Several local colleges are using Microsoft Teams for group lectures and chats. This is great information for screen reader users and also will help mouse users with preventing eye fatigue.
Cycle through main screen elements
To cycle through the Microsoft Teams on the web screen elements, press the Tab key. The screen contains the following main elements:
The main content area is in the center of the screen. The main content area consists of a list pane and a content pane. For instructions on how to navigate inside this element, go to Navigate inside a view.
The vertical toolbar is on the far left on the screen. When the focus moves to the toolbar, the screen reader announces “App bar,” followed by a view name. To navigate inside the toolbar, press the Up or Down arrow keys. The screen reader announces the buttons as you move. From the toolbar, you can switch to another view or to an installed app.
The horizontal menu bar is at the top of the screen. To navigate within the menu bar, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab. The screen reader announces the buttons and fields as you move. From the menu bar, you can, for example, start a new chat or search, or access your profile and the app settings.
To cycle through the horizontal menu bar, the vertical toolbar, the list pane of the main content area, and finally the content pane of the main content area, press Ctrl+F6. With JAWS, press R to cycle through the screen regions. With NVDA, press D.
Move between the main views
Microsoft Teams on the web contains the following main views: Teams, Activity, Chat, Calendar, and Files. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to quickly navigate between the main views:
Press Ctrl+Shift+3 for Teams.
Press Ctrl+Shift+1 for Activity.
Press Ctrl+Shift+2 for Chat.
Press Ctrl+Shift+4 for Calendar.
Press Ctrl+Shift+5 for Files
Note: In certain regions, Microsoft Teams on the web includes an additional Calls main view. If the Calls view is available, you can navigate to it with Ctrl+Shift+5. In that case, the Files view keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Shift+6.
To quickly go to a specific channel or team, use the search region at the top of the screen. Press Ctrl+Shift+G, and start typing the name of the channel or team. The list of search results is updated as you type. Press the Down arrow key to browse the list until you hear the result you want, and then press Enter. The requested team or channel opens in the Teams view. For instructions on how to navigate list and content panes inside a view, go to Navigate inside a view.
Teams view
When you first sign in to the Microsoft Teams on the web app, you land in the Teams view. The team with the most recent activity in your teams list is selected, and the team’s conversation in the General channel is displayed. You can browse your teams, select a team’s channel, add new channels, and join or leave a team. You can also access, modify, and contribute to the content of a team channel. For example, write a message or upload a file to share with your team.
When you move to the Teams view, Narrator announces: “Teams and channels list.” JAWS announces the details of the selected channel. The focus is in the Posts tab header in the content pane.
Tip: To quickly go to a specific channel or team, press Ctrl+E to move to the search region at the top of the screen. Type /goto, press Enter, and start typing the name of the channel or team. The list of search results is updated as you type. Press the Down arrow key to browse the list until you hear the result you want, and then press Enter. The requested team or channel opens in the Teams view.
Activity view
The Activity view contains activity feeds that contain a summary of everything that’s happened in the team channels you follow or a summary of your recent activity.
When you move to the Activity view, Narrator announces “Activity and notifications list,” followed by the current listing option. The focus is on the listing option menu in the list pane.
Chat view
The Chat view lists your recent messages. You can browse the messages list, and open a message to write a reply, read a whole conversation, start a call, or share a file in a chat. You can also check a contact’s details and start a private chat.
When you move to the Chat view, you hear: “Chat list.” The focus is in the Recent chat list in the list pane.
Calendar view
In the Calendar view, you can browse your upcoming meetings, join an online meeting, or schedule a meeting.
When you move to the Calendar view, you hear: “Calendar.” The focus is on the Previous day button in the list pane.
Calls view
In the Calls view, you can call your contacts directly from Microsoft Teams. You can also browse your call history and check your voice mail.
Note: The Calls feature is available in certain regions only.
When you move to the Calls view, Narrator announces: “Calls list.” The focus is on the Contacts item in the list pane.
Files view
In the Files view, you can browse and open your personal files from OneDrive or your team’s shared files in the native app, or edit them in Microsoft Teams on the web. You can also download a file to your local device.
When you move to the Files view, Narrator announces: “Files pane,” followed by the details of the recent file. JAWS announces: “Files.” The focus is on the first file in the content pane.
Note: If the Files button is not visible in the vertical toolbar, select the More apps button, which opens a list of applications from which you can select the Files view.
Navigate inside a view
Each view contains a main content area in the center of the screen. This area has been divided into a list pane and a content pane. The contents of each pane depend on the selected view.
When you select a view, the focus moves to either the list pane or content pane as described in Move between the main views. To navigate between the list and content panes, press Ctrl+F6.
