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Use a screen reader to convert images into tables in the Microsoft 365 app

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 the Microsoft 365 app with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, with your phone camera to take a picture of a table, for example, on a whiteboard or any other item that shows data in a table format. You'll learn how to extract the table from the picture and then open the extracted table in Excel for editing, copy the table, or have VoiceOver read the table contents to you. You'll also learn how to extract tables from a saved image.

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.

  • To use the Microsoft 365 app to take a picture, you need to allow the app to access your camera. You can do this in the Microsoft 365 app settings.

In this topic

Extract a table from an image and open the table in Excel

Take a photo of data in a table format or use a saved image, and then extract the table to open and edit it Excel.

  1. In the Microsoft 365 app, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers. The focus moves to the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. You hear: "Apps, tab."

  2. Double-tap the screen. The Apps tab opens showing available options.

  3. Swipe right until you hear "Image to table," and then double-tap the screen. The camera mode activates. The focus is on the image capture button.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • To take a picture with your device camera, point the camera toward the table you want to capture, and then double-tap the screen.

    • To select a saved picture, swipe right until you hear "Choose photo from library," and then double-tap the screen. The Photos app opens. Navigate to the picture, and then double-tap the screen to select it.

  5. You hear: "Top-left corner." You can now crop the image if needed to only show the table in the image. Swipe right until you find the crop handle you want to use, then double-tap and hold the screen, and slide your finger to adjust the cropping area. You might need someone to help you with this step.

  6. When you're done, swipe right until you hear "Confirm," and then double-tap the screen. The Microsoft 365 app starts to process the image.

  7. When the table has been extracted, you hear an audio cue, followed by "Close button." To read the contents of the table row by row, swipe right. You hear the contents of a cell and the position of the cell in the table.

  8. To open the table in Excel, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers, swipe left until you hear "Open in Excel, button," and then double-tap the screen.

  9. If you hear "Formula content," the table opens in an Excel file format where you can edit it, and then proceed to step 10. If you hear "Back button," instead of "Formula content," it means that the Microsoft 365 app has detected possible errors such as spelling errors in your table. Do one of the following:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

    • To proceed without reviewing the possible errors in the table, swipe right until you hear "Open anyway," and then double-tap the screen. The table opens in Excel.

    • To review the table, do the following:

      1. Swipe right until you hear "Review," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the cell which contains the suspected error, and you hear the current content in the cell.

      2. Use the on-screen keyboard to fix the errors, swipe left until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if necessary.

      3. ​​​​​​​If you find nothing to fix in the cell, swipe right until you hear "Ignore button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if needed.

        When you've completed the review, the table opens in Excel.

  10. When you're done editing the table in Excel, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers. You hear the name of the worksheet. Swipe right until you hear "Close file," and then double-tap the screen.

  11. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription and you're connected to OneDrive, the file is saved automatically. Otherwise, you're alerted to save your changes. To save the worksheet, for example to your phone, swipe right until you hear "Save ellipses," and then double-tap the screen.

  12. The focus is in the File name text field. If you want to change the name of the worksheet, use the on-screen keyboard to type a new name. When you're done, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers, swipe left until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen.

  13. Swipe left or right to find the location where you want to save the worksheet, and then double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear "Save," and then double-tap the screen. The file is saved and the focus returns to the Apps tab.

Extract a table from an image and copy the table

Use Microsoft 365 app to extract a table from an image, copy the table to the clipboard, and then paste and edit the table directly in the app where you want to use it, for example, in an Outlook email message or a PowerPoint slide.

  1. In the Microsoft 365 app, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers. The focus moves to the navigation bar at the bottom of the screen. You hear: "Apps, tab."

  2. Double-tap the screen. The Apps tab opens showing available options.

  3. Swipe right until you hear "Image to table," and then double-tap the screen. The camera mode activates. The focus is on the image capture button.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • To take a picture with your device camera, point the camera toward the table you want to capture, and then double-tap the screen.

