Use a screen reader to navigate the calendar in Outlook for Mac

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 the calendar in Outlook for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in macOS 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 macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.

In this topic

Navigate the main view and screen elements

Press F6 (forward) or Shift+F6 (backward) to cycle through the elements in the following order:

The navigation pane and the day picker grid on the left
The ribbon above the navigation pane and day picker grid with buttons for hiding the navigation pane and creating a new event
The calendar pane showing the current calendar contents
The quick access toolbar below the navigation pane for navigating between the main views of Outlook
The banner at the top of the screen. It contains buttons for accessing Search and showing your recent activity.

Navigate the navigation pane and the day picker grid

When you land in the navigation pane, you hear: “Navigation pane.” In the navigation pane table, you can select which calendars are shown in your calendar pane. Above the navigation pane, you'll find the day picker grid where you can select the day you want to display in the calendar pane.

To browse the available calendars, press the Up or Down arrow key. VoiceOver reads the calendar names as they are highlighted. VoiceOver also announces whether the calendar is shown or hidden in the current calendar pane.
To select or deselect a calendar, press Spacebar.
To navigate from the navigation pane to the day picker grid above the navigation pane, press Shift+Tab until you hear: "Leaving navigation pane, next month button."
- To move the focus to the day picker grid, press Control+Option+Right arrow key until you hear the currently selected month, followed by "Grid."
- To move within the grid, press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key, then press Control+Option+Up, Down, Left, or Right arrow key until you hear the day you want. To show the events of the day in the calendar contents, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Navigate the calendar pane

When you land in the calendar pane, VoiceOver announces the subject and the details of the first event in the current calendar. If the current calendar view doesn't contain any events, you hear the selected date range.

To move between the calendar events, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab. VoiceOver announces the event details.
To open and edit the event, press Command+O or Control+Option+Spacebar. To learn how to edit or read the event details, refer to the "Set up your calendar view" section in Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook.
Depending on your view, do one of the following to move in the calendar:
- To move to the next day, week, or month, press Command+Right arrow key.
- To move to the previous day, week, or month, press Command+Left arrow key.
To return to today, press Command+T.

Navigate the app menu bar

The app menu bar contains the main Outlook tools for creating, viewing, and formatting your calendar events. It is divided into several tabs, such as File, Edit, Format, and Tools.

To move the focus to the app menu bar, press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar, Apple."
To navigate between the tabs on the menu bar, press Command+Option+Right or Left arrow key. To expand the tab currently in focus, press Command+Option+Spacebar.
After expanding a tab, use the Down or Up arrow key to browse its options, and press Command+Option+Spacebar to select an option.

Move between views

Switch between a new event window and the main calendar view

To open a blank appointment window, press Command+N. The focus is on the Subject text field. To switch between the new event window and the main calendar view, you can use the Dock.

To move to the Dock, press Control+Option+D.
Press Control+Option+Left or Right arrow key until you hear: “Microsoft Outlook.”
Press the Up arrow key until you hear “Calendar” or the subject of the appointment you want to switch to, and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Navigate the File menu

In the File menu, you can, for example, create new appointments and meeting requests.

In the calendar in Outlook for Mac, press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar, Apple."
Press the Right arrow key until you hear: "File."
Press the Down arrow key until you hear the option you want, and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to select the option.

Navigate to the calendar preferences

You can modify the calendar settings in the Outlook Preferences window. You can, for example, set your working hours and days and define the default reminder time.

To open Outlook Preferences, press Command+Comma (,).
Press the Tab key until you hear “Calendar, button,” and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
To move through the available settings, press the Tab key. To select a setting you want to change, press Spacebar.
To close the Outlook Preferences window and return to the main view, press Command+W.

Navigate to the reminders window

To move to the Dock, press Control+Option+D.
Press the Left or Right arrow key until you hear: “Microsoft Outlook.”
Press the Up arrow key until you hear the number of reminders.
Press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the reminders window.

Navigate between the main views of Outlook

To navigate to Mail, press Command+1.
To navigate to Calendar, press Command+2.
To navigate to People, press Command+3.
To navigate to To Do, press Command+4.

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.