Use a screen reader with the Accessibility Checker
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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 the Accessibility Checker with your keyboard and a screen reader to make sure your Office content is easy for people with disabilities to read and edit. We have tested it with Narrator, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.

You can run the Accessibility Checker on your email messages before sending or on your documents or spreadsheets before sharing them, for example.

Notes: 

Check for and fix accessibility issues in your content

  1. To run the Accessibility Checker, press Alt+R, A, 1, A. The focus moves to the Accessibility Checker pane on the right side of the screen.

    Note: In Microsoft Excel, press Alt+R, A, Enter instead.

  2. To move to the results, press Shift+Tab once. You hear: "Inspections results," followed by the first category of findings and the description of the category.

    The findings are categorized into errors, warnings, tips, and intelligent services with how-to-fix recommendations for each. For more information, refer to Rules for the Accessibility Checker.

  3. To move to the first group of issues inside the category, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the type and number of issues in that group, for example, "Missing alternative text, seven."

  4. To expand the group, press Spacebar.

  5. To move to the first item inside the group, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the item with the accessibility issue and the place where to find it, for example, "Picture three, slide two."

  6. To expand the item and display the options on how to fix the issue, press Alt+Down arrow key. The Recommended Actions menu opens.

  7. To browse the options in the Recommended Actions menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear the action you want. To select an action, press Spacebar.

  8. Take the recommended action you selected.

    For example, if you selected Add a description for a missing alt text, the Alt Text pane opens left of the Accessibility Checker pane and you can type an alt text description for the item.

  9. Go through all inspection results listed in the Accessibility Checker pane.

See also

Rules for the Accessibility Checker

Everything you need to know to write effective alt text

Make your content accessible to everyone

Use a screen reader with Microsoft 365 apps

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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