Use a screen reader to find content in Microsoft Stream
Applies ToMicrosoft Stream

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 Microsoft Stream with your keyboard and a screen reader to find interesting content and details in the videos. We have tested it with Narrator, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll also learn how to find a word or phrase that is spoken or people who appear in a video.

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.

  • To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.

  • When you use Microsoft Stream, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser and Narrator as your screen reader.

    If you use Chrome or Firefox as your web browser, we recommend that you use JAWS or NVDA as your screen reader.

In this topic

Search across Stream

Use Search to look for content in Microsoft Stream. You can search for videos, channels, and people, and browse for groups. If you don't have access to a video, channel, or group, it won't show up in Microsoft Stream or your search results.

For instructions on how to find the videos you've uploaded, go to Find all your videos.

  1. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Topper search, Enter your search."

  2. Type your search words, and press Enter to perform the search. The search results page opens. The results are organized into videos, channels, people, and groups.

  3. To narrow down the search results, press the Tab key until you hear the result group you want. For example, if you're searching for a video, press the Tab key until you hear: "Videos tab item." Press Enter to select the group.

  4. If you searched for videos or channels, you can sort the results. Press the Tab key until you hear "Sort by," followed by the current sorting value, for example, "Relevance." Press the Spacebar to expand the sorting menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the value you want, and press Enter to sort.

  5. To browse the search results, press the Tab key.

Search within a channel

If you are looking for a video in a specific channel, you can search just within that channel.

  1. Navigate to the channel where you want to search for a video.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Search bar, Search for videos."

  3. Type your search words, and press Enter to perform the search.

  4. If you want to sort the search results, press the Tab key until you hear "Sort by," followed by the current sorting value, for example, "Relevance." Press the Spacebar to expand the sorting menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the value you want, and press Enter to sort.

  5. To browse the search results, press the Tab key.

Search within a group

If you are looking for a video in a specific group, you can search just within that group.

  1. Navigate to the group where you want to search for a video.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Videos tab item," and press Enter.

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Search bar, Search for videos."

  4. Type your search words, and press Enter to perform the search.

  5. If you want to sort the search results, press the Tab key until you hear "Sort by," followed by the current sorting value, for example, "Relevance." Press the Spacebar to expand the sorting menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the value you want, and press Enter to sort.

  6. To browse the search results, press the Tab key.

Find what's said in a video

Microsoft Stream finds videos based not only on the title and description, but also based on what's being said in the video. If the transcript for a video contains words or phrases that match your search words, Microsoft Stream lists them in the search results, and you can jump from the list to the exact point in the video that has the information you are looking for.

You can refine your search and find spoken words or phrases either across all videos or in one specific video.

Find a spoken word or phrase in one specific video

  1. Navigate to and select the video you want. The video opens in the playback view.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Input text and hit Enter key to search transcript."

  3. Type your search words and press Enter.

  4. To move to the search results, press the Tab key. The results are announced as "Transcript search match," followed by the start time of the playback from the beginning of the video.

  5. To read through what's being said in the video that matches your search words, press the SR key+Spacebar to switch on the scan mode, and press P.

  6. To move to and read the next result, press P.

  7. Once you hear the phrase you want, press Enter to start the playback from that exact point.

Find a spoken word or phrase across all videos

  1. Search for a video as instructed in Search across Stream.

  2. Press the Tab key to browse the search results. Your screen reader announces matching words or phrases in what's said in a video as "Link, This link will navigate to playback," followed by the start time of the playback from the beginning of the video.

  3. To read what's being said in the specific point of the video that matches your search words, press the SR key+I.

  4. Once you find the point in a video you want, press Enter to start the playback from that exact point.

Explore trending videos

The Microsoft Stream home page features a few of your company's trending videos. Trending is determined by the number of views and the number of likes.

  1. To go to the home page from any page, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Link, home," and press Enter.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Link, Trending videos," and press Enter.

  3. To browse the list of trending videos, press the Tab key.

  4. Once on an interesting video, press Enter to start the playback.

Explore popular channels

The Microsoft Stream home page features channels that are popular among your coworkers.

  1. To go to the home page from any page, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Link, home," and press Enter.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Link, popular channels," and press Enter.

  3. To browse the list of popular channels, press the Tab key.

  4. Once on an interesting channel, press Enter to select and open it.

  5. To find, for example, the trending videos in the selected channel, press the Tab key until you hear "Sort by," followed by the current sorting value. Press the Spacebar to expand the sorting menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear "Trending," and press Enter to sort.

  6. To browse the list of trending videos, press the Tab key.

  7. Once you hear the name of a video you want to play, press Enter to start the playback.

Find people in Microsoft Stream videos

Microsoft Stream can automatically find people's faces in the videos. Use the people timeline under the video player to check when a specific person appears and go to that moment in the video.

Note: To find people in the Microsoft Stream videos, the people detection feature must be turned on for your network. For the people timeline to be displayed, the owner of the video must turn on the people timeline for the video.

  1. Navigate to and select the video you want.

  2. Press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "People tab item," and press Enter. The focus moves to the People tab, and the people timeline is displayed under the video player.

    Note: If you don't hear "People tab item," the people detection feature hasn't been turned on for your network.

  3. To move the focus to the timeline, press the Tab key once. You hear: "This is button is used to seek in video."

    Note: If you hear "Post a new comment" or "Cap P," the people timeline is not available for the video, and the focus has moved to the Comments section.