List pane
The list pane is on the left side of the main content area. You can browse and select items and display them in detail on the content pane on the right. For example, in the Chat view, select a chat in the list pane, and the entire chat is displayed in the content pane. Depending on the selected view, you can also schedule a meeting or join a team.
To move the focus to a list, press the Tab key until you hear the first item in the list.
To browse the items in a list pane, press the Down arrow key. The screen reader announces the item details or buttons as you move.
To select an item in a list and display its details in the content pane, press Enter.
Note: In the Meetings view, to navigate the upcoming meetings in the list pane, change the default view to the Agenda view. Press the Tab key until you hear “Agenda view,” and then press Enter.
Content pane
The content pane is on the right side of the main content area. You can access the content of the item selected in the list pane. Depending on the selected view, you can also add channels and tabs, start a call and type a message. The content pane also contains a tabs row at the top of the pane to organize the team assets, for example, to posts, shared files, or organizational info.
To move inside the banner at the top of the content pane, press the Tab key. The screen reader announces the buttons and fields as you move.
To navigate to the tabs row, press the Tab key until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, “Posts.” To move to another tab, press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear the tab you want, and then press Enter.
To enter the content pane main area, press the Tab key until you hear the latest item in the area, such as the latest message in posts.
To navigate inside a content pane:
Focus navigation
You can navigate quickly inside the content pane by pressing the Tab key or Shift+Tab, or the arrow keys.
A message toolbar allows you to save or like a message, and access further options.
Start a group chat
1. In the Posts tab of the Teams view, press C. The focus moves to the message compose box.
2. Type your message. You can also add attachments or even emoji, stickers, or memes to spice up your message. For more information, see Add an attachment, Add an emoji, and Add a sticker or meme.
3. To send a message, press Enter.
Start a private chat
1. Press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the Chat view. The list pane now shows your Favorites, if any, Recent contacts, and Suggested contacts.
2. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear: “Chat list.”
3. Press the Tab key once and then use the Up and Down arrow keys to find the contact you want to chat with, followed by their availability information.
Tip: If the contact you seek is not in your Favorites, Recent, or Suggested lists, press Ctrl+E to use the Search field to find them. For more information, refer to Use a screen reader to search for a conversation, person, or file in Microsoft Teams.
4. Press Enter. You hear: “Type a new message.” The focus is now in the message compose box.
5. Type your message and press Enter to send it.
6. When the person replies to your message, you hear “Message from,” followed by the person’s name and the text in the message.
Note: If you receive a message from someone other than the person you’re currently chatting with, or if you receive a message while in another view, you hear the sender’s name, followed by the text in the message.
The chat messages are displayed in the content pane. To browse the messages, press Ctrl+F6 until the focus is in the message compose box and press Shift+Tab once. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to hear the earlier messages. To move the focus back to the message compose box, press the Tab key.
Tip: To quickly start a chat and send a message, press Ctrl+E to move to the search field at the top of the screen. Type /chat, press Enter, type the name of the person you want to chat with, press Enter, type your message, and then press Enter. To display the new chat in the content pane, press Enter again.
Add an attachment
1. In the message compose box, press Ctrl+Shift+O. The attachment picker opens.
2. Press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the location from where you’d like to add a file, and then press Spacebar.
You can add files from a cloud or locally from your computer.
3. To add files from a cloud:
a. In the Documents dialog, press the Up or Down arrow key to move in the list of folders or files, and press Enter to open a folder.
b. When you hear the file you’d like to attach, press Enter. With Narrator, you hear: “Selected.” Press the Tab key until you find the Share button, and press Enter. The file is attached to your message.
To add local files:
a. In the Windows Open dialog, press the Tab key to navigate the main areas of the dialog, and use the arrow keys to move inside a main area.
b. When you’ve moved the focus to the right file, press Alt+O. The file is attached to your message.
Add an emoji
1. In the message compose box, press the Tab key. Press the Right arrow key until find the Emoji button, and press Enter. The emoji list opens.
2. Press the Tab key to move to the emoji list. Press the Left or Right arrow key to move in the list.
3. When you hear an emoji you’d like to add, press Enter. The emoji is added to your message.
Add a sticker or meme
1. In the message compose box, press the Tab key. Press the Right arrow key until find the Sticker button, and press Enter. The sticker and meme list opens.
2. To move to the stickers and memes category pane, press Shift+Tab. To move in the pane, press the Up or Down arrow keys. To select a folder, press Enter. The focus moves to the list of stickers and memes in the category.
3. Press the Left or Right arrow key to move through the list. To select, press Spacebar.
4. If there is a text field, you can edit the sticker or meme text. When you’re done, press the Tab key until you find the Done button, and then press Spacebar.
