messages window, press Alt+0 (on Mac, Option+0).
  • To navigate through all messages, press the up and down arrows.
    Alternatively, you can use the text editor to view and navigate through allerrors. To use the editor to review errors, press Control+Alt+ Up/Down (on Mac,Command+Option+Up/Down).

Review errors and code inspections in a single file

To review errors in a single file, use these shortcuts:

  • To go to the next or previous error, press F2 or Control+F2 (on Mac,Command+F2).
  • To open a tooltip containing the error message, press Control+F1 (on Mac,Command+F1).
    To navigate to all code inspections—not just errors—clickFile > Settings > Editor > General (on a Mac,File > Preferences > Editor > General), and then uncheck'Next error' action goes to high priority problems only.

Use tab indentation

By default, Android Studio uses the space character for indentation. Screenreader users may prefer tab indentation because the verbalization is moreconcise.

To change to tab indentation, clickFile > Settings > Editor > Code Style > Java > Tabs and Indents(on a Mac,File > Preferences > Editor > Code Style > Java > Tabs and Indents) andthen check the Use tab character checkbox.

Use Layout Editor

As of Android Studio 2.2, Layout Editor isnot fully accessible.(View bug history.)A temporary workaround is to open layout files in text mode bydefault.(View bug history.)

To open layout files in text view mode by default, clickFile > Settings > Editor > Layout Editor (on a Mac,File > Preferences > Editor > Layout Editor) and check thePrefer XML Editor checkbox.