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 Outlook for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in macOS screen reader, to automatically check for potential spelling and grammatical errors as you type and to go through the errors and fix them.
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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This topic assumes that you are using the built-in macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.
In this topic
Check the spelling and grammar in an email
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In the email, press Option+Command+L to open the Editor pane.
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To move to and hear the first correction suggestion, press F6 until you hear "Editor, tab," and then press the Tab key until you hear the number of issues found in the email.
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To start going through the suggested corrections to the errors found in the email, press Return. The focus moves to the first spelling or grammar issue in the email. To cycle between suggested corrections, press the Up and Down arrow keys. Press Return to choose a correction, or press the Tab key until you hear "Ignore all," and press Return to skip an error.
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After you correct or skip an error, the focus moves to the next error. Repeat the review process for each error.
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When the spelling check is complete, you hear: "Zero issues found. Review all suggestions, button."
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To return to your email, press F6 until you hear: "Edit text."
Note: When VoiceOver reads the text, if Outlook detects a potential spelling mistake, you will also hear "misspelled" before the word.
Recheck the spelling and grammar in an email
To recheck words and grammar that you previously chose to ignore, you need to reset the spelling and grammar checker.
Note: When you reset the list of ignored words and grammar, the list is cleared only for the currently open email. Any spelling or grammar issues you skipped in other emails in Outlook won't be affected.
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To go to the menu bar, in the email you want to recheck, press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar Apple."
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Edit," and then press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Spelling and grammar, submenu." To expand the Spelling and Grammar submenu, press the Right arrow key.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Reset ignored words and grammar," and then press Spacebar.
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A notification window opens. To confirm the reset, press the Tab key until you hear "Yes, default button," and then press Spacebar to select.
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To recheck the spelling and grammar, press Option+Command+L.
Keyboard shortcuts related to checking grammar and spelling
The following table provides a summary of keyboard shortcuts that can help you check grammar and spelling in your Outlook emails.
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To do this |
Press |
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Open the Outlook Preferences. |
Command+Comma (,) |
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Open the Editor pane. |
Option+Command+L |
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In the email, look up selected text on the internet. |
Command+Shift+L |
Turn the automatic checking for spelling and grammar on or off
You can turn off the automatic checking for spelling and grammar in the emails, and later turn it back on.
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To open Preferences, press Command+Comma (,). You hear: "Outlook preferences."
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Spelling and grammar, button," and then press Spacebar to select. The Spelling and Grammar dialog box opens.
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To turn the automatic checking for spelling on or off, press the Tab key until you hear: "Check spelling as you type, checkbox." You hear whether the checkbox is checked or unchecked. To check or clear the Check spelling as you type checkbox, press Spacebar.
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To turn the automatic checking for grammar on or off, press the Tab key until you hear: "Check grammar as you type, checkbox." You hear whether the checkbox is checked or unchecked. To check or clear the Check grammar as you type checkbox, press Spacebar.
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To go back to your email, press Command+W.
See also
Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Outlook (Windows, Mobile, Web)
Use a screen reader to format text in your email in Outlook
Use a screen reader to insert a picture or image in an email in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
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.