  4. Press the SR key+Right arrow key to browse the timeline section. You may need a colleague to help you identify the person who you want to check in the video and their timeline.

  5. Once on the correct timeline, press the SR key+Right arrow key to move forward and the SR key+Left arrow key to move backward between the points where the person appears in the video.

  6. To start the video playback from any point where the person appears in the video, press the SR key+Enter.

See also

Use a screen reader to play videos in Microsoft Stream

Use a screen reader to upload and manage your videos in Microsoft Stream

Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Stream

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Stream

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Stream

Use Microsoft Stream with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to find videos across Microsoft Stream or videos that are trending right now. You'll also learn how to find what is said on a video.

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 iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.

  • For the full experience, use Microsoft Stream on the web. In your browser, go to https://msit.microsoftstream.com/.

In this topic

Search across Stream

Use Search to look for videos in Microsoft Stream. If you don't have access to a video, channel, or group, it won't show up in Microsoft Stream or your search results.

  1. Swipe left or right until you hear "Search button," and double-tap the screen.

  2. Use the on-screen keyboard to type your search words. The search results are returned as you type.

  3. Swipe right until you hear "Search," and double-tap the screen.

  4. To narrow down the search results, you can sort the results. Swipe left until you hear "Sort," and double-tap the screen. The Sort menu opens. Swipe right until you hear the sorting value you want, and double-tap the screen to select it.

  5. To browse the search results, swipe right.

  6. Once on an interesting video, double-tap the screen to start the playback.

Find what's said in a video

Microsoft Stream finds videos based not only on the title and description, but also based on what's being said in the video. If the transcript for a video contains words or phrases that match your search words, Microsoft Stream lists them in the search results, and you can jump from the list to the exact point in the video that has the information you are looking for.

  1. Search for a video as instructed in Search across Stream.

  2. Swipe right to browse the search results. VoiceOver announces matching results in what's said in the video as "Transcript," followed by the start time of the playback from the beginning of the video and the matching phrase.

  3. Once you find the point in a video you want, double-tap the screen to start the playback from that exact point.

Explore trending videos

The Discover tab features a few of your company's trending videos. Trending is determined by the number of views and the number of likes.

  1. To move the focus to the bottom of the screen, tap with four fingers near the bottom of the screen. You hear: "Settings tab."

  2. To go to the Discover tab, swipe left until you hear "Discover tab," and double-tap the screen.

  3. To move to focus to the top of the screen, tap with four fingers near the top of the screen. You hear: "Discover, heading."

  4. Swipe right until you hear "Sort button," and double-tap the screen.

  5. Swipe right until you hear "Trending," and double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the updated list of videos.

  6. To browse the trending videos, swipe right.

  7. Once on an interesting video, double-tap the screen to start the playback.

See also

Use a screen reader to play videos in Microsoft Stream

Use a screen reader to upload and manage your videos in Microsoft Stream

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Stream

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Stream

Use Microsoft Stream with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to find videos across Microsoft Stream or videos that are trending right now. You'll also learn how to find what is said on a video.

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 Android screen reader, TalkBack. To learn more about using TalkBack, go to Android accessibility.

  • For the full experience, use Microsoft Stream on the web. In your browser, go to https://msit.microsoftstream.com/.

In this topic

Search across Stream

Use Search to look for content in Microsoft Stream. If you don't have access to a video, channel, or group, it won't show up in Microsoft Stream or your search results.

  1. Swipe left or right until you hear "Search for videos," and double-tap the screen.

  2. Use the on-screen keyboard to type your search words. The search results are returned as you type. To close the keyboard, swipe down-then-left.

  3. To narrow down the search results, you can sort the results. Swipe right until you hear "Sort," and double-tap the screen. The Sort menu opens. Swipe right until you hear the sorting value you want, and double-tap the screen to select it.

  4. To browse the search results, swipe right.

  5. Once on an interesting video, double-tap the screen to start the playback.

Find what's said in a video

Microsoft Stream finds videos based not only on the title and description, but also based on what's being said in the video. If the transcript for a video contains words or phrases that match your search words, Microsoft Stream lists them in the search results, and you can jump from the list to the exact point in the video that has the information you are looking for.

  1. Search for a video as instructed in Search across Stream.

  2. Swipe right to browse the search results. TalkBack announces matching results in what's said in the video as "Transcript," followed by the start time of the playback from the beginning of the video and the matching phrase.

  3. Once you find the point in a video you want, double-tap the screen to start the playback from that exact point.

Explore trending videos

The Discover tab features a few of your company's trending videos. Trending is determined by the number of views and the number of likes.

  1. To go to bottom of the screen, swipe down-then-up. You hear: "Settings tab."

  2. To go to the Discover tab, swipe left until you hear "Discover tab," and double-tap the screen.

  3. To move to focus to the top of the screen, swipe up-then-down. You hear: "Discover, heading."

  4. Swipe right until you hear "Tap to sort video results," and double-tap the screen.

  5. Swipe right until you hear "Trending," and double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the updated list of videos.

  6. To browse the trending videos, swipe right.

  7. Once on an interesting video, double-tap the screen to start the playback.

See also

Use a screen reader to play videos in Microsoft Stream

Use a screen reader to upload and manage your videos in Microsoft Stream

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Stream

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Stream

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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