    • To select a saved picture, swipe right until you hear "Choose photo from library," and then double-tap the screen. The Photos app opens. Navigate to the picture, and then double-tap the screen to select it.

  5. You hear: "Top-left corner." You can now crop the image if needed to only show the table in the image. Swipe right until you find the crop handle you want to use, then double-tap and hold the screen, and slide your finger to adjust the cropping area. You might need someone to help you with this step.

  6. When you're done, swipe right until you hear "Confirm," and then double-tap the screen. The Microsoft 365 app starts to process the image.

  7. When the table has been extracted, you hear an audio cue, followed by "Close button." To read the contents of the table row by row, swipe right. You hear the contents of a cell and the position of the cell in the table.

  8. To copy the table, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Copy table, button." Double-tap the screen.

  9. If you hear "Table copied," you can now paste and edit the table where you want to use it, for example, in an email message or a PowerPoint slide. If you hear "Back button" instead of "Table copied," it means that the Microsoft 365 app has detected possible errors such as spelling errors in your table. Do one of the following:

    • To proceed without reviewing the possible errors in the table, double-tap the screen. The table is copied to the clipboard.

    • To review the possible errors in the table, do the following:

      1. Swipe right until you hear "Review," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the cell which contains the suspected error, and you hear the current content in the cell.

      2. Use the on-screen keyboard to fix the errors, swipe left until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if necessary.

      3. ​​​​​​​If you find nothing to fix in the cell, swipe right until you hear "Ignore button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if necessary.

        When you've completed the review, the table is copied.

  10. To exit the table view, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Close, button." Double-tap the screen. You hear: "Alert, discard table?" Swipe right until you hear "Yes," and then double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the camera mode.

  11. To return to the Apps tab, swipe left until you hear "Discard," and then double-tap the screen.

See also

Use a screen reader to convert images into text in the Microsoft 365 app

Use a screen reader to work with PDFs in the Microsoft 365 app

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Basic tasks using a screen reader with the Microsoft 365 app

Learn the layout of the Microsoft 365 app with a screen reader

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate the Microsoft 365 app

Video: Introducing the Microsoft 365 App

Use the Microsoft 365 app with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to take a picture of a table, for example, on a whiteboard or any other item that shows data in a table format. You'll learn how to extract the table from the picture and then open the extracted table in Excel for editing, copy the table, or have TalkBack read the table contents to you. You'll also learn how to extract tables from a saved image.

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.

  • To use the Microsoft 365 app to take a picture, you need to allow the app to access your camera. You can do this in the Microsoft 365 app settings.

In this topic

Extract a table from an image and open the table in Excel

Take a photo of data in a table format or use a saved image, and then extract the table to open and edit it Excel. 

  1. In the Microsoft 365 app, slide one finger around the lower-right corner of the screen until you hear "Apps, button," and then double-tap the screen. The apps menu opens.

  2. Swipe left or right until you hear "Image to table," and then double-tap the screen. The camera mode activates.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To take a picture with your device camera, point the camera toward the table you want to capture, swipe right until you hear "Capture," and then double-tap the screen.

    • To select a saved picture, swipe right until you hear "Import button," and then double-tap the screen. The app for your saved pictures opens. You might be prompted to allow the app to access your pictures. Navigate to the picture, and then double-tap the screen to select it.

  4. You hear: "Retake button." If needed, you can now crop the picture to only show the table. To crop the picture, you need to turn off TalkBack, so you might need someone to help you with this step. To adjust the picture borders, pull the crop handles. When you're done, swipe right until you hear "Continue button, confirm," and then double-tap the screen. The Microsoft 365 app starts to process the image.

  5. When the table has been extracted, you hear: "Extracted table." To read the contents of the table row by row, double-tap the screen, and then swipe right. You hear the contents of a cell and the position of the cell in the table.

