This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Windows tools or features and Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Accessibility help & learning content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.
Note: Outlook for Mac information on this topic is available here.
Use Outlook Calendar with your keyboard and a screen reader to explore and navigate the different views and move between them. We have tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.
Notes:
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New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
In this topic
Move between views
Switch between a new event window and the main calendar view
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Press Ctrl+N to open a blank appointment window. The focus is on the Subject text field. You hear: “Add a title.”
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To switch back to the main calendar view, press and hold the Alt key, and then press the Tab key repeatedly to cycle through the active apps. You hear the names of the open apps.
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Release the Tab key when you hear: “Calendar.”
Navigate to the calendar settings
You can modify calendar settings in the Outlook Settings window. You can, for example, set your working hours and working days, set out-of-office replies, and define the default reminders time.
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Press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear: "Ribbon tabs."
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear: "View."
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Press the Tab key once to move the focus to the ribbon, then press the Right arrow key until you hear "Calendar settings," and press Enter. The Settings window opens, with the Calendar > View tab open.
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To navigate between the calendar settings subtabs, press the Tab key until you hear "Calendar category subtab," then press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the subtab you want, and press Enter.
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Navigate between settings with the Tab key and Shift+Tab. To select options, press Enter.
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To save the changes you've made to the calendar settings, press the Tab key until you hear "Save, button," and press Enter.
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To close the Settings window, press Alt+F4.
Navigate between the main views of Outlook
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To navigate to Mail, press Ctrl+1.
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To navigate to Calendar, press Ctrl+2.
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To navigate to Contacts, press Ctrl+3.
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To navigate to To Do, press Ctrl+4.
Use Search
To find an option or perform an action quickly, use the Search text field. To learn more about the Search feature, go to Find what you need with Microsoft Search.
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Select the item or place in your calendar or event where you want to perform an action.
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To go to the Search text field, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear: "Search."
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Type the search words for the action that you want to perform. For example, if you want to add a bulleted list, type bullets.
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Press the Down arrow key to browse through the search results.
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When you've found the result you want, press Enter to select it and to perform the action.
See also
Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook
Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities
Use Outlook Calendar with your keyboard and a screen reader to explore and navigate the different views and move between them. We have tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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As of October 1, 2017, table navigation using a screen reader has been temporarily disabled.
In this topic
Move between views
Switch between a new event window and the main calendar view
-
Press Ctrl+N to open a blank appointment window. The focus is on the Subject text field. You hear: “Subject, editing.”
-
To switch back to the main calendar view, press and hold the Alt key, and then press the Tab key repeatedly to cycle through the active apps. You hear the names of the open apps.
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Release the Tab key when you hear: “Calendar.”
Navigate the File menu
In the File menu, you can, for example, modify the calendar settings and set out-of-office replies.
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Press Alt+F to open the File menu.
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To move between the File menu options, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the option you want, and then press Enter to select a menu item or the Tab key to cycle through the items in a tab.
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To close the File menu and return to the main view, press Esc.
Navigate to the calendar settings
You can modify calendar settings in the Outlook Options window. You can, for example, set your working hours and working days and define the default reminders time.
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To open the Outlook Options window, press Alt+F, T.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear: “Calendar.”
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To move through the list of settings, press the Tab key. Press Spacebar to select a setting you want to change.
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To close the Outlook Options window and return to the main view, press Enter.
Navigate to the reminders window
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To view all the current reminders, press Alt+V, M. You hear the number of reminders.
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Press the Up or Down arrow key to move between the reminders.
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Press Spacebar to open the selected reminder or press Esc to exit the reminders window.
Navigate between the main views of Outlook
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To navigate to Mail, press Ctrl+1.
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To navigate to Calendar, press Ctrl+2.
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To navigate to Contacts, press Ctrl+3.
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To navigate to To Do, press Ctrl+4.
Use Tell Me
To find an option or perform an action quickly, use the Search text field. To learn more about the Search feature, go to Find what you need with Microsoft Search.
Note: Depending on the Microsoft 365 version of you are using, the Search text field at the top of the app window might be called Tell Me instead. Both offer a largely similar experience, but some options and search results can vary.
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Select the item or place in your document, presentation, or spreadsheet where you want to perform an action. For example, in an Excel spreadsheet, select a range of cells.
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To go to the Search text field, press Alt+Q.
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Type the search words for the action that you want to perform. For example, if you want to add a bulleted list, type bullets.