Pin or unpin a chat
You can pin a chat, which puts it at the top of the Recent tab.
1. In the Recent tab, press the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate to the chat you want to pin or unpin.
2. To open the More options menu, press Spacebar.
3. If the chat is currently unpinned, you hear: “Pin.” Press Enter to pin the chat. If the chat is currently pinned, you hear: “Unpin.” Press Enter to unpin the chat.
Mute or unmute a chat
You can mute a chat to stop receiving notifications. To start receiving notifications again, unmute it.
1. Press Ctrl+2 to go to the Chat view.
2. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear “Recent” and press Enter.
3. In the Recent tab, press the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate to the chat you want to mute or unmute.
4. To open the More options menu, press Spacebar.
5. To mute a chat, press the Down arrow key until you hear “Mute,” and then press Enter. To unmute a previously muted chat, press the Down arrow until you hear “Unmute,” and then press Enter.
Filter your chats
You can filter the messages in the Chat view in Microsoft Teams by the name of a person or a keyword to show only group chats, meetings, or private chats where that word occurs. You can also filter the list to show only unread chats, meetings, or muted chats.
1. In the Chat view, press Ctrl+Shift+F. You hear: “Filter by keyword.”
2. Do one of the following:
To filter chats by keyword, type the keyword.
To show only unread chats, meetings, or muted chats, press the Tab key until you hear “More options,” press Enter to open the drop-down menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear the option you want, and press Enter.
1. Press the Tab key until you hear the filtered list of chats.
Mark chats as urgent
Particularly important private chat messages can be marked as urgent. Urgent messages will send an alert to the recipient every two minutes for a period of twenty minutes.
1. In the message compose box, press the Tab key to move the focus to the actions menu. Press the Right arrow key until you find the Set Delivery Options button, and press Enter.
2. Press the down arrow until you hear urgent then press enter to mark
Keyboard shortcuts
In the Desktop app, press
In the Web app, press
Show keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl+Period (.)
Ctrl+Period (.)
Go to Search
Ctrl+E
Ctrl+E
Show commands
Ctrl+Slash (/)
Ctrl+Slash (/)
Go to
Ctrl+G
Ctrl+Shift+G
Start a new chat
Ctrl+N
Left Alt+N
Open Settings
Ctrl+Comma (,)
Ctrl+Comma (,)
Open Help
F1
Ctrl+F1
Close
Esc
Esc
Zoom in
Ctrl+Equals sign (=)
No shortcut
Zoom out
Ctrl+Minus sign (-)
No shortcut
In the Desktop app, press
In the Web app, press
Open Activity
Ctrl+1
Ctrl+Shift+1
Open Chat
Ctrl+2
Ctrl+Shift+2
Open Teams
Ctrl+3
Ctrl+Shift+3
Open Calendar
Ctrl+4
Ctrl+Shift+4
Open Calls
Ctrl+5
Ctrl+Shift+5
Open Files
Ctrl+6
Ctrl+Shift+6
Go to previous list item
Left Alt+Up arrow key
Left Alt+Up arrow key
Go to next list item
Left Alt+Down arrow key
Left Alt+Down arrow key
Move selected team up
Ctrl+Shift+Up arrow key
No shortcut
Move selected team down
Ctrl+Shift+Down arrow key
No shortcut
Go to previous section
Ctrl+Shift+F6
Ctrl+Shift+F6
Go to next section
Ctrl+F6
Ctrl+F6
In the Desktop app, press
In the Web app, press
Go to compose box
C
C
Expand compose box
Ctrl+Shift+X
Ctrl+Shift+X
Send (expanded compose box)
Ctrl+Enter
Ctrl+Enter
Attach file
Ctrl+O
Ctrl+Shift+O
Start new line
Shift+Enter
Shift+Enter
Reply to thread
R
R
Mark as important
Ctrl+Shift+I
Ctrl+Shift+I
In the Desktop app, press
In the Web app, press
Accept video call
Ctrl+Shift+A
Ctrl+Shift+A
Accept audio call
Ctrl+Shift+S
Ctrl+Shift+S
Decline call
Ctrl+Shift+D
Ctrl+Shift+D
Start audio call
Ctrl+Shift+C
Ctrl+Shift+C
Start video call
Ctrl+Shift+U
Ctrl+Shift+U
Toggle mute
Ctrl+Shift+M
Ctrl+Shift+M
Toggle video
Ctrl+Shift+O
No shortcut
Toggle fullscreen
Ctrl+Shift+F
Ctrl+Shift+F
Go to sharing toolbar
Ctrl+Shift+Space
Ctrl+Shift+Space