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Overview

Configuration profiles allow you to have different NVDA settings for different situations. For example, you might want different speech settings when using a specific application, or different reporting options when editing documents versus browsing the web.
Profiles contain only the settings that are changed while editing the profile. Settings not explicitly changed in a profile will use values from the base configuration.

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Key Concepts

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Base Configuration

The base configuration contains your default NVDA settings. When no profile is active, NVDA uses the base configuration.

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Profile Activation

Profiles can be activated in two ways:
  1. Manual activation - You explicitly activate a profile when needed
  2. Automatic activation (triggers) - NVDA automatically activates a profile based on triggers such as:
    • Current application
    • Say All reading mode
    • Custom triggers

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Profile Priority

When multiple profiles are active:
  • Manually activated profiles have the highest priority
  • Among triggered profiles, the most recently activated takes precedence
  • The base configuration is consulted last

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Accessing Configuration Profiles

Open the Configuration Profiles dialog:
  • Press NVDA+control+p
  • Or select Configuration profiles from the NVDA menu

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Creating a Profile

1

Open the Configuration Profiles dialog

Press NVDA+control+p or access it from the NVDA menu.
2

Click the New button

This opens the New Profile dialog.
3

Enter a profile name

Choose a descriptive name for your profile (e.g., “Microsoft Word”, “Web Browsing”, “Work Environment”).
4

Select activation method

Choose how the profile should be activated:
  • Manual activation - You control when the profile is active
  • Current application - Activates automatically when using the current app
  • Say all - Activates during Say All reading
If you select a trigger, NVDA will automatically suggest a profile name based on the trigger.
5

Click OK

The profile is created and the dialog closes, allowing you to configure the profile’s settings.
6

Configure profile settings

Now open NVDA Settings (NVDA+control+g) and adjust the settings you want to be different in this profile. Only the settings you change will be saved to the profile.

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Managing Profiles

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Profile List

The Configuration Profiles dialog shows all available profiles with information about:
  • Profile name
  • Status indicators:
    • (manual) - Manually activated
    • (triggered) - Automatically activated by a trigger
    • (editing) - Currently being edited (settings changes save to this profile)

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Renaming a Profile

  1. Open the Configuration Profiles dialog
  2. Select the profile you want to rename
  3. Click the Rename button
  4. Enter the new name and click OK
When you rename a profile, any input gestures assigned to it will remain associated.

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Deleting a Profile

  1. Open the Configuration Profiles dialog
  2. Select the profile you want to delete
  3. Click the Delete button
  4. Confirm the deletion
Deleting a profile is permanent and cannot be undone. All settings and associated gestures will be removed.

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Manual Activation

To manually activate a profile:
  1. Open the Configuration Profiles dialog (NVDA+control+p)
  2. Select the desired profile
  3. Click the Manual activate button
  4. The profile is now active and will override settings from triggered profiles

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Deactivating a Manual Profile

  1. Open the Configuration Profiles dialog
  2. Select the currently active profile
  3. Click the Manual deactivate button
You can assign keyboard shortcuts to activate specific profiles. See Activating Profiles with Gestures below.

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Triggers

Triggers allow NVDA to automatically activate profiles based on context.

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Configuring Triggers

  1. Open the Configuration Profiles dialog
  2. Click the Triggers button
  3. Select a trigger from the list
  4. Choose the profile to activate for that trigger from the dropdown
    • Select (normal configuration) to use no profile for that trigger
  5. Click Close to save trigger associations

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Available Triggers

Automatically activate a profile when you switch to a specific application.Example: Create a “Microsoft Word” profile with specific document formatting announcements that only activates in Word.
Activates during continuous reading (Say All mode).Example: Create a profile with faster speech rate and minimal punctuation announcements for long document reading.

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Temporarily Disabling Triggers

Sometimes you may want to edit settings without triggered profiles interfering:
  1. Open the Configuration Profiles dialog
  2. Check Temporarily disable all triggers
  3. Your changes will now save to the base configuration or manually activated profile only
  4. Uncheck the option when you’re done
This is useful when you want to edit your base configuration or a manually activated profile without interference from application-specific profiles.

