Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Project
Applies ToProject for the web Project Online

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 Project with your keyboard and screen reader to explore and navigate the screen elements and views. We have tested it with Narrator and JAWS, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.

Notes: 

In this topic

Get to know the Project layout

When you open Project, the name of the type of the current view is located at the top of the screen, on the left side of the file name. Project usually opens to the Gantt Chart view.

The application control buttons, such as Minimize and Close, are at the upper-right corner. By default, the Quick Access Toolbar resides at the upper left of the screen. This toolbar can be customized and contains commonly used commands, such as Save, Undo, and Redo.

Below this toolbar, there's a set of ribbon tabs. It includes the following tabs:

  • File

  • Task

  • Resource

  • Report

  • Project

  • View

  • Format

The ribbon sits below this row of tabs. Selecting a tab brings up a tab-specific ribbon that includes options organized in groups. For example, the View tab displays a ribbon that lets you pick different options for viewing the data in the file.

To the right of the tabs, there's the Tell Me search text field. To the far right, there's the Help Improve Office? feedback button, and the Restore Window and Close Window buttons.

The project data content appears under the ribbon and takes up most of the window.

At the bottom of the window, there's the customizable Status Bar displaying the status info and selected quick access buttons, for example, for the different views, and the zoom slider.

Navigate using the keyboard

To navigate in Project and to cycle through screen elements, use the following shortcuts:

  • To move forward, press the Tab key. To move backward, press Shift+Tab.

  • To select an item, press Enter.

  • To expand a submenu or a list, press Alt+Down arrow key.

  • To browse within menus or lists, press the Up or Down arrow key.

  • To make a selection in a list, press Enter.

  • To exit a menu or mode, press Esc.

Use Tell Me

To find an option or perform an action quickly, use the Search text field. To learn more about the Search feature, go to Find what you need with Microsoft Search.

Note: Depending on the Microsoft 365 version of you are using, the Search text field at the top of the app window might be called Tell Me instead. Both offer a largely similar experience, but some options and search results can vary.

  1. Select the item or place in your document, presentation, or spreadsheet where you want to perform an action. For example, in an Excel spreadsheet, select a range of cells.

  2. To go to the Search text field, press Alt+Q.

  3. Type the search words for the action that you want to perform. For example, if you want to add a bulleted list, type bullets.

  4. Press the Down arrow key to browse through the search results.

  5. When you've found the result that you want, press Enter to select it and to perform the action.

See also

Use a screen reader to create a new project in Project

Use a screen reader to work with views in Project

Use a screen reader to review or edit an existing project in Project

Keyboard shortcuts for Project

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.

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