Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneDrive
Applies ToOneDrive (home or personal) OneDrive for Windows

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.

Use OneDrive 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.

OneDrive is built into Windows. It appears automatically in Windows File Explorer as a location where you can save files. Files that you save to OneDrive are available online at OneDrive.com and offline on your PC, so you can use them anytime—even when you’re not connected to the internet. When you reconnect, OneDrive syncs the online files with the files on your computer.

Notes: 

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Navigate to OneDrive and to a OneDrive folder in File Explorer

Because OneDrive is integrated with Windows File Explorer as a location where you can save files, OneDrive is listed as a drive in the navigation pane tree view in File Explorer.

  1. To open File Explorer, press the Windows logo key+E.

  2. If needed, you can check if the navigation pane view is on.

    1. In File Explorer, press Alt to move the focus to the app bar.

    2. Press the Right arrow key until you hear "View, app bar button," and press Spacebar.

    3. Press the Up arrow key until you hear "Show, menu item collapsed," and then press the Right arrow key once. If you hear "Navigation pane, menu item, checked," the pane view is on. If you hear "Navigation pane, menu item," the pane view is off. Press Spacebar to turn the pane view on.

  3. Press F6 until you hear: "Navigation pane."

  4. Press the Down arrow key until you hear: "OneDrive."

  5. With the focus on OneDrive, press the Right arrow key once to expand the contents list.

  6. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the name of the folder you want, and then press Enter to open it in the main content area.

    Tip: If the folder name is followed by "Collapsed," the folder has subfolders. To expand the folder, press the Right arrow key once.

Navigate the OneDrive main content area

  1. Navigate to and select a OneDrive folder as instructed in Navigate to OneDrive and to a OneDrive folder in File Explorer.

  2. To navigate to the main content area, press the Tab key until you hear: "Items view."

  3. To browse the list of items, use the Up and Down arrow keys.

  4. When you hear the item you want, press Enter to select it.

    When you select a folder, the folder opens and displays a list of its subfolders and files. When you select a file, it opens in the appropriate application, such as Word or Excel.

See also

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneDrive

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

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.

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