This article is for people with visual impairments who use a screen reader program with the Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. For more general help, see Office Support home.
Use Word with your keyboard and a screen reader to add a chart in your document and to select a chart so you can work with it. 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:
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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 Office.
In this topic
Add a basic chart
Choose the chart type and style, and then insert your data in the embedded Excel worksheet for the chart to take shape.
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In your document, place the cursor where you want to add the chart.
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Press Alt+N, C. You hear: "<Document name>, Word, Insert Chart window."
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Press the Tab key. You hear "Chart types," followed by the currently selected chart type.
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To select the chart type, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the type you want.
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To select the chart style, press the Tab key and then press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear the style you want.
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Once you're done with your selections, press Enter. A chart in the selected type and style is added in your document.
An embedded Excel worksheet shows the placeholder data used to make up the chart. The focus is in a cell in the Excel worksheet.
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To replace the placeholder values in the worksheet with your own data, press the Tab key, Shift+Tab, or Up or Down arrow keys until you hear the cells you want to edit, and then type your data. Word updates the new values automatically in the chart as you type.
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To close the worksheet, press the SR key+Left or Right arrow key until you hear "Close button," and then press the SR key+Enter.
Select a chart
To make changes to an existing chart, you need to select the chart first.
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To move to the chart you want to modify, press Ctrl+Alt+5. The focus moves to the first floating shape in your document.
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To cycle through the floating shapes, press the Tab key until you hear the chart you want, and then press Shift+Left or Right arrow key. The chart is now selected and you can modify it.
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To return to the normal navigation, press Esc.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to insert a picture or image in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Word with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in Mac OS screen reader, to add a chart in your document and to select a chart so you can work with it.
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 macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.
-
To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft Office.
In this topic
Add a basic chart
Choose the chart type and style, and then insert your data in the embedded Excel worksheet for the chart to take shape.
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In your document, place the cursor where you want to add the chart.
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Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab on the ribbon.
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Press the Left or Right arrow key until you hear "Insert tab," and then press Spacebar.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Chart menu button," and then press Spacebar. You hear: "Chart window, Column, submenu."
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To select the chart type, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the type you want, for example, "Pie submenu." Then press the Right arrow key. The submenu expands.
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To select the chart style, press the arrow keys until you hear the style you want, for example, "3-D pie." Press Spacebar to select. A chart in the selected type and style is added to your document.
An Excel worksheet opens and shows the placeholder data used to make up the chart. The focus is in a cell in the Excel worksheet.
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To replace the placeholder values in the worksheet with your own data, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear the cell you want to edit. Type your data, and then press Enter. Repeat this until you have replaced all placeholder values. Word updates the new values automatically in the chart as you type.
Select a chart
To make changes to an existing chart, you need to select the chart first.
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On the document page that contains the chart, press F6 until you hear: "Editing area."
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Press the Tab key until you hear the name of the chart, followed by "You are currently on a chart."
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Press Control+Option+Shift+Down arrow key to start interacting with the chart area.
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To quickly edit your chart, press Control+Option+Shift+M to open the context menu. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the option you want, for example, "Change chart type, submenu" or "Edit data in Excel." Then press Spacebar to open further options.
See also
Use a screen reader to insert and change text in Word
Use a screen reader to check spelling and grammar in Word
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Word
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
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.