Accessibility in microsoft project

Microsoft is committed to making its products and services easier for everyone to use. Many accessibility features are built right into Project. These features are available to everyone, without the need for additional accessibility aids.

In this article

• Customize Project to meet your needs

• Work more efficiently

• Accessibility limitations in Project

• More Microsoft accessibility products and services

Customize Project to meet your needs

• Change the magnification     You can change the magnification to make information easier to read on the screen by scaling views and reports, changing the timescale, or zooming the screen display. You can also enlarge buttons on the ribbon so that they are easier to see and use. If you use the Microsoft IntelliMouse pointing device, you can scroll and zoom directly from the mouse instead of clicking buttons on the screen.

• Change the text color    You can create a custom color palette to use only the colors that you define.

• Change the appearance of views     You can change how bars, boxes, link lines, and text appear in a view. You can change the appearance of a Gantt bar by simply double-clicking the bar and then selecting the appearance that you want, such as changing the font or increasing the size of text on the bars.

• Customize toolbars and menus     If you use only a subset of buttons and commands, you can add buttons to the Quick Access Toolbar located above the ribbon.

Top of Page

Work more efficiently

Project includes features that help you automate repetitive tasks and work more effectively.

• Use the spelling checker     Project can correct common spelling and typing errors as you work, and when you type a few identifying characters, it can automatically complete recurring entries within a column.

• Automate frequently used tasks     You can use a macro to automate complex tasks, which reduces the number of steps that are required to complete a task that you perform frequently. You can assign a macro to a shortcut key, which makes the macro as convenient to use as any standard Project command.

Security Note: Use caution when running executable files or codes in macros or applications. They can be used to carry out actions that might compromise the security of your computer and data.

Top of Page

Accessibility limitations in Project

Project supports accessibility with the exceptions noted in the table.

Issue	Exceptions
Keyboard accessibility	The core functionality in Project is keyboard accessible. Keyboard access to other functions is provided with the following exceptions: Text in the Task Notes, Resource Notes, and Assignment Notes dialog boxes cannot be richly formatted (such as bolded or italicized) without using a mouse. Some dialog boxes in Project have grids with long lists of items. To scroll to an item within the grid, use the Down Arrow and Up Arrow keys, or use the Page Down and Page Up keys. Grouped tasks in a Network Diagram can be collapsed using the keyboard, but collapsed groups can only be expanded using the mouse.
High contrast and display attributes	Project supports the accessibility settings of the host operating system with exceptions. Certain areas of the product do not display as they should, or do not display at all, in High Contrast mode. When change highlighting is turned on, High Contrast mode significantly lowers the visibility of the text in highlighted cells. The rich text formatting buttons in the Task Notes, Resource Notes, and Assignment Notes dialog boxes do not display well in High Contrast mode. Indicator icons do not display well in High Contrast mode. To access the information conveyed by the indicators, double-click the indicator to open the dialog box or view where the data is captured. Graphs that display resource availability and allocation are not legible in High Contrast mode. To get this information, use the tables in the Resource Usage view. User interface elements do not display correctly when you run the Accessibility Wizard in Windows 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP. To address this, turn on High Contrast mode in Control Panel (Accessibility Options in Windows XP or Ease of Access Center in Windows 7 or Windows Vista). In some dialog boxes in Project, text is cut off if you are using a very large font size.
Exposure of information	Project uses Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) to expose information, with the following exceptions: The following dialog boxes do not expose information according to MSAA guidelines: Change Working Time, COM Add-Ins, Rearrange Commands, Insert Hyperlink, and Service Options. Some controls in the Progress Lines dialog box do not expose their names using the MSAA Name property. Component Object Model (COM) add-ins does not expose information according to MSAA guidelines. The status bar, displayed at the bottom of the Project window, does not expose information according to MSAA guidelines. (Fixed in Project Online Desktop Client) In the Page Setup dialog box, when switching tabs, the child objects do not get exposed correctly using the MSAA object hierarchy. However, screen readers can use alternate methods to get to these objects. MSAA is not supported in graphical views, such as the chart portion of the Gantt Chart view. However, all of the information in the graphical views is also available in a table format (such as the left side of Gantt Chart view), which does support MSAA. The MSAA method for selection (accSelect) does not work in combo boxes. Also, combo boxes expose the wrong value for the MSAA Role property. (Fixed in Project Online Desktop Client) The view bar does not expose its name correctly using the MSAA Name property. Parts of the spell checker do not expose information according to MSAA guidelines. Items are not verbalized in list boxes containing check boxes to the left of each list item.
Animation	Project uses animation for transitions in the ribbon, Backstage, and project grid. Transitions include opening and closing menus, dialog boxes, and panes, as well as cutting, pasting, and changing data.

Top of Page

More Microsoft accessibility products and services

The Microsoft Accessibility website provides detailed accessibility information and resources for all Microsoft products, including:

• Accessibility features of Windows, Office, and Internet Explorer

• Free step-by-step tutorials and demos of accessibility features

• Assistive technology products for Microsoft programs

• Product documents in alternative formats

Top of Page