Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneDrive for work or school
Applies ToOneDrive for Business OneDrive (work or school) OneDrive (home or personal) OneDrive for Mac OneDrive for Windows

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 OneDrive for work or school with your keyboard and a screen reader to quickly do all essential basic tasks, such as store, open, and share files. We have tested it with Narrator, JAWS, and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. 

Notes: 

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Open OneDrive for work or school

The OneDrive app is built into Windows, and it appears as a drive in Windows File Explorer on your computer. After you sign in and set up OneDrive for work or school, the OneDrive for work or school folder name includes your Microsoft 365 organization name, such as "OneDrive - Contoso" or "OneDrive@Contoso.com."

For more information, refer to Use a screen reader to sync OneDrive for work or school.

Open OneDrive for work or school using search

  1. Press the Windows logo  key. You hear: “Search box."

  2. Type OneDrive. You hear: "OneDrive, desktop app." Press Enter.

Open OneDrive for work or school from File Explorer

  1. To open File Explorer, press the Windows logo key+E. File Explorer opens with the focus in the Items view.

  2. Press Shift+F6 until you hear: "Tree view." Use the Down arrow key until you hear: “OneDrive.” Then press Enter.

Sign in to OneDrive for work or school

When you open OneDrive for the first time, you're asked to sign in, select the location of your OneDrive folder on your computer, and choose the files and folders you want to sync.

  1. Open OneDrive using search or File Explorer as instructed in Open OneDrive for work or school using search and Open OneDrive for work or school from File Explorer.

  2. You hear: "Microsoft OneDrive, Enter your email address." The focus is in the email address field. Type your organizational address, and press Enter.

  3. If you have both personal and work accounts for OneDrive, you might hear: "This email address is used for both OneDrive for home and OneDrive for work or school. Which would you like to sign in to first?" Press the Tab key until you hear "Work or school, button," and press Spacebar.

  4. Your organization's sign-in dialog box opens. The focus is in the password field. Type your password. When done, press the Tab key until you hear "Sign in," and press Spacebar.

  5. The This is your OneDrive folder dialog box opens. By default the OneDrive folder is located under C:\Users.... Do one of the following:

    • To accept the current location and continue, press the Tab key until you hear "Next," and press Spacebar.

    • To change the folder location, press the Tab key until you hear: "Change location." Press Enter.

  6. The Sync your OneDrive files to this PC dialog box opens. By default, all files and folders in your OneDrive for work or school are selected to sync. If you don't want to sync them all, you can select the files and folders in this dialog box. Do one of the following:

    • To sync all your OneDrive for work or school files and folders to your computer, press the Tab key until you hear: "Next." Press Enter.

    • To select specific OneDrive for work or school files and folders to sync, define the files and folders in this dialog box. To navigate between the areas in the dialog box, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab. When you hear the first item in your OneDrive for work or school, such as "Files not in a folder," you've reached the list of folders and files in your OneDrive for work or school. To navigate the list, press the Down arrow key. To select or deselect an item or a checkbox, press Spacebar. When the selections are done, press the Tab key until you hear Next button, and press Spacebar.

    You're now connected to your OneDrive for work or school, and the Welcome to OneDrive dialog box opens.

  7. To sync and open your OneDrive for work or school, go through the welcome dialog box first. Press the Tab key once. You hear: "Next." Press Enter three times to navigate through the pages. Then press Shift+Tab once. You hear: "Open my OneDrive folder."

  8. Press Enter. The (selected) OneDrive for work or school folders and files are synced, and your OneDrive folder opens in File Explorer.

Open an item in OneDrive for work or school

In File Explorer, browse to the item you want to open, press Spacebar to select it, and press Enter to open.

Note: You may find profile images and information about individuals who have collaborated or shared documents with you in File Explorer. If available, you can interact with the profile cards to access additional details, such as contact information and organizational roles, for these users. The availability of this feature may depend on your Microsoft 365 subscription.

Tip: To choose the app you want to use to open the item with, when on the item, press Alt+H, P and then E. To navigate through the list of options, press the Down arrow key. When you reach the app you want, press Enter.

Upload an item to OneDrive for work or school

You can upload a file or folder to OneDrive for work or school by copying or moving it to your OneDrive for work or school folder in File Explorer, or by saving the file directly to OneDrive for work or school using the applicable Microsoft 365 app.

