Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word

In this topic

• Add text to a document

• Find and replace text

• Use headings

• Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

• Change the font and font size

• Use theme fonts

Add text to a document

1. Open the Word for Mac document which you want to add text to. After the file opens, VoiceOver announces the file name. The focus moves to the text area of the document.

2. Place the cursor where you want to add text and start typing.

3. When you are finished, press Command+S to save your changes. For info on additional saving options, refer to Use a screen reader to save a document in Word.

Find and replace text

1. While editing a Word for Mac document, press Shift+Command+H. You hear: "Search document, combo box."

2. Type the word or phrase you want to replace. The list of search results is updated as you type.

3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Replace with, Combo box," and then type the word or phrase with which to replace the original one.

4. Do one of the following:

   • To replace the matching words or phrases one by one, press the Tab key until you hear "Replace button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to replace the first instance. The focus moves to the next instance. Repeat this step for all instances you want to replace.

   • To replace all matching words or phrases, press the Tab key until you hear “Replace all, button,” and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. You hear an alert indicating the number of replacements made. To close the alert window, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Use headings

Headings are very important for the document accessibility, navigation, and usability. To make sure that your headings work correctly for accessibility, use the built-in heading styles when you create headings. This way your screen reader and Word exchange the right information for smooth navigation.

You can also use the headings as link targets to create hyperlinks within the current document. For instructions, refer to the section "Link to another location in the current document" in Use a screen reader to insert a hyperlink in Word.

1. In your document, select the text that you want to turn into a heading.

2. Do one of the following:

   • To apply Heading 1 style, press Command+Option+1.

   • To apply Heading 2 style, press Command+Option+2.

   • To apply Heading 3 style, press Command+Option+3.

Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

The use of character formatting can improve the readability of your document.

1. In your document, select the text you want to format.

2. Do one of the following:

   • To apply bold formatting, press Control+B.

   • To apply italic formatting, press Control+I.

   • To apply underlined formatting, press Control+U.

Change the font and font size

To make your document accessible for all users, switch the font to a more readable one, or make the text bigger or smaller.

Use theme fonts

Theme fonts change the fonts in your entire document. They use a pair of fonts that are designed to work well together. The first font is used for headings and the second for the body text.

1. Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab, for example "Home, selected, tab."

2. To open the Font combo box, press the Tab key until you hear the name of the current font, followed by "Font, combo box." Press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the list.

3. Press T. You hear: "Theme fonts."

4. Press the Down arrow key to browse the list of available theme fonts. To select and apply the theme font to your document, press Control+Option+Spacebar. The list of the theme fonts ends when you hear either "Recent fonts" or "All fonts."

See also

Use a screen reader to align text and paragraphs in Word

Use a screen reader to insert a picture or image in Word

Keyboard shortcuts in Word

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word

In this topic

• Add text to a document

• Find and replace text

• Select text

• Use headings

• Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

• Change the font and font size

• Use theme fonts

Add text to a document

1. Open the Word for iOS document you want to add text to.

2. To add text to the document, swipe right until you hear the page you want, followed by "Content." Double-tap the screen. The on-screen keyboard opens.

3. Use the on-screen keyboard to type. When you are done, to close the keyboard, swipe left until you hear "Hide keyboard," and double-tap the screen. For instructions on how to save your work, refer to Use a screen reader to save a document in Word.

Find and replace text

1. While editing a Word for iOS document, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe left or right until you hear "Find button," and double-tap the screen. You hear: "Search, text field, is editing." The on-screen keyboard opens.

2. Use the on-screen keyboard to write the word or phrase you want to find and replace. VoiceOver announces the number of matches.

3. Tap near the top of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Search options, button." Double-tap the screen. The Options menu opens.

4. Do one of the following:

   • To find and replace matching words or phrases one by one, swipe right until you hear "Find and replace," and double-tap the screen.

   • To replace all matching words or phrases in the text, swipe right until you hear "Find and replace all," and then double-tap the screen.

5. Swipe left until you hear "Done, button," and double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the Search pane.

6. Swipe right until you hear "Replace, text field," and double-tap the screen. Use the on-screen keyboard to type the word or phrase with which to replace the original one.

7. Tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Replace, button" or "Replace all, button," depending on your selection in step 4, and then double-tap the screen. If you selected to replace the words or phrases one by one, Word moves to the next instance and the focus stays on the Replace button. Double-tap the screen to replace the instances you want.

8. To close the Search text field, use two fingers to swipe a Z gesture on the screen. You hear: "Leaving Search."

Select text

You can select text in your document for editing or formatting.

