Troubleshooting

The volume dial doesn't navigate items

Make sure you're using the correct modifier. Just rotating the dial on its own changes system volume as normal - you need to hold NVDA (for categories) or Shift (for items) while rotating.

If those modifiers don't work, check NVDA's Input Gestures dialog. The bindings may have been removed or reassigned. You can find them under the Dial group.

A Sticky Keys dialog keeps interrupting me

Windows starts Sticky Keys when you tap Shift five times with no other key in between, and it asks you first with a dialog. Launching items is Shift and the dial, and Windows cannot see the dial, so those look like five bare Shift taps and the dialog appears in the middle of ordinary use.

Open Add-on Settings and press Turn off the Sticky Keys shortcut, which is marked as recommended. That switches off the shortcut only. Sticky Keys itself stays available in Windows Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard, and the same button turns the shortcut back on if you want it.

You can do the same thing in Windows itself: Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard, then clear the keyboard shortcut for Sticky Keys. It is one setting either way, and it applies to your whole account rather than just to Dial.

Pressing the volume dial doesn't launch anything

Check first that you are holding Shift as you press. A press with no modifier is left alone on purpose, so that your dial still mutes.

If it still does nothing, your dial is one that only turns. Use the Mute or Play/Pause key next to it instead: hold Shift, turn to the item you want, then press that key. Dial listens for both of those keys, so whichever one your keyboard has will work.

If you have neither, press NVDA + Applications for Dial mode and use Enter to launch.

One thing this is no longer: Dial expecting the wrong key. It used to have a setting asking whether your dial sent Mute or Play/Pause, and a wrong answer stopped launching without saying so. Both keys are claimed now, so there is nothing to get wrong. See How you control Dial.

An application item won't open

Open the settings panel and find the item. The full path to the executable is shown next to the item name. Common causes:

• The application has been uninstalled or moved
• The application was installed for a different user account
• You imported the configuration from another computer where the path is different

Edit the item, click Browse, and pick the correct path on this computer.

A folder won't open

Same as above - if the folder has been moved, renamed, or deleted, the launch will fail. Edit the item and pick a new path with the Browse button.

A file won't open, or opens in the wrong program

A file that has been moved, renamed or deleted fails the same way as a folder, so edit the item and pick it again with Browse. Press twice on the item to check: if you hear "is not there", the path is the problem.

Which program a file opens in is Windows' choice, not Dial's. Dial asks Windows to open the file exactly as Explorer would, so change it in Windows Settings (Apps, then Default apps), or right-click the file in Explorer and use "Open with".

A website opens in the wrong browser

The add-on uses your system's default browser. To change which browser is used, change your default browser in Windows Settings (Apps > Default apps > Web browser).

My Most Used category is empty

You haven't activated any items in the last 30 days. Use the add-on normally for a while and the category will fill up. New installs include some demo activations so the category isn't empty on day one, but those age out after about a month.

I imported a config and now things are missing

If you chose Replace existing at the conflict prompt, any of your old categories that shared names with imported ones were overwritten. If you have not pressed OK on the settings dialog yet, Escape out of it and nothing is kept, because an import is only written when you save. Once it is saved there is no undo, and your options are:

• Re-import from a backup if you have one
• Use Reset to defaults, in the More actions menu on the Categories and items tab, and rebuild from scratch
• Edit the JSON export file in a text editor and re-import the missing pieces manually

For next time: export your current setup before importing new content so you always have a rollback point.

I'm getting too many beeps

The wrap beeps fire whenever you cycle past either end of an item list. If a category has only a few items, you'll hit them often. The beeps are deliberate - they tell you you've completed a full circuit of the list. If they bother you, use the Audio cues dropdown in Add-on Settings: you can keep the category beep and drop the wrap beeps, keep the wraps and drop the category beep, or turn all of them off.

The short tick you hear when you press is a different thing: it says the press was heard while Dial waits to see whether a second one is coming. Only No beeps at all silences that one. Presses work the same either way.

NVDA crashes or behaves strangely after install

Try removing the add-on (NVDA menu > Tools > Add-on Store > find the add-on > Remove) and restarting NVDA. If the problem stops, you've found the cause. Contact the author with details about your NVDA version, your keyboard model, and what you were doing when the problem started.