Use a screen reader to add or delete a column in access desktop databases

This article is for people with visual impairments who use a screen reader program with the Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. For more general help, see Office Support home.

Use Access with your keyboard and a screen reader to add or remove columns to a table in an Access desktop database. 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: 

• New Microsoft 365 features are released gradually to Microsoft 365 subscribers, so your app might not have these features yet. To learn how you can get new features faster, join the Office Insider program.

• To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft Office.

In this topic

• Add a column

• Delete a column

Add a column

When adding a new column to a table, you can select a data type for that column according to what it will be used for. For more information on data types, see Introduction to data types and field properties.

1. Open the table you want to add the column to.

2. Press F6 until you hear "Status bar," followed by the currently active view.

3. Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Datasheet view," and press Enter.

4. To add a new column:

   • To add a new Short Text field, press Alt+J, B, D, T.

   • To add a new Number field, press Alt+J, B, D, N.

   • To add a new Date & Time field, press Alt+J, B, D, Y.

   • To add another type of field, press Alt+J, B, F to open the More Fields drop-down menu, then press the Down arrow key until you hear the type you want, and press Enter to select it.

5. The focus moves to the name field for the new column. Enter the name you want for the column.

Delete a column

You can delete columns from your tables either in Design view or Datasheet view.

Delete a column in Design view

1. Open the table you want to delete the column from.

2. Press F6 until you hear "Status bar," followed by the currently active view.

3. Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Design view," and press Enter.

4. Press F6 until you hear "Column, field name," followed by the name of the first column in the table.

5. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the name of the column you want to delete.

6. Press Alt+J, D, R to delete the column.

Delete a column in Datasheet view

1. Open the table you want to delete the column from.

2. Press F6 until you hear "Status bar," followed by the currently active view.

3. Press the Right arrow key until you hear "Datasheet view," and press Enter. The focus returns to the table in Dataset view.

4. Press the Right arrow key until you hear the name of the column you want to delete.

5. Press Alt+J, B, T to delete the column.

See also

Use a screen reader to start Access

Keyboard shortcuts for Access

Use a screen reader to create tables in Access desktop databases

Use a screen reader to create a query in Access desktop databases

Use a screen reader to download and use a template in Access desktop databases

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.