1. To select a piece of text, navigate to the text you want to select.

2. In the VoiceOver rotor, select Edit, swipe up or down until you hear "Select." The piece of text is selected.

3. To expand your selection, slide two fingers apart on the screen. VoiceOver announces the selection as you move your fingers.

Use headings

Headings are very important for the document accessibility, navigation, and usability. To make sure that your headings work correctly for accessibility, use the built-in heading styles when you create headings. This way your screen reader and Word exchange the right information for smooth navigation.

1. In your document, select the text you want to turn into a heading.

2. Tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Show ribbon," and double-tap the screen. You hear the current tab.

3. Double-tap the screen, swipe left until you hear "Home tab," and double-tap the screen.

4. Swipe right until you hear “Styles button,” and double-tap the screen. The Styles menu opens.

5. Swipe right until you hear the heading style you want, for example, "Heading two," and then double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the Home tab.

6. To close the ribbon, swipe left until you hear "Hide ribbon," and double-tap the screen.

Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

The use of character formatting can improve the readability of your document.

1. In your document, select the text you want to format.

2. Do one or more of the following:

   • To apply bold formatting, swipe right or left until you hear “Bold button,” and double-tap the screen.

   • To apply italic formatting, swipe right or left until you hear “Italic button," and double-tap the screen.

   • To apply underlined formatting, swipe right or left until you hear "Underline button," and double-tap the screen.

Change the font and font size

To make your document accessible for all users, switch the font to a more readable one, or make the text bigger or smaller.

Use theme fonts

Theme fonts change the fonts in your entire document. They use a pair of fonts that are designed to work well together. The first font is used for headings and the second for the body text.

1. Tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Show ribbon," and double-tap the screen. You hear the current tab.

2. Double-tap the screen, swipe left until you hear "Home tab," and double-tap the screen.

3. Swipe right until you hear "Fonts," followed by the current font and font size, and then double-tap the screen. The Fonts menu opens.

4. Swipe right until you hear: "Theme fonts, heading." Swipe right to listen to the available theme fonts. VoiceOver announces the theme fonts as you move. To select a theme font, double-tap the screen.

   The list of the theme fonts ends when you hear: "Recently used fonts, heading." If you don't have recent fonts, the list of theme fonts ends when you hear: "Office compatible fonts."

See also

Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Word

Use a screen reader to share a document in Word

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word

In this topic

• Add text to a document

• Find and replace text

• Select text

• Use headings

• Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

• Change the font and font size

• Use theme fonts

Add text to a document

1. Open the Word for Android document you want to add text to. The focus is on the document body.

2. Double-tap the screen, and then use the on-screen keyboard to type your text.

3. When you are finished, to close the keyboard, swipe down-then-left. For instructions on how to save your work, refer to Use a screen reader to save a document in Word.

Find and replace text

1. While editing a Word for Android document, slide one finger around the top of the screen until you hear "Find, button," and then double-tap the screen. You hear: "Find, three period, edit box." The on-screen keyboard is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

2. Use the on-screen keyboard to type the word or phrase you want to replace. TalkBack announces the number of matching instances as you type. Swipe down-then-left to close the on-screen keyboard. 

3. Swipe right until you hear "Submit, button," and double-tap the screen. TalkBack announces which matching instance is selected and highlighted in the body text.

4. Swipe left until you hear "Find bar settings button," and double-tap the screen. The Find settings menu opens at the bottom of the screen. You hear: "Not checked, Replace, check box."

5. Double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the Replace text field and the on-screen keyboard is displayed at the bottom of the screen.

6. Use the on-screen keyboard to type the word or phrase with which you want to replace the original one. To close the on-screen keyboard, swipe down-then-left.

7. Do one of the following:

   • To replace the matching instances one by one, swipe right until you hear "Replace button," and then double-tap the screen. Repeat this step to all instances you want to replace one by one.

   • To replace all matching search results at once, swipe right until you hear "Replace all button," and then double-tap the screen. TalkBack announces the number of replacements.

8. To exit the Find bar and return to your document, swipe left until you hear "Close Find bar, button," and double-tap the screen.

Select text

You can select a particular piece of text or all text in your document.

Use headings

Headings are very important for the document accessibility, navigation, and usability. To make sure that your headings work correctly for accessibility, use the built-in heading styles when you create headings. This way your screen reader and Word exchange the right information for smooth navigation.

1. In your document, select the text you want to turn into a heading.

2. Slide one finger around the top of the screen until you hear "More options button," and double-tap the screen. You hear the name of the current tab.

