Quick Start Guide: Using Microsoft Teams with a screen reader
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.

If your company or organization has just moved to Microsoft Teams or plans to do so soon, you’re in the right place! Perhaps you’ve never used Microsoft Teams and are wondering how it handles the everyday communication and collaboration tasks you already know how to do with another app. We are here to guide you through this quick start guide to get you navigating this feature-packed tool seamlessly.

Microsoft Teams is part of Microsoft 365 and has been designed to bring people, conversations, and content together in one convenient interface. Chat with people, make video and audio calls, and schedule and attend online meetings.

Chat is at the center of everything you do in Microsoft Teams. This feature allows you to communicate one-on-one with one or multiple participants. You can use text, emojis, stickers, and gifs to express yourself and share links and files. In Teams, there are three types of chats: One-on-one chats, to connect with people individually, group chats, to speak with a group of people.

What exactly is a Team anyway? A Team is a group of co-workers that collaborate on a project together. You might end up on more than one if you are working on multiple projects. Within each Team are “channels” to keep the discussions organized. For example, you work for a company with various clients. Each client project might be set up with its own Team. That team could then have a general channel for announcements and communication, separate channels for people who work on Product A and Product B, one channel for casual chatter, and so on. Microsoft Teams also stores files related to discussions so that they are easily accessible. If Bob shares a PowerPoint presentation on his team channel, it can be opened directly from that channel – no need to go hunting on a network drive or dig through your email. This powerful tool allows you to customize your workspace and set up a Team in a way that works best for you.

Read on for details and other resources to learn how to do some of the most important tasks in Teams with your computer or device.

Use Microsoft Teams with your keyboard and a screen reader. We have tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers if they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. 

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

In this topic

Open Microsoft Teams

  1. Press the Windows logo key and type Teams.

  2. You hear: "Microsoft Teams, work or school app." To open the app, press Enter.

  3. Type your email, phone, or Skype name when your screen reader asks you to log in.

  4. Press the Tab key until you reach the Next button, and then press Enter.

  5. You're prompted to select the sign-in account and method you want to use. Press the Tab key until you find the desired option, then press Enter.

  6. Depending on the sign-in method, follow the prompts as your screen reader announces them. For example, type your password, or select your smart card certificate, type the PIN code, and then press Enter. If needed, press the Tab key until you reach the Sign in button, and then press Enter.

Send and receive private chats

Chats in Microsoft Teams are private conversations between specific people or groups. Follow these steps to learn how to start, read, and reply to chats:

Read chats

  1. Press Ctrl+2 to open the Chat app.

    Note: The key number ‘2’ signifies the sequential position of the Chat app within the app bar. This position may vary depending on the individual setup.

  2. Press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the chat you want.

  3. Press the Spacebar or Ctrl+M to readthe latestmessage(s) in the selected chat.

  4. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to move between the messages.

  5. Press the Esc or Ctrl+L key to return to the chat list.

Reply to chats

  1. Press Ctrl+2 to open the Chat app.

    Note: The key number ‘2’ signifies the sequential position of the Chat app within the app bar. This position may vary depending on the individual setup.

  2. Use the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the name of the contact or group you want to chat with, followed by the last message in the chat.

  3. Press Enter or Ctrl+R to move the focus to the Type a message box and type your message.

  4. Press Enter again to send the message.

  5. Press the Esc or Ctrl+L key to return to the chats list.

Start a new chat

  1. To start a new chat, press Ctrl+N.

  2. Type the name of the person you want to chat with in the Enter name email, group, or tag box. The suggestions will appear in the list as you start typing.

  3. Navigate through the suggestions using the Down and Up arrow keys.

  4. Select the contact by pressing Enter.

  5. Press Tab to jump to the Type a message box.

  6. Type your message and press Enter again to send the message.

Start and reply to posts

You can post in Team channels and these posts are visible to everyone in that Team.

Read posts in a channel

  1. Press Ctrl+3 to open the Teams and channel app.

    Note: The key ‘3’ signifies the sequential position of the Teams and channel app within the app bar. This position may vary depending on individual setup.

  2. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate to the channel you want to follow. To expand or collapse a team's list of channels, press Enter.

  3. After you have reached the desired channel, press Enter to open the post.

  4. To browse the messages, press Spacebar to move the focus to the most recent post, and use the Up and Down arrow keys to move between the posts.

Navigate and read replies

When you read posts, your screen reader announces the number of replies they have. If the post has at least one reply, you need to navigate into the post to read the replies.

  1. To open the post, press Enter. You hear the main post.

  2. To engage with the post, press Enter.  You will now be able to move through the main post and replies.

  3. To navigate the post replies, press the Up or Down arrow key. Your screen reader reads the post and replies as you move through it.

  4. To move the focus back to the main post, press Esc.

  5. To leave the post, press Esc again.

Reply to posts

  1. While reading a post, regardless of the number of replies, press Ctrl+R.

    • Press Enter and then use the Down arrow key until you hear the "Reply, button." Press Enter.