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Editing Profiles

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Which Profile Gets Modified?

When you change NVDA settings, they are saved based on the following priority:
  1. Manually activated profile - If you’ve manually activated a profile, changes save there
  2. Most recent triggered profile - If a profile was automatically triggered, changes save there
  3. Base configuration - If no profiles are active, changes save to the base configuration

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Editing a Specific Profile

To edit a profile without activating it in your current context:
  1. Open the Configuration Profiles dialog
  2. Select the profile you want to edit
  3. Manually activate it
  4. Open NVDA Settings and make your changes
  5. Return to Configuration Profiles and deactivate the profile

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Activating Profiles with Input Gestures

You can assign keyboard shortcuts or touch gestures to activate profiles quickly.
1

Open the Input Gestures dialog

Press NVDA+n, go to Preferences > Input Gestures, or press NVDA+control+g then navigate to the Input Gestures category.
2

Navigate to Configuration profiles category

Expand the Configuration profiles category in the gesture tree.
3

Select your profile

Each profile has its own entry. Select the profile you want to assign a gesture to.
4

Click Add

Click the Add button to create a new gesture assignment.
5

Press your desired key combination

Press the key combination you want to use (e.g., NVDA+shift+w for a “Web Browsing” profile).
6

Save

Click OK to confirm the gesture, then OK again to save all changes.
By default, profiles do not have input gestures assigned. You must add them manually.

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Profile Use Cases

Here are some common scenarios where profiles are useful:

Application-Specific Settings

Create profiles for:
  • Microsoft Word (detailed formatting announcements)
  • Web browsers (minimal announcements, focus on content)
  • Email clients (announce message details)
  • Programming IDEs (code-specific settings)

Activity-Based Profiles

  • Reading profile: Faster speech, fewer interruptions
  • Editing profile: Detailed character feedback
  • Presentation profile: Slower, clearer speech
  • Gaming profile: Minimal announcements

Environment Profiles

  • Office: Professional voice, moderate volume
  • Home: Different voice or speech rate
  • Public: Quiet or braille-only mode

Task-Specific Profiles

  • Proofreading: Announce all punctuation
  • Data entry: Fast feedback, error sounds
  • Research: Braille primary, speech secondary

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Advanced Profile Features

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Profile Scope

Most NVDA settings can be stored in profiles, with some exceptions:
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Settings in profiles
allowed
  • Speech settings (synthesizer, voice, rate, pitch)
  • Braille settings (display, table, cursor behavior)
  • Keyboard settings (layout, echo, modifier keys)
  • Mouse settings
  • Review cursor settings
  • Document formatting announcements
  • Vision settings
  • Audio settings
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Settings NOT in profiles
restricted
These settings only apply to the base configuration:
  • General settings (language, startup behavior, updates)
  • Add-on Store settings
  • Remote access settings
  • Math settings
  • Screen curtain settings
  • Development settings

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Profile Files

Profiles are stored as separate configuration files in your NVDA user configuration directory: 
%APPDATA%\nvda\profiles\
Each profile is saved as profileName.ini. You can:
  • Back up profiles by copying these files
  • Share profiles with other users
  • Restore profiles by copying files back
Do not manually edit profile files unless you understand the INI file format. Incorrect modifications can cause errors.

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Troubleshooting

Check which profile is currently active:
  1. Open Configuration Profiles dialog
  2. Look for profiles marked (editing)
  3. Changes are being saved to that profile, not the base configuration
To save to base configuration: Deactivate all manual profiles and disable all triggers temporarily.
Verify:
  1. The profile has a trigger configured (check in Triggers dialog)
  2. The trigger condition is being met (e.g., correct application is focused)
  3. Triggers aren’t temporarily disabled (check Configuration Profiles dialog)
  4. No manual profile is overriding the triggered profile
To determine which profile contains a specific setting:
  1. Enable “Temporarily disable all triggers”
  2. Manually activate each profile one at a time
  3. Check if the setting changes when each profile is activated
Ensure:
  1. The gesture is actually assigned (check Input Gestures dialog)
  2. The gesture doesn’t conflict with another NVDA command
  3. The application isn’t intercepting the key combination

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