Accessibility with the new Microsoft Edge

What’s new in Microsoft Edge accessibility

We try to make browsing with assistive technologies as easy and intuitive as possible. Check out the accessibility enhancing features we’ve added in the new Microsoft Edge:

• Microsoft Edge supports the Windows high contrast theme and improved text scaling.

• The Windows Ease of Access features are now integrated to Microsoft Edge with closed captions and appearance enhancements.

• You can navigate Microsoft Edge using the same keyboard shortcuts that you know from Windows. For the list of shortcuts, go to Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Edge.

• Tooltips appear on keyboard focus and include keyboard shortcuts.

• You can select text with your keyboard by turning on caret browsing (F7).

• Menus now support underline access keys on Windows.

• For more info on accessibility, refer to Accessibility features in Microsoft Edge.

Check for a new version and update to the latest one

We’re constantly adding new enhancements, improvements, and features to Microsoft Edge, so keep your browser up to date to enjoy the latest additions. To make sure that you’re always using the latest Microsoft Edge version, follow the steps below to check if there’s new version of Microsoft Edge available, and if needed, update your Microsoft Edge to the latest version.

1. Turn off Scan mode or equivalent, and press Alt+F to open the Settings and more  menu.

2. Press Down arrow until you hear “Help and feedback,” and press Enter.

3. Press Down arrow until you hear “About Microsoft Edge,” and press Enter. You hear: “Search settings, edit” or similar.

4. Turn on Scan mode or the equivalent, and then navigate by landmarks until you hear: “Main landmark.”

5. To check if there’s an update ready to be installed, navigate by buttons until you hear: “Update now.” To install the update, press Enter. If you don’t hear “Update now,” you already have the latest version of Microsoft Edge.

6. To finalize the update, navigate by buttons until you hear “Restart,” and press Enter.

New keyboard shortcuts

With the new Microsoft Edge comes a handful of new keyboard shortcuts. Check out the list below for some of the new keyboard shortcuts. For the complete list of keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Edge, see Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Edge.  

• To submit feedback or report an issue, press Alt+Shift+I.

• To open Favorites, press Ctrl+Shift+O.

• To cycle the focus between different panes in the browser window including notifications, press F6.

• To open a new InPrivate window, press Ctrl+Shift+N.

• To open the system print dialog, press Ctrl+Shift+P.

  : This shortcut no longer opens a new InPrivate window as it did in previous versions of Microsoft Edge.

• To open a file in Microsoft Edge, press Ctrl+O.

  : This shortcut no longer moves focus to the address bar as it did in previous versions of Microsoft Edge.

Customize the tabs at the first use

The first time you use the new Microsoft Edge, you can choose what type of content the browser tabs show you when you open a new tab.

If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription, you can select either Microsoft 365 or Microsoft News as your preferred feed and then select a Focused, Inspirational, or Informational page layout type. Otherwise, Microsoft News is used automatically.

The Microsoft 365 feed shows your recent Office files so you can quickly access them from Microsoft Edge. The Microsoft News feed offers you a selection of news articles to keep you up to date with what’s going on around the world.

The page layout types determine how the selected feed is displayed on a tab. The Focused layout type shows a minimalistic view of the feed, the Informational type contains more tools to stay productive, and the Inspirational type is the most decorative page layout type with a motivating image of the day and easy access to your selected feed content.

1. Launch the new Microsoft Edge. You will hear the Microsoft Edge welcome message, followed by “Get started.”

2. Press Enter. You will hear “Pick the feed you’d like to see.” The focus is on the feed menu in the tab customization window.

3. Press the spacebar to expand the menu, press Down arrow until you hear the feed you want, and press Enter to select.

4. Press Tab or Shift+Tab until you hear the tab type you want (for example: “Inspirational radio button, not selected). Press Enter to select.

5. Once you’re happy with your selections, press Tab until you hear “Next,” and press Enter.

6. The focus is on the Confirm button. To apply the tab customization settings and start using Microsoft Edge, press Enter.

Troubleshooting

If you’re running into trouble when using the new Microsoft Edge, first check if there’s an update available for Microsoft Edge or your screen reader. For instructions, see Check for a new version and update to the latest one.

If you've changed your mind and would like to go back to the previous version of Microsoft Edge, follow the instructions in Go back to the previous version of Microsoft Edge.

Go back to the previous version of Microsoft Edge

1. Select Start  > Settings  > Apps  > Apps & features.

2. Press Tab until you hear "Search box, search this list, edit" or something similar.

3. Search for "Microsoft Edge."

4. Press Tab until you hear "Microsoft Edge."

5. Press Tab once more to bring focus to the Uninstall button, press Enter, and confirm that you want to uninstall.

   1. Depending on your version of Windows 10, you may find two installed apps called “Microsoft Edge.” The "Uninstall" button won't be active for the previous version, so you'll only be able to uninstall the new Microsoft Edge.

6. Restart your device, and your Microsoft Edge app will now be the previous version.

Future improvements

We want to keep improving Microsoft Edge and making sure that you enjoy using Microsoft Edge for both work and play. In a future release, we’ll be adding features to the immersive reader that can help improve reading comprehension and fluency by breaking words into syllables, highlighting nouns, verbs, and adjectives, increasing text spacing, narrowing focus to a few lines at a time, and providing Irlen color themes. We’ll also continue to improve the PDF reader, including screen reader access for forms and tagged PDF documents, as well as enabling text to be selected using the keyboard.

Send feedback

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the new Microsoft Edge. Was there something that you really liked? Did you find anything that we could do better to improve your browsing experience even more? Please, let us know!