Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote
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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 OneNote with your keyboard and a screen reader to explore and navigate the different views and move between them. 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.

Notes: 

In this topic

Navigate the main view

Press F6 (forward) or Shift+F6 (backward) to cycle through the main view elements in the following order:

  • The main content area, which shows the contents of the current page. You hear the page title.

  • The full page view button in the upper-right corner of the main content area. You hear "Navigation controls," followed by the current view mode. For more information, refer to Full page view.

  • The row of ribbon tabs at the top of the screen. It groups the app options by different categories. You hear "Ribbon tabs," followed by the currently selected tab.

    • To browse the tabs on the ribbon, press the Right or Left arrow key.

    • The row contains tabs such as File, Home, Insert, Review, and View, as well as the feedback button.

    • The ribbon containing the options specific to the currently selected tab is located immediately below the row of ribbon tabs. To move the focus to the ribbon, press the Down arrow key once. To move on the ribbon, use the Right or Left arrow key. You can also use keyboard shortcuts to select options directly.

  • The notebook picker below the ribbon. You hear the name of the current notebook.

  • The row of section tabs on the right side of the notebook picker. The row contains tabs for all the sections in the current notebook. You hear "Sections," followed by the name of the current section.

  • The pane of page tabs on the right side of the main content area. It contains tabs for all the pages in the current section. You hear "Pages," followed by the title of the current page.

  • The search box above the pane of page tabs. You can search the current page, section, section group, or notebook, or all notebooks. You hear: "Search."

Switch between content blocks, pages, sections, and notebooks

Each OneNote notebook is divided into sections, which are further divided into pages. Each page contains the title and date of the page as well as one or more note containers where you add the page content. Screen readers announce the note containers as “Content blocks.”

  • To move between the content blocks, do one of the following:

    • Press Alt+Down or Up arrow key.

    • Press Ctrl+A three times to select all content blocks on the page, and then press the Tab key or Shift+Tab to move between them.

    • With Narrator, press the SR key+Right or Left arrow key.

  • To quickly move to another page in the current section, press Alt+Control+G, press the Up or Down arrow key to find the page you want, and then press Spacebar. The selected page opens in the main content area, and the focus moves to the page title.

  • To quickly move to another section in the current notebook, press Shift+Control+G, press the Left or Right arrow key until you find the section you want, and then press Spacebar. The pane of page tabs shows the page tabs of the section. The main content area shows the last page you visited in the selected section, and the focus moves to the page title.

  • To quickly switch to another notebook, press Ctrl+G, press the Up or Down arrow key until you find the notebook you want, and then press Spacebar. The selected notebook opens. The main content area shows the last page you visited in the notebook, and the focus moves to the page.

Navigate between views

In addition to the main view, OneNote has other useful views and windows.

File menu

In the File menu, you can access options for creating a new notebook, opening, sharing, and printing a notebook, or accessing your Microsoft 365 account information.

  1. Press Alt+F to open the File menu.

  2. To move between the menu tabs, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the one you want.

  3. To move the focus to the tab specific options, press the Tab key once. Use arrow keys to navigate the tab, and press Enter to select.

  4. To close the File menu and return to the main view, press Esc.

Options window

You can review and change the OneNote app settings such as personalization, proofreading settings, and language preferences in the Options window.

  1. To open the Options window, press Alt+F, T.

  2. To move between the option categories, press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the one you want.

  3. To move the focus to the category specific options, press the Tab key once. Press the Tab key (forward) or Shift+Tab (backward) to move between the different options in a category, and press Spacebar to switch the option in focus on or off.

  4. To apply your changes and close the Options window and return to the main view, press Enter. To exit the window without saving your changes, press Esc.

Use the full page view

When you use the full page view, all main view elements except the main content area and the button for switching views are hidden. This makes it easier for you and your screen reader to navigate through a page.

  • To switch to full page view, press F6 until you hear "Navigation controls, normal view," and press Enter.

  • To return to normal view, press F6 until you hear "Navigation controls, full page view," and press Enter.

See also

Use a screen reader to share and collaborate on notebooks in OneNote

Use a screen reader to insert content to notebooks in OneNote

Keyboard shortcuts in OneNote

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneNote

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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