This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support 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 set up guest access and access teams as a guest. 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.
Inviting people outside of your organization, such as partners or consultants, as a guest in Microsoft Teams gives them access to team chats, meetings, and files.
Notes:
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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.
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You can easily access the keyboard shortcuts list from within Microsoft Teams. Press Ctrl+E to go to the Search field, type /keys, and then press Enter.
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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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.
In this topic
Set up guest user permissions
- Screen reader navigation
- Focus navigation
- Virtual navigation
Owners and administrators can set guest permissions for a team. You can allow guests to create, update, or delete channels.
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In the Microsoft Teams main view, press the Tab key until you hear: "Teams and channels list."
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear the team whose guest permissions you want to edit, and then press Spacebar to open the context menu for the team.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Manage team," and press Enter. You hear: "Members tab."
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Settings tab," and press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Guest permissions," and press Spacebar to expand the Guest permissions section of the Settings tab.
-
Press the Tab key once to move the focus to the Guest permissions section contents. Navigate between the settings in the section with the Up and Down arrow keys. To turn on a setting, press Spacebar.
Note: In NVDA this is called the browse mode. In JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode.
Owners and administrators can set guest permissions for a team. You can allow guests to create, update, or delete channels.
-
In the Microsoft Teams main view, press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Teams and channels list."
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear the team whose guest permissions you want to edit, and then press Spacebar to open the context menu for the team.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Manage team," and press Enter. You hear: "Members tab."
-
Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Settings tab," and press Enter.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Guest permissions," and press Spacebar to expand the Guest permissions section of the Settings tab.
-
Press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Guest permissions section contents. Navigate between the settings in the section with the Up and Down arrow keys. To turn on a setting, press Spacebar.
Access a team as a guest
You can be added as a guest to a team by a team owner or administrator. You receive an invitation to the team as an email.
Note: To access a team as a guest, you're required to grant the organization that's invited you access to some of your profile information.
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In your mail app, open the invitation email, press the Tab key until you hear "Open Microsoft Teams," and press Enter.
-
The Sign in to your account page opens in your browser. To accept the invitation, press the Tab key until you hear "Accept," and press Enter.
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In Microsoft Teams, to switch between your regular organization and the organization you've been added to as a guest, press the Tab key until you hear "Profile," and press Spacebar.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Accounts and orgs," and press Enter.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear the organization you've been added to as a guest, followed by "Guest," and press Enter. You can now access the team you've been invited to as a guest.
See also
Use a screen reader to create and modify teams in Microsoft Teams
Use a screen reader to join a meeting 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 Microsoft Teams on Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in macOS screen reader, to set up guest access and access teams as a guest.
Inviting people outside of your organization, such as partners or consultants, as a guest in Microsoft Teams gives them access to team chats, meetings, and files.
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 macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.
In this topic
Set up guest user permissions
Owners and administrators can set guest permissions for a team. You can allow guests to create, update, or delete channels.
-
In the Microsoft Teams main view, press the Tab key until you hear: "Teams and channels list."
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear the team whose guest permissions you want to edit, and then press Spacebar to open the context menu for the team.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Manage team," and press Return.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear: "Members, selected, tab."
-
Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Settings, tab," and press Return.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear "Guest permissions," and press Spacebar to expand the Guest permissions section of the Settings tab.
-
Press the Tab key once to move the focus to the Guest permissions section contents. Navigate between the settings in the section with the Up and Down arrow keys. To turn on a setting, press Spacebar.
Access a team as a guest
You can be added as a guest to a team by a team owner or administrator. You receive an invitation to the team as an email.
Note: To access a team as a guest, you're required to grant the organization that's invited you access to some of your profile information.
-
In your mail app, open the invitation email, press the Tab key until you hear "Open Microsoft Teams," and press Return.
-
The Sign in to your account page opens in your browser. To accept the invitation, press the Tab key until you hear "Accept," and press Return.
-
In Microsoft Teams, to switch between your regular organization and the organization you've been added to as a guest, press the Tab key until you hear "Profile," and press Spacebar.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear the organization you've been added to as a guest, followed by "Guest," and press Return. You can now access the team you've been invited to as a guest.
See also
Use a screen reader to create and modify teams in Microsoft Teams
Use a screen reader to join a meeting 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 Microsoft Teams VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to receive guest invitations and to access teams as a guest.
Inviting people outside of your organization, such as partners or consultants, as a guest in Microsoft Teams gives them access to team chats, meetings, and files.
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.