  2. Type the reply and press Enter to add the reply to the selected post.

Note: If you want to start a new post instead of replying to an ongoing one, refer to Start a new post.

Start a new post

  1. Press Ctrl+3 to open the Teams and channels app.

    Note: The key number ‘3’ signifies the sequential position of the Teams and channels app within the app bar. This position may vary depending on individual setup.

  2. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate the channel you want to follow. To expand or collapse a team's list of channels, press Enter.

  3. After you have reached the required channel, press Enter. The focus will move to the latest post in that channel.

  4. To start a post, press the Tab key and then the Enter key on the Start a post button to open the post edit box.

    1. Type the subject of your post.

    2. Press the Tab key until you reach the edit box and type your message.

    3. Press Ctrl+Enter to post the message in the channel.

    • Use the Tab key to get to the Post button and press Enter to post the message.

  5. Press Esc to move out of a channel.

    Notes: 

    • For screen reader users, the detail whether it is a new post or has new replies is announced to help you decide if you wish to know more details.

    • If you want to reply to an ongoing post instead of starting a new one, refer to Reply to posts.

Change your status

To change your status, you can either:

  1. Press Ctrl+E to go to the search box.

  2. Do one of the following:

    1. To set your status to available, type /available and press Enter.

    2. To set your status to away, type /away and press Enter.

    3. To set your status to busy, type /busy and press Enter.

    4. To set your status to do not disturb, type /dnd and press Enter, or,

    • Press Ctrl+E, then Tab until you hear “Your profile picture with status displayed as [your status].”

    • Press Enter to open the options and you will start on your status.

    • Press Enter to open the dropdown list. Use the Down or Up arrow key to navigate the status options.

    • Press Enter to select the desired status.

Make and receive calls

Start a call

  1. Press Ctrl+E to go to the search box.

  2. Type /call, press Enter, and type the name of the person you want to call. The search results are updated as you type.

  3. To navigate the list of results, press the Down or Up arrow key. When you hear the name of the person you want to call, to start an audio call, press Enter

Tips: 

  • If your organization has calling enabled, you can also just type in phone numbers and press Enter to call.

  • If you have the Calls app available in Microsoft Teams, you can also use its options to call a contact, browse your call history, and check your voicemail. To go to the Calls app, press Ctrl+5. The key number ‘5’ signifies the sequential position of the Calls app within the app bar. This position may vary depending on individual setup.

Answer a call

  1. When a contact calls you, the Microsoft Teams notification window opens, and you hear the ringing sound and the caller's name.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To answer an audio call, press Ctrl+Shift+S.

    • To answer a video call, press Ctrl+Shift+A.

    • To decline the call, press Ctrl+Shift+D.

  3. To end the call, use Ctrl+Shift+H.

Join a meeting

After you have received a meeting invitation, joining is simple.

  1. In Microsoft Teams, press Ctrl+4 to go to the Calendar app. 

    Note: The key number ‘4’ is the numeric position of the Calendar app on the app bar. This position may vary depending on individual setup.

  2. Press the Tab key to move the focus to the next meeting in your Calendar.

    1. If it's not the meeting you want to join, press the Tab key until you find the right one. Your screen reader announces its name and time.

    2. If the meeting is in progress or about to start you can Tab to the Join button for the meeting.

    • Press Enter to open the meeting details and press Alt+Shift+J to join. The focus moves to the Join now button.

  3. To join the meeting with the default audio and video settings, press the Spacebar. You are connected to the meeting and the focus moves to the Mute mic button in the call controls toolbar.

    • To mute your mic, use Ctrl+Shift+M to mute.

    • To turn on or off your video, press Ctrl+Shift+O.

Share your desktop in a meeting

  1. While in a Microsoft Teams meeting call, press Ctrl+Shift+E to activate the Share content button.

  2. To share, for example, your desktop, a program window, or files, do one of the following:

    Note: What you can share and how the sharing works depends on the organization hosting the meeting, so all the features and functionality described below may not apply to your meeting.

    • To share your entire desktop, press the Tab key until you hear “Choose screen list,” and press Enter.

    • To share a program window, press the Tab key until you hear “Choose windows list.” Press Enter to open a dropdown list with window options. Use the Tab key and then the Down and Uparrow keys until you hear the window you want to share, and press Enter. 

    • To share the Whiteboard, press the Tab key until you hear “Share Microsoft Whiteboard.” Then, press Enter.

    • To share a file from your OneDrive, press the Tab key until you hear "Browse OneDrive 1 of 2,” and press Enter. Use the Down or Up arrow key to navigate to a location and press Enter to select. Find your file in the selected location and press Enter.

    • To share a file from your device, press the Tab key until you hear “Browse my computer 2 of 2,” and press Enter. Choose the correct folder using the basic navigation keys or type the name of the file in the File name edit box. Then, press Enter.

  3. To stop sharing, press Alt+Tab to get to the meeting window, then press Ctrl+Shift+E.

See also

Use a screen reader to create and modify teams in Microsoft Teams

Use a screen reader to search for a conversation, person, or file in Microsoft Teams

Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Teams

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Microsoft Teams

Video: What is 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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