Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook
Applies ToOutlook for Microsoft 365 Outlook 2024 Outlook 2021 Outlook 2019 Outlook 2016 Outlook for iOS Outlook Web App

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 Outlook with your keyboard and a screen reader to schedule appointments or schedule meetings with other people. 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 check when the people that you invite are available, make the meetings recur, set reminders for meetings, and request responses from the people that you invite in Outlook.

Notes: 

In this topic

Schedule an appointment

You can schedule a personal appointment in your calendar, for example, to remind you of an activity. Appointments don't involve inviting other people. If you want to invite others, you can schedule a meeting. For instructions, refer to Schedule a meeting and invite people to it.

Create a new appointment

  1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+2 to open the calendar. You hear the name of the current view, for example, "Work week view," followed by the number of events in the view.

  2. Press Alt+H, N to open a blank appointment window. The focus is in the Title field.

  3. Type the title of the appointment, and then press the Tab key to move focus to the Start date field.

  4. To change the start date, press the Down or Up arrow key to move the date forward or backward by a day. You can also type the start date.

  5. To change the start time, press the Tab key until you hear "Start time," and then press the Down or Up arrow key to move the time forward or backward by half an hour.

  6. Press the Tab key until you hear: "End date." To change the end date, press the Down or Up arrow key to move the date forward or backward by a day.

  7. To change the end time, press the Tab key until you hear "End time," and press the Down or Up arrow key to move the time forward or backward by half an hour.

  8. To add a location to the appointment, do one of the following:

    • If you’re using a Microsoft Exchange account, you can use the Location picker to add the location such as a company meeting room. Press the Tab key until you hear "Location button," and press Enter. The Select Rooms dialog box opens with the focus in the Search field. Type the name of the location, press the Tab key until you hear the name of the location, and press Enter to select it. To add the location to the appointment, press Enter.

    • To add the location by typing, press the Tab key until you hear "Location, edit," and type the location.

  9. To add a note or information about the appointment, such as an agenda or program, press the Tab key until Narrator announces "Message, editing," and then type your note. With JAWS you hear: "Edit," and with NVDA you hear: "Message, edit. Multiline."

  10. If you want to let other people know whether you're busy or available during your appointment, add a status indicator. For instructions, refer to Let people know your availability.

  11. To save your appointment, press Ctrl+S. To close the appointment window and return to the calendar, press Esc.

Let people know your availability

You can add a status indicator to your appointment to let other people know your availability during the appointment. If someone tries to schedule a meeting with you, they'll know whether you are available or busy.

  1. When you have an appointment open, press Alt+H, B to open the Show As menu.

  2. Press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the availability option you want.

  3. To select an option, press Enter. The Show As menu closes.

  4. To save your changes, press Ctrl+S. To close the appointment window and return to the calendar, press Esc.

Schedule a meeting and invite people to it

You can send a meeting invitation to one or more people. When you create the invitation, you can set the location for the meeting and use the Scheduling Assistant to choose the best time for your meeting.

  1. To create a meeting invitation from anywhere in Outlook (such as Email, Calendar, or Tasks), press Ctrl+Shift+Q. A blank Meeting invitation opens, with the focus in the Title text field.

  2. Type the title of the meeting.

  3. To invite the required attendees, press the Tab key until you hear: "Required." Type the names of the persons you want to invite. If a person is not in your address book, type their email address.

  4. Outlook automatically searches your address book for matches. To browse the suggested names, use the Down arrow key. To select a name, press Enter.

    Tip: To confirm the names and email addresses, press Ctrl+K.

  5. To set the start date of the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear: "Start date." By default, this field shows the date when the meeting invitation was created.

    Type the start date or use the Down arrow key to find the date.

    Note: If the meeting lasts all day, type the start date or use the Down arrow key to find it, press the Tab key until you hear "All day, checkbox, unchecked," and then press Spacebar.

  6. To set the start time of the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear: "Start time." Type the start time or use the Up or Down arrow key to find it.

  7. To set the end time of the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear: "End time." Type the end time or use the Up or Down arrow key to find it.

  8. To make sure the people you invite are available for your meeting before you save or send the invitation, check their availability. For instructions, refer to Check the availability of the people you invite.

  9. To select the location for your meeting, do one of the following:

    • If you’re using a Microsoft Exchange account, you can use the Location picker to add the location such as a company meeting room. Press the Tab key until you hear "Location button," and press Enter. The Select Rooms dialog box opens with the focus in the Search field. Type the name of the location, press the Tab key until you hear the name of the location, and press Enter to select it. To add the location to the appointment, press Enter.