Access a team as a guest
You can be added as a guest to a team by a team owner or administrator. You receive an invitation to the team as an email.
Note: To access a team as a guest, you're required to grant the organization that's invited you access to some of your profile information.
-
In your mail app, open the invitation email, swipe right until you hear "Open Microsoft Teams," and double-tap the screen.
-
The Sign in to your account page opens in your browser. To accept the invitation, swipe right until you hear "Accept," and double-tap the screen.
-
In Microsoft Teams, to switch between your regular organization and the organization you've been invited to as a guest, swipe right until you hear "More menu," and double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear: "My orgs."
-
Swipe right until you hear the name of the organization you've been invited to, and double-tap the screen.
See also
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Microsoft Teams
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Microsoft Teams with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to receive guest invitations and to access teams as a guest.
Inviting people outside of your organization, such as partners or consultants, as a guest in Microsoft Teams gives them access to team chats, meetings, and files.
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.
Access a team as a guest
You can be added as a guest to a team by a team owner or administrator. You receive an invitation to the team as an email.
Note: To access a team as a guest, you're required to grant the organization that's invited you access to some of your profile information.
-
In your mail app, open the invitation email, swipe right until you hear "Open Microsoft Teams," and double-tap the screen.
-
The Sign in to your account page opens in your browser. To accept the invitation, swipe right until you hear "Accept," and double-tap the screen.
-
In Microsoft Teams, to switch between your regular organization and the organization you've been invited to as a guest, swipe left until you hear "Navigation," and double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear: "Your orgs."
-
Swipe right until you hear the name of the organization you've been invited to, and double-tap the screen.
See also
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Microsoft Teams
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Microsoft Teams on the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to set up guest access and access teams as a guest. 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.
Inviting people outside of your organization, such as partners or consultants, as a guest in Microsoft Teams gives them access to team chats, meetings, and files.
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.
-
You can easily access the keyboard shortcuts list from within Microsoft Teams on the web. Press Ctrl+E to go to the Search field, type /keys, and then press Enter.
-
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.
-
When you use Microsoft Teams on the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser and Narrator as your screen reader. Because Microsoft Teams on the web runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Microsoft Teams on the web.
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
Set up guest user permissions
- Screen reader navigation
- Focus navigation
- Virtual navigation
Owners and administrators can set guest permissions for a team. You can allow guests to create, update, or delete channels.
-
In the Microsoft Teams main view, press the Tab key until you hear: "Teams and channels list."
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear the team whose guest permissions you want to edit, and then press Spacebar to open the context menu for the team.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Manage team," and press Enter. You hear: "Members tab."
-
Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Settings tab," and press Enter.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear "Guest permissions," and press Spacebar to expand the Guest permissions section of the Settings tab.
-
Press the Tab key once to move the focus to the Guest permissions section contents. Navigate between the settings in the section with the Up and Down arrow keys. To turn on a setting, press Spacebar.
Note: In NVDA this is called the browse mode, in JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode, and in Narrator it is called the scan mode.
Owners and administrators can set guest permissions for a team. You can allow guests to create, update, or delete channels.
-
In the Microsoft Teams main view, press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Teams and channels list."
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear the team whose guest permissions you want to edit, and then press Spacebar to open the context menu for the team.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Manage team," and press Enter. You hear: "Members tab."
-
Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Settings tab," and press Enter.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Guest permissions," and press Spacebar to expand the Guest permissions section of the Settings tab.
-
Press the Down arrow key once to move the focus to the Guest permissions section contents. Navigate between the settings in the section with the Up and Down arrow keys. To turn on a setting, press Spacebar.
Access a team as a guest
You can be added as a guest to a team by a team owner or administrator. You receive an invitation to the team as an email.
Note: To access a team as a guest, you're required to grant the organization that's invited you access to some of your profile information.
-
In your mail app, open the invitation email, press the Tab key until you hear, "Open Microsoft Teams," and press Enter.
-
The Sign in to your account page opens in your browser. To accept the invitation, press the Tab key until you hear "Accept," and press Enter.
-
In Microsoft Teams on the web, to switch between your regular organization and the organization you've been added to as a guest, press the Tab key until you hear "Signed in to," followed by the name of your organization, and press Spacebar.
-
Press the Down arrow key until you hear the organization you've been added to as a guest, followed by "Guest," and press Enter. You can now access the team you've been invited to as a guest.
See also
Use a screen reader to create and modify teams in Microsoft Teams
Use a screen reader to join a meeting in 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.