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Press the Down arrow key to browse through the search results.
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When you've found the result that you want, press Enter to select it and to perform the action.
See also
Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook
Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities
Use the calendar in Outlook for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to explore and navigate the different views and move between them.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.
In this topic
Move between views
Navigate to and inside the Outlook settings
You can change calendar settings such as notifications and calendar integration options.
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Tap with four fingers near the top of the screen. You hear: “Calendar navigation menu button, shows navigation pane.” Double-tap the screen to select.
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Swipe right until you hear “Settings button,” and then double-tap the screen to open the Settings window.
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To move between the different setting categories, swipe left or right until you hear the category you want, and then double-tap the screen to select. Some settings open in a separate window. If so, swipe left until you hear "Back button," and then double-tap the screen to return to the Settings window.
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To close the Settings window and return to the main view, swipe left until you hear “Close button,” and double-tap the screen.
Switch between Outlook Calendar and Outlook Mail
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To switch from Outlook Mail to Outlook Calendar, tap with four fingers near the bottom of the screen. You hear: “Calendar tab.” Double-tap the screen.
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To switch from Outlook Calendar to Outlook Mail, tap with four fingers near the bottom of the screen, swipe left until you hear “Mail tab,” and double-tap the screen.
See also
Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook
Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities
Use the calendar in Outlook for Android with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to explore and navigate the different views and move between them.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
This topic assumes that you are using the built-in Android screen reader, TalkBack. To learn more about using TalkBack, go to Android accessibility.
In this topic
Navigate to the account settings
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Swipe right or left until you hear "Open navigation drawer, button," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Menu."
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Swipe right or left to move between your calendar accounts. Each account has one or more visibility settings, such as Calendar or Birthdays. When you hear Talkback announce something you don't want to include in your calendar, for example, "Checked, Birthdays calendar visibility, checkbox," double-tap the screen to toggle it off or back on.
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To return to the calendar, swipe down-then-left.
Navigate to the app settings
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To open the Settings menu, swipe right or left until you hear "Open navigation drawer, button," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Menu."
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Swipe right until you hear "Settings," and double-tap the screen. To navigate the available settings categories, swipe left or right.
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To close the Settings menu and return to the calendar, swipe down-then-left.
Switch between views
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To switch from the Calendar view to Search or Mail, and back to Calendar swipe right or left until you hear "Mail, tab" "Search, tab," or "Calendar, tab," and then double-tap the screen. TalkBack announces the currently selected view as "Selected," followed by the name of the view.
See also
Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook
Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities
Use the calendar in Outlook on the web with your keyboard and a screen reader, to explore and navigate the different views and move between them. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge and JAWS and NVDA in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.
Notes:
-
New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.
-
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
-
When you use Outlook on the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Outlook on the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Outlook on the web.
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The layout of Outlook on the web conforms to the most recent international guidelines about accessible keyboard navigation. If you're using certain keyboard shortcuts specific to your screen reader, you can take advantage of the ARIA markup on the page.
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The Calendar related instructions are documented with the Reading Pane off.
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We're currently updating Outlook.office.com (Outlook on the Web). Some people are already using the new Outlook, and for others the classic version will be the default experience until we complete the update. For more information, go to Get help with the new Outlook on the web. Since the instructions in this topic apply to the new experience, we recommend that you switch from the classic experience to the new Outlook. To switch to the new Outlook, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Command, Try the new Outlook," and then press Enter. If you hear "Command toolbar" instead of "Command, Try the new Outlook," you're already using the new Outlook.
In this topic
Switch between views
You can switch from the Calendar view to the Mail, People, or Files view or to the To Do app, or even to another Microsoft 365 app.
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Press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear: "Navigation pane, region landmark," and then press Shift+Tab once. You hear: "Calendar, button."
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear the name of the view or app you want, and press Enter.
Navigate to the app settings
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To open the Settings pane, press Ctrl+F6 or Shift+Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Banner, Search, landmark," press the Tab key until you hear "Settings button," and then press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Complimentary, Search Outlook settings, and then use the Down arrow key to browse the options available in the Settings pane.
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To review all Outlook settings, press the Down arrow key until you hear "View all Outlook settings button," and press Enter. The Settings window opens. Use the Tab key, Shift+Tab, and the Up or Down arrow keys to navigate the window.
See also
Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook
Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Make your Outlook email accessible to people with disabilities
Technical support for customers with disabilities
Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.
If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.
