Use a screen reader to add comments to an Excel worksheet
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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 Excel with your keyboard and a screen reader to add comments to give feedback in an Excel worksheet. 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.

Notes: 

In this topic

Add a comment

  1. In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the comment to appear.

    Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a comment, Narrator and JAWS announce "Contains comment" after reading out the contents of the cell. With NVDA, there's no audio cue.

  2. Press Alt+R, C to add a comment to the selected cell.

  3. Type your comment. You can press Enter to start a new line.

  4. Press the Tab key until you hear "Post comment," and then press Enter to save your comment.

Add a note

  1. In your Excel worksheet, navigate to the cell where you want the note to appear.

    Tip: When you navigate to a cell that already contains a note, Narrator and JAWS announce "Contains note" after reading out the contents of the cell. With NVDA, there's no audio cue.

  2. Press Alt+R, T, and then N to add a note to the selected cell.

  3. Type your note. You can press Enter to start a new line.

  4. Press Esc twice to save your note and return the focus to the cell.

See also

Use a screen reader to find and replace data 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

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Excel

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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