This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.
Use Mail for Windows 10 with your keyboard and a screen reader to create and edit a table in your email message. 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
Convert text to a table
If you have a block of text that uses consistent separators, such as commas or tab stops, it is easy to convert it to a table.
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While writing a message, select the piece of text you want to convert to a table.
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Press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon. You hear "Ribbon," followed by the currently selected tab.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Insert tab," and then press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Insert ribbon.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Table button," and then press Enter.
The table is created and the focus returns to the message with the table selected.
Insert a table
When you insert a blank table in an email, Mail adds a basic grid-type table with three rows and three columns. You can later add more columns and rows if needed.
Note: To make a table as accessible as possible, it's important to give the table a header row. Use the Style Options menu to add a header row. For instructions, go to Modify table properties.
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While writing a message, place the cursor where you want to insert the new table.
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Press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon. You hear "Ribbon," followed by the currently selected tab.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Insert tab," and then press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Insert ribbon.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Table button," and then press Enter.
The table is created and the focus returns to the message with the table selected.
Use built-in table styles
After creating a table, you can quickly modify its appearance by using the built-in styles in Mail.
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While writing a message, place the cursor inside the table you want to modify.
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Press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon. You hear "Ribbon," followed by the currently selected tab. If the focus is not on the Table tab, press the Right arrow key until you hear: "Table tab."
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Press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Table ribbon.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Table styles, button," and then press Enter.
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In the Table Styles menu, use the arrow keys to browse the available table styles, and when on the style you want, press Enter.
The selected style is applied to your table and the focus returns to the table.
Delete a table
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While writing a message, place the cursor anywhere in the table you want to delete.
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Press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon. You hear "Ribbon," followed by the currently selected tab. If the focus is not on the Table tab, press the Right arrow key until you hear: "Table tab."
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Press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Table ribbon.
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You hear: "Delete, button." Press Enter to open the Delete menu.
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To delete the entire table, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Delete table, button," and then press Enter.
The table is deleted, and the focus returns to the message.
Modify table properties
You can modify table alignment, give your table a title and a description to make it accessible, change table style options, and more.
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While writing a message, place the cursor anywhere in the table.
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Press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon. You hear "Ribbon," followed by the currently selected tab. If the focus is not on the Table tab, press the Right arrow key until you hear: "Table tab."
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Press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Table ribbon.
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Do one or more of the following options:
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To adjust the table alignment, press the Right arrow key until you hear "Alignment," and press Enter. Then browse the Alignment menu with the arrow keys until you hear the option you want, and press Enter. To close the Alignment menu, press Esc.
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To add an alternative text title and description, press the Right arrow key until you hear "Alt text," and press Enter. The focus is on the Title field. Enter the table title, then press the Tab key once, and enter the table description. To close the Alt Text dialog box, press Esc.
Note: If you have minimized the mail window, the Alt Text button might be collapsed inside the Cell size button instead. Press the Tab key until you hear “Cell size, button, collapsed,” and press Enter. Press the Down arrow key until you hear “Alt text button,” and press Enter.
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To modify the table style options, press the Right arrow key until you hear "Table style options," and press Enter. In the Style Options menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear the style you want and then press Enter. To close the Style Options menu, press Esc.
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Add columns or rows to a table
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While writing a message, place the cursor anywhere in the table you want to add rows or columns to.
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Press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon. You hear "Ribbon," followed by the currently selected tab. If the focus is not on the Table tab, press the Right arrow key until you hear: "Table tab."
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Press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Table ribbon.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Insert button," and press Enter.
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In the Insert menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear the option you want, and then press Enter.
The column or row is added to the table.
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To close the Insert menu, press Esc. The focus moves to the added row or column in the table.
See also
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Mail
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.