  6. To open the table in Excel, swipe right until you hear "Open in Excel," and then double-tap the screen.

  7. If you hear "Book, editing," the table opens in an Excel file format where you can edit it, and then proceed to step 8. If you hear "Alert icon" instead of "Book, editing," it means that the Microsoft 365 app has detected possible errors such as spelling errors in your table. Do one of the following:

    • To proceed without reviewing the possible errors in the table, swipe right until you hear "Open anyway," and then double-tap the screen. The table opens in Excel.

    • To review the possible errors in the table, do the following:

      1. Swipe right until you hear "Review all," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the cell which contains the suspected error, and you hear the current content in the cell.

      2. Use the on-screen keyboard to fix the error. When you're done, slide one finger along the right edge of the screen until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if necessary.

      3. If there's nothing to fix in the cell, swipe right until you hear "Ignore button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if necessary.

        When you've completed the review, the table opens in Excel.

  8. When you're done editing the table in Excel, swipe down-then-left. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription and you're connected to OneDrive, the file is saved automatically. Otherwise, you're alerted to save your changes.

  9. To save the worksheet, for example to your phone, swipe right until you hear "Save," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the file name text field. Double-tap the screen, and then use the on-screen keyboard to change the name if needed.

  10. Swipe left until you find the location where you want to save the file, and then double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear "Save," and then double-tap the screen.

Extract a table from an image and copy the table

Use Microsoft 365 app to extract a table from an image, copy the table to the clipboard, and then paste and edit the table directly in the app where you want to use it, for example, in an Outlook email message or a PowerPoint slide. 

  1. In the Microsoft 365 app, slide one finger around the lower-right corner of the screen until you hear "Apps, button," and then double-tap the screen. The apps menu opens.

  2. Swipe left or right until you hear "Image to table," and then double-tap the screen. The camera mode activates.

  3. Do one of the following:

    • To take a picture with your device camera, point the camera toward the table you want to capture, swipe right until you hear "Capture," and then double-tap the screen.

    • To select a saved picture, swipe right until you hear "Import button," and then double-tap the screen. The app for your saved images opens. You might be prompted to allow the app to access your pictures. Navigate to the picture, and then double-tap the screen to select it.

  4. You hear: "Retake button." If needed, you can now crop the picture to only show the table. To crop the picture, you need to turn off TalkBack, so you might need someone to help you with this step. To adjust the picture borders, pull the crop handles. When you're done, swipe right until you hear "Continue button, confirm," and then double-tap the screen. The Microsoft 365 app starts to process the image.

  5. When the table has been extracted, you hear: "Extracted table." To read the contents of the table row by row, double-tap the screen, and then swipe right. You hear the contents of a cell and the position of the cell in the table.

  6. To copy the table, swipe right until you hear "Copy table," and then double-tap the screen.

  7. If you hear "Table copied," you can paste and edit the table where you want to use it, for example, in an email message or a PowerPoint slide. If you hear "Alert icon" instead of "Table copied," it means that the Microsoft 365 app has detected possible errors such as spelling errors in your table. Do one of the following:

    • To proceed without reviewing the table, swipe right until you hear "Copy anyway," and then double-tap the screen. The table is copied to the clipboard.

    • To review the possible errors in the table, do the following:

      1. Swipe right until you hear "Review all," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the cell which contains the suspected error, and you hear the current content in the cell.

      2. Use the on-screen keyboard to fix the error. When you're done, slide one finger along the right edge of the screen until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if necessary.

      3. If there's nothing to fix in the cell, swipe right until you hear "Ignore button," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves to the next cell with a possible error. Review the cell content and take action if necessary.

        When you've completed the review, the table opens in Excel.

  8. To exit the table view, swipe down-then-left. You hear: "Alert, discard the table?" Swipe right until you hear "Yes," and then double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the camera mode.

  9. To exit the camera mode, swipe down-then-left.

See also

Use a screen reader to convert images into text in the Microsoft 365 app

Use a screen reader to work with PDFs in the Microsoft 365 app

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Basic tasks using a screen reader with the Microsoft 365 app

Learn the layout of the Microsoft 365 app with a screen reader

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate the Microsoft 365 app

Video: Introducing the Microsoft 365 App

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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