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 Microsoft Teams with your keyboard and a screen reader to create new channels to a team, follow channels, and @mention people. We have tested it with JAWS and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.
Note
- 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.
- Recent versions of JAWS no longer have the virtual PC cursor mode set as default for Microsoft Teams. For instructions on how to switch the virtual PC cursor mode on, go to Enable the JAWS virtual cursor.
In this topic
Create a new channel
Create new channels to direct discussions around different themes, subtopics, or tasks to channels of their own.
Screen reader navigation
Focus navigation
- In Microsoft Teams, press Ctrl+3 to access the Teams view.
- You hear: "Teams and channels list." Navigate to the team you want to add a channel to using the Up and Down arrow keys.
- Press Spacebar to open the More options menu.
- Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Add channel" and press Enter. The Create a channel dialog opens.
- Type the channel name and press the Tab key once.
- Type an optional team description.
- Press the Tab key until you hear "Add" and press Enter to create the channel. The focus moves to the new channel in the content pane.
Virtual navigation
Note
In NVDA this is called the browse mode. In JAWS it is called the virtual cursor mode.
- In Microsoft Teams, press Ctrl+3 to access the Teams view.
- You hear: "Teams and channels list." Navigate to the team you want to add a channel to using the Up and Down arrow keys.
- Press Spacebar to open the More options menu.
- Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Add channel" and press Enter. The Create a channel dialog opens.
- Type the channel name and press the Tab key once.
- Type an optional team description.
- With NVDA, press the SR key+Spacebar. Press B until you reach the Add button and press Enter to create the channel. With JAWS, press the Tab key until you reach the Add button and press Enter to create the channel.
The focus moves to the new channel in the content pane.
Follow a channel
Following a channel allows you to get and control notifications from that channel.
- In Microsoft Teams, press Ctrl+3 to access the Teams view.
- You hear: "Teams and channels list." Navigate to the channel you want to follow using the Up and Down arrow keys.
- Press Spacebar to open the More options menu.
- Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Follow this channel" and press Enter.
@mention people
When you want to make sure your message gets noticed by a certain person, use @mention to make the message appear in their activity feed.
When composing a message in Microsoft Teams, type the @ sign followed by the name of the person, such as @mary donald.
Tip
You can also @mention a channel within your team.
If your screen reader announces just one matching user, press Enter to select. If there are several matching users, your screen reader announces the number of matches. To browse the list of users, press the Down or Up arrow key, and press Enter to select a user. The @mention is added to the message. When you send the message, it appears in their activity feed.
See also
Use a screen reader to create and modify teams in Microsoft Teams
Use a screen reader to chat in Microsoft Teams
Keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft Teams
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Microsoft Teams
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.