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 Outlook with your keyboard and screen reader to add or edit text in your email message. 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. You'll learn how to change the font, apply different formatting options, and use headings to improve readability of your message.
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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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
In this topic
Add or edit text
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To start composing an email, in your Inbox, press Ctrl+N. You hear: "Untitled, message," followed by the message format, and "Window, To, editing."
Note: To learn more about composing an email in Outlook, refer to the "Create and send email" section in Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook.
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If needed, press the Tab key repeatedly to go to the message body. When the focus moves to the message body, you hear the message title, followed by "Message, editing." In JAWS, you hear: "Message, edit."
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Do one or more of the following:
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To navigate the message text, use the arrow keys.
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To add text, start typing.
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To select text, press Shift+arrow keys until you've selected the piece of text you want.
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To replace a piece of text, press Shift+arrow keys until you've selected the piece of text you want, and then type the new text.
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Change the font
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When composing an email message, select the piece of text you want to change, or place the focus in the message body if there's no text yet.
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Press Alt+H, F, F. The focus moves to the font field. You hear the currently selected font.
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Press the Down arrow key to move through the font options. The screen reader announces the fonts as you move. When on the font you want to use, press Enter. The selected font is applied.
Change the default font for email messages
When you change the default font, the selected font is applied every time you use Outlook. You can change the default font for new messages that you compose, and your replies and forwarded messages independently.
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In Outlook, press Alt+F, T to open the Outlook Options window. You hear: "Outlook options window."
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Mail."
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Press Alt+F to move the focus to the Stationery and Fonts button, and then press Enter. The Signatures and Stationery dialog box opens with the Personal Stationery tab selected.
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To move to the option you want to change, do one or more of the following:
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To change the default font for all new email messages that you compose, press F.
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To change the default font for replies and forwards, press O.
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To change the default font for composing and reading plain text messages, press N.
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The Font dialog box opens with the focus in the Font field. To browse the font options, press the Down arrow key. The screen reader announces the fonts as you move. To select an option, press Enter. The Font dialog box closes and you return to the Signatures and Stationery dialog box.
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To accept the change and apply the new font, press the Tab key until you hear "OK, button," and press Enter.
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To close the Outlook Options window and return to the Outlook main view, press the Tab key until you hear "OK button," and press Enter.
Change the font size
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When composing an email message, select the text to be resized, or place the focus in the message body if there's no text yet.
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Press Alt+H, F, S. The focus moves to the font size field. You hear the currently selected font size.
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Type the new font size you want to use, and press Enter. The new size is applied.
Change the default font size for email messages
When you change the default font size, the selected size is applied every time you use Outlook. You can change the default font size for new messages that you compose, and your replies and forwarded messages independently.
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In Outlook, press Alt+F, T to open the Outlook Options window. You hear: "Outlook options window."
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Mail."
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Press Alt+F to move the focus to the Stationery and Fonts button, and then press Enter. The Signatures and Stationery dialog box opens with the Personal Stationery tab selected.
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To move to the option you want to change, select one of the following:
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To change the default font size for new email messages that you compose, press F.
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To change the default font size for replies and forwards, press O.
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To change the default font size for composing and reading plain text messages, press N.
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The Font dialog box opens with the focus in the Font field. To move the focus to the Size field, press Alt+S. You hear the current font size. To change it, type the size you want to use, such as 16, and press Enter. The Font dialog box closes and you return to the Signatures and Stationery dialog box.
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To accept the change and apply the new font size, press the Tab key until you hear "OK, button," and press Enter.
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To close the Outlook Options window and return to the Outlook main view, press the Tab key until you hear "OK button," and press Enter.
Change the font size for your inbox items
The layout of your inbox is called a view, and you can customize it—or even build new views—using the View tab in your Outlook.
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In Outlook, go to your Inbox, and press Alt+V, V. The Advanced View Settings: Compact dialog box opens. You hear: "Advanced View Settings."
Tip: To quickly go to your Inbox, press Ctrl+Shift+I.
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To go to the font settings, press O. The Other Settings dialog box opens. You hear: "Other settings."
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To move to the option you want to change, select one of the following:
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To change the font size for the column headings in your inbox, press C.
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To change the font size for the message titles displayed in your inbox, press W.
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To change the font size for the message preview displayed in your inbox, press T.
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The Font dialog box opens with the focus in the Font field, and you hear: "Font." To move to the Size field, press Alt+S. You hear the current font size. To change it, type the size you want to use, such as 16, and press Enter. The Font dialog box closes and you return to the Other Settings dialog box.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "OK, button," and press Enter. The Other Settings dialog box closes.
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To close the Advanced View Settings: Compact dialog box and apply the new font size, press the Tab key until you hear "OK, button," and press Enter. You return to the Outlook main view.
Use theme fonts
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When composing an email message, press Alt+P, T, F. The list of theme fonts opens, and you hear the name of the currently selected theme.
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Press the Down or Up arrow key to move through the font options. The screen reader announces them as you move.
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When on an option you want, press Enter.
Apply bold, italic, or underline
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When composing an email message, select the piece of text you want to format.
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To format the text, do one of more of the following:
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To apply bold formatting, press Ctrl+B.
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To apply italic formatting, press Ctrl+I.
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To apply underline formatting, press Ctrl+U.
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Add headings
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When composing an email message, select the piece of text you want to turn into a heading, or place the focus where you want to insert a heading.
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Press Alt+O, L. The Styles selection opens, and you hear: "Styles."
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Use the arrow keys to move through the style options. The screen reader announces them as you move.
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When on the heading style you want to use, press Enter. If there was a piece of text selected, the heading style is applied to it. If you're inserting a new heading, you can type the heading now.
