Office Accessibility
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams
Use a screen reader to add and use a Wiki in Microsoft Teams
Applies ToMicrosoft Teams

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 Teams with your keyboard and a screen reader to create Wiki tabs for a channel and write content for them. We have tested it with JAWS and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.

A Wiki tab is a smart text editor that you can also use for communicating with your teammates. You can draft and edit content like in OneNote, but you can also start a chat around a specific part of the content and tag your colleagues inline, all in one place.

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.

  • Recent versions of JAWS no longer have the virtual PC cursor mode set as default for Microsoft Teams. For instructions on how to switch the virtual PC cursor mode on, go to Enable the JAWS virtual cursor.

  • To quickly access the keyboard shortcuts list from within Microsoft Teams, press Ctrl+E, type the forward slash character followed by the word keys, and then press Enter.

In this topic

Create a new Wiki tab

Every channel comes with a Wiki tab, but you can also add new Wiki tabs as needed.

  1. In the channel you want to add the Wiki tab to, press the Tab key until you hear "Add a tab," and press Enter. The Add a tab dialog opens. The focus is in the Search text field.

  2. In the Search field, type Wiki and then press the Tab key until you hear: "Wiki." Press Enter.

  3. Type a name for the new Wiki tab.

  4. Press the Tab key once. You hear: "Post to the channel about this tab." By default, this setting is enabled. To disable it, press Spacebar.

  5. Press the Tab key until you hear "Save," and then press Enter.

Note: In NVDA this is called the browse mode. In JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode.

  1. In the channel you want to add the Wiki tab to, press B or Shift+B until you hear "Add a tab," and press Enter. The Add a tab dialog opens. The focus is in the Search text field.

  2. In the Search field, type Wiki and then press the Tab key until you hear: "Wiki." Press Enter.

  3. Type a name for the new Wiki tab.

  4. Press the Tab key once. You hear: "Post to the channel about this tab." By default, this setting is enabled. To disable it, press Spacebar.

  5. With NVDA, press the SR key+Spacebar. Press B until you hear "Save," and then press Enter. With JAWS, press the Tab key until you hear "Save," and then press Enter.

Write content for your Wiki tab

Each Wiki tab can contain multiple documents, called pages, and every page is made up of multiple sections. Sections can contain text, images, and tables.

  1. To create a new page in a tab, press the Tab key until you hear "Expand Wiki menu," and then press Enter.

    Note: As you navigate to this button, your screen reader reads the following: "You may not be able to use your keyboard to return to Microsoft Teams after entering the following area." It is safe to disregard this instruction.

  2. Press the Tab key until you hear "New page," and press Enter. The focus moves to the title of the newly created page.

  3. Type a name for the new page and then press Enter. The focus moves to the title of the first section in the page.

  4. Type a name for the first section and then press Enter. The focus moves to the content area of the section.

  5. Type your text for the section.

  6. To exit the section content area, press Esc.

  7. To add a new section above or below the previously added section, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear "Add a new section here," and then press Enter.

Note: In NVDA this is called the browse mode. In JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode.

  1. To create a new page in a tab, press B or Shift+B until you hear "Expand Wiki menu," and then press Enter.

    Note: As you navigate to this button, your screen reader reads the following: "You may not be able to use your keyboard to return to Microsoft Teams after entering the following area." It is safe to disregard this instruction.

  2. Press B. You hear: "New page." Press Enter. The focus moves to the title of the newly created page.

  3. With NVDA, press the SR key+Spacebar. Type a name for the new page and then press Enter. The focus moves to the title of the first section in the page.

  4. Type a name for the first section and then press Enter. The focus moves to the content area of the section.

  5. Type your text for the section.

  6. To exit the section content area, press Esc.

  7. To add a new section above or below the previously added section, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear "Add a new section here," and then press Enter.

Format text in a Wiki section

To format text you can use the formatting options on the section toolbar. For some formatting options, you can also use the keyboard shortcuts.

  1. To select the piece of text you want to format, press Ctrl+Shift+Left or Right arrow key.

  2. To navigate to the formatting toolbar. press Ctrl+Shift+F6. You hear: "Bold."

  3. Press the Right arrow key until you hear the option you want, and then press Enter to apply the formatting.

    Tips: You can use the following keyboard shortcuts to quickly apply basic formatting:

    • To bold text, press Ctrl+B.

    • To italicize text, press Ctrl+I.

    • To underline text, press Ctrl+U.

    • To add a link to your text, select the text you want to turn into a link and press Ctrl+K. The Add a link dialog opens and the focus moves to the Address field. Type or paste the name of an existing file or web address and press Enter.

Link to a section

You can easily direct your teammates to a section in a Wiki tab by copying a direct link to it and sharing it with them.

  1. Navigate to the section in the Wiki tab that you want to link to.

  2. Press Enter to move the focus to the section title.

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear "More options," and then press Spacebar.

  4. You hear: "Get link." Press Enter to copy the section link. You hear: "Copied to clipboard."

  5. Paste the section link to a chat or team channel.

Note: In NVDA this is called the browse mode. In JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode.

  1. Navigate to the section in the Wiki tab that you want to link to.

  2. Press Enter to move the focus to the section title.

  3. Press B until you hear "More options," and then press Enter.

  4. You hear: "Get link." Press Enter to copy the section link. You hear: "Copied to clipboard."

  5. Paste the section link to a chat or team channel.

Chat from a Wiki tab

  1. Navigate to the section in the Wiki tab that you want to start a conversation about.

  2. Press Enter to move the focus to the section title.

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Show section conversation," and then press Enter. The Conversation pane opens, and the focus moves to the message compose box.

  4. Type your message, and press Enter to send it. You can format text and add attachments like in a regular message compose box. For instructions, go to Use a screen reader to chat in Microsoft Teams.

Note: In NVDA this is called the browse mode. In JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode.

  1. Navigate to the section in the Wiki tab that you want to start a conversation about.

  2. Press Enter to move the focus to the section title.

  3. Press B until you hear "Show section conversation," and then press Enter. The Conversation pane opens, and the focus moves to the message compose box.

  4. Type your message, and press Enter to send it. You can format text and add attachments like in a regular message compose box. For instructions, go to Use a screen reader to chat in Microsoft Teams.

Tip: In addition to chatting, you can also @mention teammates in a Wiki section and they will receive a notification in their Activity feed. Selecting the notification takes them directly to the section that needs their attention.

Work with your personal Wiki

In addition to the Wiki tabs for each team, Microsoft Teams also contains a personal Wiki tab where you can easily add notes and other content. Unlike team Wiki tabs, which can be accessed by all team members, your personal Wiki tab is only available to you.

Access your personal Wiki tab

  1. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear: "App bar."

  2. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "More apps," and press Enter.

  3. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Installed apps, Wiki," and then press Enter to open the Personal tab.

Note: In NVDA this is called the browse mode. In JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode.

  1. With JAWS, press R until you hear: "App bar." With NVDA, press D until you hear: "App bar."

  2. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "More apps," and press Enter.

  3. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Installed apps, Wiki," and then press Enter to open the Personal tab.

Add a note to your personal Wiki tab

  1. To go to the Search field, press Ctrl+E.

  2. Type /wiki and press Enter.

  3. Type your note. When you are finished, press Enter to add the note to your Personal tab.

See also

Use a screen reader to create or follow a channel in Microsoft Teams

Use a screen reader to chat in Microsoft Teams

Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Teams

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Microsoft Teams

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Microsoft Teams

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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