3. Double-tap the screen, swipe left until you hear "Home tab," and double-tap the screen.

4. Swipe right until you hear “Styles menu,” and double-tap the screen. The Styles menu opens.

5. Swipe right until you hear the heading you want, and double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the Home tab.

Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

The use of character formatting can improve the readability of your document.

1. In your document, select the text you want to format.

2. Do one or more of the following:

   • To apply bold formatting, swipe left or right until you hear “Not checked, Bold, switch,” and double-tap the screen.

   • To apply italic formatting, swipe left or right until you hear “Not checked, Italic, switch," and double-tap the screen.

   • To apply underlined formatting, swipe left or right until you hear "Not checked, Underline, switch," and double-tap the screen.

Change the font and font size

To make your document accessible for all users, switch the font to a more readable one, or make the text bigger or smaller.

Use theme fonts

Theme fonts change the fonts in your entire document. They use a pair of fonts that are designed to work well together. The first font is used for headings and the second for the body text.

1. Slide one finger around the top of the screen until you hear "More options button," and double-tap the screen. You hear the name of the current tab.

2. Double-tap the screen, swipe left until you hear "Home tab," and double-tap the screen.

3. Swipe right until you hear "Font combo box," followed by the current font, and then double-tap the screen.

4. Swipe left or right until you hear: "Theme fonts." Swipe right to browse the available theme fonts. To select, double-tap the screen.

   The list of the theme fonts ends when you hear either "Recently used fonts" or "All fonts."

See also

Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Word

Use a screen reader to share a document in Word

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word

In this topic

• Add text to a document

• Find and replace text

• Select text

• Use headings

• Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

• Change the font and font size

• Use theme fonts

Add text to a document

1. Open the Word for the web document you want to add text to. When the document opens, the focus is on the editing area in the document body.

2. Press the arrow keys until you hear the place where you want to add text and start typing. Changes are saved automatically.

Find and replace text

1. While you're editing a Word for the web document, press Ctrl+F. The Search pane opens. The focus is on the search text field.

   In older JAWS versions, to find and replace text, press Ctrl+H.

2. Press Shift+Tab until you hear "More actions menu," and press Enter. Press the Up arrow key once. You hear: "Replace." Press Enter to select. The focus returns to the search text field.

3. Type the word or phrase you want to replace. The search results list is updated as you type.

4. Press the Tab key until you hear "Replace with," and then type the word or phrase with which you want to replace the original wording.

5. To browse the list of search results, press the Tab key until you hear "Previous result" or "Next result" and press Enter. The screen reader announces the instances as you move in the list.

6. Do one of the following:

   • To replace search results one at a time, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Replace," and then press Enter. Navigate to the next instance and repeat this step if needed.

   • To replace all instances, press the Tab key until you hear "Replace all," and press Enter.

Select text

You can quickly select all text in your document, or just a particular piece of the text.

• To select all text, press Ctrl+A.

• To select a piece of text, move to the text you want to select, and then press and hold down Shift. Use the arrow keys to move the cursor until the text is selected.

Use headings

Headings are very important for the document accessibility, navigation, and usability. To make sure that your headings work correctly for accessibility, use the built-in heading styles when you create headings. This way your screen reader and Word exchange the right information for smooth navigation.

1. In your document, select the text you want to turn into a heading.

2. Do one of the following:

   • To apply Heading 1 style, press Ctrl+Alt+1.

   • To apply Heading 2 style, press Ctrl+Alt+2.

   • To apply Heading 3 style, press Ctrl+Alt+3.

   • To browse for more heading styles, press Alt+Windows logo key, and then H and L. Press the Tab key until you hear the style you want, and then press Enter to select.

Apply bold, italic, and underline formatting

The use of character formatting can improve the readability of your document.

1. In your document, select the text you want to format.

2. Do one of the following:

   • To apply bold formatting, press Ctrl+B.

   • To apply italic formatting, press Ctrl+I.

   • To apply underlined formatting, press Ctrl+U.

Change the font and font size

To make your document accessible for all users, switch the font to a more readable one, or make the text bigger or smaller.

Use theme fonts

Theme fonts change the fonts in your entire document. They use a pair of fonts that are designed to work well together. The first font is used for headings and the second for the body text.

1. In your document, press Alt+Windows logo key+H, F, and F. You hear: "Font name."

2. Press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the Font menu.

3. Press the Up arrow key until you hear the name of a font, followed by either "Headings" or "Body," and then press Enter to select.

   Tip: Not all fonts are theme fonts. The theme fonts are usually located at the top of the menu.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert a picture or image in Word

Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Word

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word

Keyboard shortcuts in Word

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Word