See also
Use a screen reader to format text in Outlook for Mac email
Use a screen reader to create bulleted or numbered lists in Outlook
Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Use a screen reader to zoom in or out in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Outlook for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to add or edit text in your email message.
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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This topic assumes that you are using the built-in iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.
In this topic
Add text to a new email message
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To start composing a new email message, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers. Then swipe left until you hear "Compose button," and double-tap the screen. The focus is placed in the To field. You hear "To, text field," followed by the current text insertion point.
Note: To learn more about composing an email in Outlook for iOS, refer to the "Create and send email" section in Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook.
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To move to the message body, swipe right until you hear: "Email body, multi-line text field."
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Double-tap the screen. Use the on-screen keyboard to type your text. To go to the keyboard, tap near the bottom of the screen with four fingers and swipe left until you hear a keyboard element, for example, "Return."
Edit text in an email message
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When composing an email message, swipe right or left to move to the message body, if needed. When the focus moves to the message body, you hear: "Email body, multi-line text field."
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Double-tap the screen. Slide your finger up or down the screen to move through the text paragraph by paragraph. You can also set the VoiceOver Rotor to Lines, Words, or Characters and then swipe up or down repeatedly to move through the text until you reach the spot for editing or adding text.
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When you reach the place you want to edit, double-tap the screen and then do one or more of the following to edit your email message:
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To add text, use the on-screen keyboard to type.
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To select a piece of text, double-tap the screen with two fingers and slide your fingers apart.
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To apply formatting to the text, swipe right until you hear "Rich text formatting," and double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the formatting option you want, for example, "Bold button," and double-tap the screen.
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See also
Use a screen reader to format text in Outlook for Mac email
Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Outlook
Use a screen reader to zoom in or out in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Outlook for Android with TalkBack, the Android built-in screen reader, to add or edit text in your email message.
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.
In this topic
Add text to a new email message
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To start composing an email message, slide one finger near the bottom right corner of the screen until you hear "Compose button," and double-tap the screen. The New message window opens.
Note: To learn more about composing an email in Outlook for Android, refer to the "Create and send email" section in Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook.
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To move the focus to the email message body, swipe right until you hear "Edit box," and then double-tap the screen.
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Use the on-screen keyboard to type your message.
Tip: You can find the keyboard by exploring the items on the screen. Place a finger on the screen and slide it around the bottom half of the screen. TalkBack announces the items as you land on them. To select a keyboard item, when on the item, lift your finger. Depending on your device settings, you may need to double-tap the screen to insert the character.
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When you're done, swipe down-then-left to close the on-screen keyboard.
Edit text in an email message
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In the email message body, locate the piece of text you want to edit. Swipe up-then-down repeatedly until you hear the navigation mode you want to use, such as "Words" or "Lines." Then swipe up or down to navigate the text until you hear the piece of text you want to edit. The focus is right in front of the announced word or line of text.
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Do one or more of the following to edit the message:
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Use the on-screen keyboard to type your message.
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To apply formatting to the text, swipe right until you hear "Show formatting options," and double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the formatting option you want, for example "Bold button," and then double-tap the screen.
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See also
Use a screen reader to format text in Outlook for Mac email
Use a screen reader to insert a picture or image in an email in Outlook
Use a screen reader to zoom in or out in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Outlook on the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to add or edit text in your email message. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge and JAWS and NVDA in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll learn how to change the font, font size, and apply different formatting options, such as bold, italic, and underline.
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.
-
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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This topic assumes that the Reading pane is off.
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When you use Outlook on the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Outlook 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 Outlook on the web.
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We're currently updating Outlook.office.com (Outlook on the Web). Some people are already using the new Outlook, and for others the classic version will be the default experience until we complete the update. For more information, go to Get help with the new Outlook on the web. Since the instructions in this topic apply to the new experience, we recommend that you switch from the classic experience to the new Outlook. To switch to the new Outlook, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Command, Try the new Outlook," and then press Enter. If you hear "Command toolbar" instead of "Command, Try the new Outlook," you're already using the new Outlook.
In this topic
Add text to a new email message
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To start composing a new email, in your Inbox, press N. The new message window replaces the Inbox. The focus is in the To text field.
Tip: To learn how to start composing an email in Outlook on the web, refer to the "Create and send an email" section in Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook.
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To go to the message body, press the Tab key until you hear: "Message body, edit."
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Type your message.
Edit text in an email message
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To edit an email message, in the message body, do one or more of the following:
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To navigate the message text, use the arrow keys.
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To add text, type.
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To select the piece of text, press Shift+arrow keys.
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To replace a piece of text, select the text and then type the new text.
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Change the font
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When composing an email message, select the text to change, or place the focus into the message body if there's no text yet.
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Press the Tab key once. You hear "Formatting options," followed by the currently selected option.
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Press the Left, Right, Up, or Down arrow key until you hear the currently selected font.
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Press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the font you want.
Change the font size
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When composing an email message, select the text to change, or place the focus into the message body if there's no text yet.
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Press the Tab key once. You hear "Formatting options," followed by the currently selected option.
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Press the Left, Right, Up, or Down arrow key until you hear the currently selected font size.
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Press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the font size you want.
Apply bold, italic, or underline
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When composing an email message, select the text to change, or place the focus into the message body if there's no text yet.
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Do one or more of the following:
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To apply bold formatting, press Ctrl+B.
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To apply italic formatting, press Ctrl+I.
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To underline the text, press Ctrl+U.
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See also
Use a screen reader to format text in Outlook for Mac email
Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Outlook
Use a screen reader to zoom in or out in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
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.
