Take advantage of the accessibility features in Microsoft Teams for a better meeting or live event experience

In this topic

• Magnify screen content

• Use high contrast color

• Turn captions on and off

• Change your background during a meeting

• Record a meeting

Magnify screen content

With the Magnifier tool you can enlarge the whole screen (Full screen) or just a part of the screen (Lens pane) to make text and items on the screen easier to see.

1. To quickly start Magnifier, press the Windows logo key+Plus sign (+).

2. To zoom in, press the Windows logo key+Plus sign (+). To zoom out, press the Windows logo key+Minus sign (-).

3. When the focus is on Magnifier, you can change its settings on the Magnifier toolbar. Press the Tab key or Shift+Tab to move on the Magnifier toolbar. To select an option or options list, press Spacebar. To exit an option or options list, press Esc.

4. To exit Magnifier and close the tool, press the Windows logo key+Esc.

For more information, go to Use Magnifier to make things on the screen easier to see.

Use high contrast color

With the high contrast mode, the enhanced color contrast can help you see text and items on your screen better, making it also less straining on your eyes. For instructions, refer to Change settings in Teams.

Turn captions on and off

For persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, live captions allow to see what others are saying.

To start and stop using live captions in a meeting, go to your meeting controls and select More options > Turn on live captions or Turn off live captions.

Change your background during a meeting

Reducing visual distractions can be especially helpful for persons with visual impairment or cognitive communication difficulties, for example. When the background is blurred or there is a steady image, it is easier to focus on the person speaking.

1. To alter your background while in a meeting, go to your meeting controls and select More actions > Show background effects.

2. Select Blur to blur your background, or choose from the available images to replace it. To upload an image of your own, select Add new and pick a .jpg, .png, or .bmp file from your computer.

3. You can preview your chosen background to see how it looks before you apply it.

Record a meeting

A meeting recording can be helpful for people with cognitive difficulties, for example. You can go through the recording at your own pace as well as go back to double-check anything you might have missed.

To start and stop recording in a meeting, go to your meeting controls and select Start recording or Stop recording.

You can find the recording in the meeting chat history. To open the chat history, go to your meeting controls and select Show conversation. If you use Microsoft Outlook, a link to the meeting recording will also be sent to your email.

See also

5 tips for using Teams when you're deaf or hard of hearing

Using Microsoft Teams with a screen reader: Frequently Asked Questions