    • To add the location by typing, press the Tab key until you hear "Location, edit," and type the location.

  10. To add a message to accompany the invitation, such as an agenda or program for the meeting, press the Tab key until Narrator announces "Message, editing," and then type your message. With JAWS you hear: "Edit," and with NVDA you hear: "Message, edit. Multiline."

  11. To send the meeting invitation, press Alt+S. The focus moves to the currently active window.

Check the availability of the people you invite

Once you've scheduled the meeting and added the names of the attendees, you can check whether everyone is available to attend your meeting and find the best possible time to meet.

  1. In the Meeting invitation, press Alt+X to open the Scheduling Assistant. You hear: "All attendees status."

  2. To open the Autopick menu, press Alt+X, A, and then P.

  3. Use the Down arrow key to navigate the menu. You hear the options as you move, such as "All people and resources," or "All people and one resource." To select an option, press Enter.

    AutoPick selects the next available time that meets the criteria for the option you selected. With Narrator, you hear the proposed date and time, and each attendee name and availability status. With JAWS and NVDA, to hear each attendee's availability, use the Up and Down arrow keys to browse through the list of attendees.

  4. Choose one of the following options:

    • To accept the time and send the meeting invitation, press Alt+S.

    • To accept the time and return to the invitation message to edit it, press Alt+H.

    • To return to AutoPick to find a different option, press Alt+X, A, and then P.

Make a recurring meeting

If you're scheduling, for example, a weekly meeting, you can easily turn your meeting into a recurring meeting. This way you don't have to create a new meeting for every week separately.

  1. In the Meeting invitation, press Alt+H, and then E to open the Appointment Recurrence dialog box.

  2. To select a recurrence pattern, use the following keyboard shortcuts:

    • To select the Daily option, press Alt+D. To select a pattern within the Daily option, do one of the following:

      • To repeat your meeting every weekday, press Alt+K.

      • To repeat your meeting every few days, press Alt+V. To define the day interval, press the Tab key once and type the number of days you want. For example, to repeat the meeting every two days, type 2.

    • To select the Weekly option, press Alt+W. To define the week interval, press Alt+C and type the number of weeks you want. For example, to repeat the meeting every three weeks, type 3. To select the day of the week, press the Tab key until you hear the day you want, and press Spacebar to select it.

    • To select the Monthly option, press Alt+M. To select a pattern within the Monthly option, do one of the following:

      • To repeat your meeting on the same date each month, press Alt+A. Press the Tab key once and type the number of the date you want. For example, if you want the meeting to take place on the 12th day of the selected month, type 12. To set the month interval, press the Tab key once and type the number of months. For example, if you want the meeting to repeat every two months, type 2.

      • To repeat the meeting on a specific day in each month, press Alt+E. To select the day interval, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the option you want, and press Enter. To select the day of the week, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the option you want, and press Enter. To set the month interval, press the Tab key once and type the number of months. For example, if you want the meeting to repeat every two months, type 2.

    • To select the Yearly option, press Alt+Y. To set the year interval, press Alt+C and type the number of years you want. For example, if you want the meeting to repeat every two years, type 2. To select a pattern within the Monthly option, do one of the following:

      • To repeat your meeting on the same date every year or every few years, press Alt+Colon (:). To select the month for the meeting, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the month you want, and press Enter. To set the date, press the Tab key once and type the date you want. For example, if you want the meeting to take place on the 12th day of the selected month, type 12.

      • To repeat your meeting on a specific weekday of a month, press Alt+E. To select the day interval, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the option you want, and press Enter. To select the day of the week, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the option you want, and press Enter. To select the month, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the month you want, and press Enter.

  3. To save your selections and close the Appointment Recurrence dialog box, press the Tab key until you hear "OK button," and press Enter.

Make an online meeting

You can easily turn your meeting into an online meeting using Skype or Microsoft Teams.

Note: Depending on your organization and whether you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber, Skype and/or Microsoft Teams might not be available.

In the Meeting invitation window, do one of the following:

  1. To select the Skype Meeting option and create a Skype meeting link, press Alt+H, O, M.

  2. To select the Teams Meeting option and create a Microsoft Teams meeting link, press Alt+H, T, M.

Outlook adds the online meeting details and the link to the meeting message field.

See also

Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook

Use a screen reader to set up your email account in Outlook

Use a screen reader to format text in your email in Outlook

Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook

Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Outlook Calendar

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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