This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.
Use Exchange admin center (EAC) with your keyboard and a screen reader to configure different methods of collaboration. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge and with JAWS in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.
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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 365.
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Check that you've been assigned the Organizational Management admin role group. For instructions, refer to Use a screen reader to identify your admin role in the Exchange admin center.
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Exchange Online is included in Microsoft 365 business and enterprise subscription plans; however, capabilities might differ by plan. If your EAC doesn't include a function described in this article, your plan might not include it. For more information about the Exchange Online capabilities in your subscription plan, go to What Office 365 business product or license do I have? and Exchange Online service description.
In this topic
Create a public folder mailbox
Members of workgroups can use public folders as an easy way to collect, organize, and share information with others in the workgroup.
Public folders organize content in a hierarchy that's easy to browse. Users can discover useful content by browsing through branches of the hierarchy that are relevant to their work. The full hierarchy is visible to users in their Outlook folder view. Public folders can be used for distribution group archiving. A public folder can be mail-enabled and added as a member of the distribution group, so that email sent to the distribution group is then automatically added to the public folder. Public folders also allow for simple document sharing.
To use public folders, you need to set up at least one public folder mailbox.
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On the EAC dashboard, press the Tab key until you hear: “Left navigation hamburger, expanded.” If you hear "Collapsed" instead of "Expanded," press Spacebar to expand the menu before continuing.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Public folders," press Spacebar, and then press the Down arrow key until you hear "Public folder mailboxes," and press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "New public folder mailbox, button," and press Enter. The Public Folder Mailbox dialog box opens.
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Enter a name for the new mailbox, then press the Tab key until you hear "Save," and press Enter to close the dialog box and create the mailbox. A pop-up window opens to confirm that the mailbox was created. Press Enter to close it.
Create a public folder
After you create a public folder mailbox, you can add a public folder.
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On the EAC dashboard, press the Tab key until you hear: “Left navigation hamburger, expanded.” If you hear "Collapsed" instead of "Expanded," press Spacebar to expand the menu before continuing.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Public folders," press Spacebar, and then press the Down arrow key until you hear "Public folders," and press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "New public folder, button," and press Enter. The Public Folder dialog box opens.
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Enter a name for the new public folder, then press the Tab key until you hear "Save," and press Enter to close the dialog box and create the folder.
Add users to a public folder
After you create a public folder, you can specify the users who can access it and specify these users' roles in the public folder, including their read-write permissions.
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On the EAC dashboard, press the Tab key until you hear: “Left navigation hamburger, expanded.” If you hear "Collapsed" instead of "Expanded," press Spacebar to expand the menu before continuing.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Public folders," press Spacebar, and then press the Down arrow key until you hear "Public folders," and press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you hear the public folder you want to add users to, and press Enter to select it.
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Press Shift+Tab until you hear "Edit," and press Enter.
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A dialog box opens, and the focus is on the Add button. Press Enter.
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You hear: "Browse." Press Enter.
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You hear "Filter or search edit." Type all or part of the name of the first user you want to add to the public folder and then, to search for the name, press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you hear the name of the user in the search results list. Press Enter.
: If the search results list includes multiple names, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the name you want, then press Enter.
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Press the Tab key until you reach the Permission level combo box. The default permission level is Publishing Editor, which allows selected users to create items and subfolders, read items, and edit or delete all items. Other permission levels include Reviewer, Contributor, Non Editing Author, Author, Editor, Publishing Author, and Owner. You can also create a custom permission level.
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To select the permission level for the selected user, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the one you want.
: To review the rights allowed for a permission level, press the Tab key through the 10 check boxes that specify the rights for the selected permission level. If you change a check box setting, the permission level changes to Custom. If you select the Custom permission level, all check boxes are cleared for you to select what you want.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Save, button," and press Enter. The user and their associated permission level are saved and added to the table of users in the Public Folder Permissions dialog box.
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To add another user, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Add, button," and press Enter. Repeat steps 5 through 11. Do this for all users you want to add to the new public folder.
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When you finish adding users, press the Tab key until you hear "Save," and press Enter. Wait several seconds for the information to be saved. An alert specifies that the save operation is complete, and you hear "Close button." To close the alert, press Enter. The focus returns to the public folders main page view.
See also
Use a screen reader to identify your admin role in the Exchange admin center
Keyboard shortcuts in the Exchange admin center
Use a screen reader to add a new shared mailbox in the Exchange admin center
Use a screen reader to configure mail flow rules in the Exchange admin center
Use a screen reader to create a new distribution group in the Exchange admin center
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.
