Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Excel

Use Excel with your keyboard and a screen reader to explore and navigate the app main views and elements, and to move between views and functions. 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.

Need instructions on how to get started with Excel, but not using a screen reader? See Excel Quick Start.

In this topic

• Cycle through the main areas
• Navigate the ribbon tabs
• Navigate the ribbon
• Navigate the worksheet
• Use Search

Cycle through the main areas

To navigate between the main areas in Excel, press F6 (forward) and Shift+F6 (backward). The main areas are:

• Worksheet table grid
• Sheet tabs
• Status bar
• Ribbon tabs

Navigate the ribbon tabs

The ribbon tabs are the main menu bar of Excel. To reach the ribbon tabs, press the Alt key. With Narrator and NVDA, you hear "Ribbon tabs," followed by the current tab's name. With JAWS, you hear "Upper ribbon." To move between the tabs, use the Left and Right arrow keys. When you reach a tab, a tab-specific ribbon appears below it. To learn how to browse the selected ribbon, go to Navigate the ribbon.

Here's a list of the most common tabs and some examples of what you can do on each tab:

• Home
  Format and align text and numbers, and add new rows and columns.
• Insert
  Insert tables, pictures, shapes, and charts into your worksheet.
• Page Layout
  Set the margins, orientation, and size of the worksheet page.
• Formulas
  Add various functions and formulas to your worksheet.
• Data
  Import data from various sources, sort and filter it, and use data tools such as removing duplicate rows.
• Review
  Check the spelling and accessibility of your worksheet, and collaborate with others using comments and notes.
• View
  Select a view such as Normal View or Page Layout view, and set the page zoom level.
• Help
  Open the Microsoft Excel Help, contact support, and leave feedback.

In addition to the ribbon tabs, you need to access the File menu for some important commands. To open it, press Alt+F. The File menu opens in a new pane. To navigate the main commands, use the Up and Down arrow keys, then use the Tab key and Up and Down arrow keys to navigate the options for that command.

In the File menu, you can start a new workbook, open an existing workbook, save, share, or print the file you're currently working with, and access Excel options. To close the File menu and return to your worksheet, press Esc.

Navigate the ribbon

After navigating to the right ribbon tab as described in Navigate the ribbon tabs, press the Tab key to move to the ribbon and browse its commands and options. You can press Shift+Tab to move backwards. Press Enter to make a selection or press Esc to leave the ribbon and return to your worksheet.

Navigate the worksheet

When you open an Excel workbook, the focus is on the worksheet table grid. If you have moved the focus out of the worksheet, press F6 until your screen reader announces a table grid cell location. Here's how you navigate inside the worksheet and between other sheets and workbooks:

• To move between cells in the table grid, use the arrow keys. Your screen reader announces the column and row of each cell as well as its contents.
• To open the context menu for the current cell, press Shift+F10. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate the menu, and press Enter to make a selection or press Esc to return to the worksheet.
• To move to the next or previous worksheet in your workbook, press F6 until you hear the name of the current sheet tab, use the Left and Right arrow keys to find the right sheet, and press Enter to select it.
• To switch to the next workbook when more than one workbook is open, press Ctrl+F6. Your screen reader announces the name of the workbook.

Use Search

To find an option or perform an action quickly, use the Search text field. To learn more about the Search feature, go to Find what you need with Microsoft Search.

1. Select the item or place in your document, presentation, or spreadsheet where you want to perform an action.
2. To go to the Search text field, press Alt+Q.
3. Type the search words for the action that you want to perform. For example, if you want to add a bulleted list, type bullets.
4. Press the Down arrow key to browse through the search results.
5. Once you've found the result that you want, press Enter to select it and to perform the action.

See also

Use a screen reader to sort or filter a table in Excel

Keyboard shortcuts in Excel

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Excel

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Make your Excel documents accessible to people with disabilities

What's new in Microsoft 365

Use Excel for the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to explore and navigate the app main views and elements, and to move between views and functions. 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.

Need instructions on how to get started with Excel, but not using a screen reader? See Excel Quick Start.

In this topic

• Cycle through the main areas
• Navigate the ribbon tabs and ribbon
• Navigate the worksheet
• Use Search

Cycle through the main areas

To navigate between the main areas in Excel for the web, press Ctrl+F6 (forward) and Ctrl+Shift+F6 (backward). The main areas are:

• Title bar
• Ribbon tabs
• Worksheet table grid
• Sheet tabs
• Status bar

Navigate the ribbon tabs and ribbon

The ribbon tabs are the main menu bar of Excel for the web.

• To reach the ribbon tabs, press Alt+Windows logo key. With Narrator and NVDA, you hear "Ribbon tabs," followed by the name of the current tab. With JAWS, you hear only the current tab's name.
• To move between the tabs, use the Left and Right arrow keys.
• When the focus is on a tab, a tab-specific ribbon appears below it. To move the focus to the ribbon, press the Tab key once, and then use the Right and Left arrow keys to browse its commands and options. Press Enter to select or press Esc to leave the ribbon and return to your worksheet. To quickly access the commands and options on each ribbon, use the keyboard shortcuts. For more information, refer to Keyboard shortcuts in Excel.

Here's a list of the most common tabs and some examples of what you can do on each tab:

• Home: Format and align text and numbers and add new rows and columns.
• Insert: Insert various functions and formulas, tables, pictures, shapes, and charts into your worksheet.
• Data: Sort and filter your data and use tools such as data validation.
• Review: Check the accessibility of your worksheet and collaborate with others using comments.
• View: Zoom in or out of your worksheet, select whether to show gridlines and headings, and freeze panes.
• File: Opens to a separate pane. Here you can start a new workbook, open an existing workbook, save, share, or print the file you're currently working with, and access Excel for the web app settings. To close the File menu and return to your worksheet, press Esc.

Navigate the worksheet

When you open an Excel for the web workbook, the focus is on the worksheet table grid.

• To move between cells in the table grid, use the arrow keys or the Tab key. Narrator and JAWS announce the column and row of each cell as well as its contents. With NVDA, you hear "Line feed" or "Blank," followed by the row, column, and contents of the cell.
• If you have moved the focus out of the worksheet, press Ctrl+F6 until your screen reader announces a table grid cell location, for example, "B2." This means that the focus is on row two of the column B in the table grid.
• To open the context menu for the current cell, press Shift+F10 or the Windows Menu key. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate the menu, and press Enter to make a selection or press Esc to return to the worksheet.
• To move to another worksheet in your workbook, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear the name of the current sheet tab, press the Left or Right arrow key until you reach the sheet you want, and then press Enter to open it.

Use Search

To find an option or perform an action quickly, use the Search text field. To learn more about the Search feature, go to Find what you need with Microsoft Search.

1. Select the item or place in your document, presentation, or spreadsheet where you want to perform an action. For example, in an Excel spreadsheet, select a range of cells.
2. To go to the Search text field, press Alt+Q.
3. Type the search words for the action that you want to perform. For example, if you want to add a bulleted list, type bullets.
4. Press the Down arrow key to browse through the search results.
5. When you've found the result that you want, press Enter to select it and to perform the action.

See also

Use a screen reader to find and replace data in Excel

Use a screen reader to add comments to an Excel worksheet

Keyboard shortcuts in Excel

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Excel

What's new in Microsoft 365