Upload an item using File Explorer

  1. To open File Explorer, press the Windows logo key+E.

  2. Go to the folder or file you want to copy or move to OneDrive for work or school.

  3. To copy the file or folder, press Ctrl+C. To cut the file or folder, press Ctrl+X.

  4. Use the Tab key and the arrow keys to navigate to the location you want, and press Enter.

  5. Press Ctrl+V to paste the copied or cut item. The item is uploaded to your OneDrive for work or school.

Save your file directly to OneDrive for work or school

When you work on a file in an Microsoft 365 app, you can save it directly to OneDrive for work or school, so you don't have to upload it separately.

  1. With the file open in the applicable Microsoft 365 app, press Alt+F, A. You hear: “Save As.”

  2. To select OneDrive for work or school, press S. With NVDA and JAWS, press Right arrow key to select the location. You hear "Selected, OneDrive," followed by the name of your organization.

  3. Press the Right arrow key once. With NVDA and JAWS, press the Tab key once. You hear: "Pick a folder." To move to the file name field, press the Down arrow key. If needed, type or change the name for the file. To save, select one of the following options:

    • To save the file to your main OneDrive for work or school folder, press the Tab key until you hear: "Save." Press Enter.

    • To save the file to a specific subfolder in your OneDrive for work or school, press the Tab key until you hear “Sort by name,” press the Down arrow key to move to the folder where you want to save the file, and then press Enter. When you hear the name of the first file in the folder (or, if there are no files in the folder, you hear "We didn't find anything to show here"), press the Tab key until you hear "Save button," and then press Enter.

Download an item from OneDrive for work or school

By default, all folders and files in your OneDrive for work or school folder are available online and offline on your computer, but you can also download an item separately.

  1. In File Explorer, navigate to the item you want to download from your OneDrive for work or school. When on the item, press Ctrl+C.

  2. Move to the folder where you want to save the item on your computer, and press Ctrl+V to paste it.

Share an item from OneDrive for work or school

You can share an item directly from OneDrive for work or school. The people you share the item with receive an email invitation to view and edit the shared content in OneDrive for work or school.

  1. In File Explorer, go to your OneDrive for work or school folder. Select the folder or file you want to share, and press Shift+F10 or the Windows menu key.

  2. The context menu opens. Press S, and then press Enter. With Narrator, you hear: “Browser view.” With JAWS and NVDA, you hear "Share," followed by the name of the file, and "Browser view." The Send Link dialog box opens.

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear: "People to share with." Press Enter. Type the email address of the person you want to share with, and press Enter. To invite another person, type their email address, and press Enter.

  4. If you want to type a note to send with the invitation, press the Tab key until:  With Narrator, you hear: “Enter your optional message here.” With JAWS, you hear: "Edit." With NVDA, you hear: "Enter your optional message." Then type your message.

  5. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Send." Press Enter to send the link.

Stop sharing an item

  1. In File Explorer, go to your OneDrive for work or school folder, navigate to, and select the item you want to stop sharing.

  2. Press Alt+S, S, S. A dialog box opens with the focus on the Stop sharing option. To stop sharing with everyone, press Enter.

Pause syncing OneDrive for work or school

If you want to temporarily stop syncing OneDrive for work or school to your computer, you can just pause syncing and it'll resume after the selected time period.

  1. On the desktop of your computer, press the Windows logo key+B. You hear: "Notifications chevron." Press the Right arrow key until you hear "OneDrive," followed by the name of your organization and the current sync status.

    Tip: If you don't hear "OneDrive" on the taskbar, the app might be hidden in the Notifications menu. To find the app, press the Window logo key+B, press Spacebar, and use the arrow keys until you hear "OneDrive," followed by the name of your company or school.

  2. Press Enter to open the app menu. Press the Tab key until you hear "More, button," and press Enter. With Narrator press the Tab key until you hear "More button" and press Enter.

  3. Press the Tab key to move down on the list of options. With NVDA and JAWS, press the Tab key to move down to the “Help and Setting” button. Press Enter and use the Down arrow key. When you hear "Pause syncing," press Enter.

  4. Press the Down arrow key to hear the options. When you hear the option you want, press Enter.

See also

Use a screen reader to sync OneDrive for work or school

Keyboard shortcuts for OneDrive for work or school

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.

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