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 Mail for Windows 10 with your keyboard and a screen reader to add or edit text in your email message. 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. You'll learn how to change the font and font size and use headings to improve the readability of your message.
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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.
In this topic
Add text to a new email message
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When composing an email message, press the Tab key until you hear: "Message, editing." The focus is in the message body.
: To learn how to start composing an email in Mail for Windows 10, refer to section "Create and send email" in Basic tasks using a screen reader with Mail.
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Type your message.
Edit text in an email message
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When composing an email message, move the focus to the message body text.
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To locate the piece of text you want to edit, press the SR key+Up or Down arrow key until you hear the suitable navigation mode, such as "Words" or "Lines."
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Press the SR key+Right or Left arrow key until you hear the piece of text you want to edit or the location where you want to continue composing the message.
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Edit the text.
Select text in an email message
You can select a piece of the text in your email or all text in the message body to be formatted at once.
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In the message body, do one of the following:
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To select all content in the message body, press Ctrl+A.
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If you want to work on only a piece of your text, locate the text as instructed in Edit text in an email message. Then press Ctrl+Shift+Left or Right arrow key to select the text word by word.
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Change the font
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In the message body, press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon tabs row. You hear the currently selected ribbon tab.
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Press the Left arrow key until you hear: "Selected, Format tab item."
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To move to the ribbon, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the first option on the ribbon, for example, "Off, bold button."
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Font, button collapsed," and then press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu. You hear "Pop up, font," followed by the current font.
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Press the Up or Down arrow key to move through the options. Your screen reader announces them as you move.
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When on a font you want to use, press Enter.
Change the font size
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In the message body, press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon tabs row. You hear the currently selected ribbon tab.
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Press the Left arrow key until you hear: "Selected, Format tab item."
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To move to the ribbon, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the first option on the ribbon, for example, "Off, bold button."
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Font, button collapsed," and then press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu. You hear "Pop up, font," followed by the current font.
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Press the Tab key once. You hear: "Font size."
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Press the Up or Down arrow key to move through the options. Your screen reader announces them as you move.
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When on a font size you want to use, press Enter.
Apply bold, italic, or underline
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In the message body, do one of the following:
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To apply bold formatting, press Ctrl+B.
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To apply italic formatting, press Ctrl+I.
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To underline text, press Ctrl+U.
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Add headings
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In the message body, press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon tabs row. You hear the currently selected ribbon tab.
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Press the Left arrow key until you hear: "Selected, Format tab item."
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To move to the ribbon, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the first option on the ribbon, for example, "Off, bold button."
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Styles, button collapsed," and then press Spacebar to expand the menu.
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Press the Down arrow key to move through the options. Your screen reader announces them as you move.
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When on a heading style you want to use, press Enter.
See also
Use a screen reader to work with folders in Mail
Basic tasks using a screen reader with Mail
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.
