Screen readers read user interface (UI) text aloud, so the user can listen to the page instead of seeing it. They do this by monitoring the position of the mouse pointer and reading the text where the pointer is positioned. It does not matter how the pointer is controlled—the user can navigate using a mouse, the keyboard, a sip-and-puff device, or any other type of navigation device.

Screen readers also provide contextual information for the text being read. For example, if the user navigates to the Show Bookmarks button, a screen reader might say "Show Bookmarks button, collapsed". "Show Bookmarks" is the text that the screen reader reads, and "button, collapsed" is the context provided by the screen reader.

The context is essential. It is how the user knows the current state of the application and what will happen when the item is activated—buttons perform an operation, hyperlinks navigate the browser, checkboxes select or clear a setting, and so on.

In order for a user to use a screen reader with VertiGIS Studio Web, the user must have a screen reader installed and running. No additional steps are required. The screen-reading feature of VertiGIS Studio Web is tested using the Firefox browser with NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access) but others may also work.