Use a screen reader to schedule a skype meeting broadcast

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 your keyboard and Narrator, the built-in Windows screen reader, to schedule Skype Meeting Broadcast meetings or events to online audiences up to 10,000 attendees.

If you schedule a meeting in Outlook and invite over 250 people, the scheduling will automatically switch to the Skype Meeting Broadcast portal.

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.

• For keyboard shortcuts, go to Keyboard shortcuts for Skype for Business.

• This topic assumes that you are using the built-in Windows screen reader, Narrator. To learn more about using Narrator, go to Complete guide to Narrator.

• This topic assumes you are using this app with a PC. Some navigation and gestures might be different for a Windows phone or tablet.

• Because Skype Meeting Broadcast runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the desktop program. For example, you'll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Skype Meeting Broadcast.

In this topic

• Sign in to the Skype Meeting Broadcast portal

• Schedule a meeting

  • Add the meeting subject, time, and duration

  • Add meeting participants

  • Define video recording options

  • Enable transcription and translation

  • Send the invitation

Sign in to the Skype Meeting Broadcast portal

Use your work or school account to sign in to the portal.

1. In your browser, go to Skype Meeting Broadcast portal. The sign-in window opens.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear your user name, and then press Enter.

   Note: If you don't hear your user name, press the Tab key until you hear "Use another account, link," and then press Enter. Type the user name you want to use, and then press Enter.

3. You hear: "Password, editing." Type your password, and then press Enter.

   The Skype Meeting Broadcast portal page opens.

Schedule a meeting

Specify the date and time, participants, and their access types to your broadcast.

1. In the Skype Meeting Broadcast portal page, press the Tab key until you hear "New meeting button," and then press Enter.

   The Meeting settings page opens.

2. Define the following meeting details:

   • Add the meeting subject, time, and duration

   • Add meeting participants

   • Define video recording options

   • Enable transcription and translation

3. When you've defined the meeting settings and details, press the Tab key until you hear "Create button," and then press Enter.

4. A meeting summary page opens. For instructions on how to send the invitation, refer to Send the invitation.

Add the meeting subject, time, and duration

Define the meeting subject, date and time, and the duration of your broadcast.

1. In the Meeting settings page, press the Tab key until you hear "Meeting title, editing," and then type the subject for your broadcast.

2. To change the meeting time and duration settings, press the Tab key. You hear: "Start date, <current month>."

   You can change the following settings:

   • Start month

   • Start day of the month

   • Start year

   • Start time hours

   • Start time minutes

   • Meeting duration in hours

   To navigate between the settings, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear the setting you want to modify.

   To open the options list for a setting, press Alt+Down arrow key. To move in the list, press Caps Lock+Right arrow key until you hear the option you want. To select an option, press Caps Lock+Enter.

Add meeting participants

You can add participants either as event team members or attendees.

Add event team members

An event team member can participate in the event as a presenter, producer, organizer, or moderator, and can have control of the broadcast.

1. In the Meeting settings page, press the Tab key until you hear: "Email or alias of each event member, Event team, editing."

2. Type the names, email addresses, or mailing lists of the event team members separated by a comma.

3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Check names, button," and then press Enter.

Add attendees

An attendee can watch the event online but cannot act as a presenter or control the broadcast. You can specify attendee access with the following attendee types:

• Anonymous: anyone with a link to the broadcast can join without a sign-in.

• All Company: anyone from your company can join the meeting. Sign-in is required. This type is selected by default.

• Invitation only: only attendees specifically listed in the invitation can join the meeting. Sign-in is required.

1. In the Meeting settings page, press the Tab key until you hear "Selected" followed by the currently selected or default attendee type.

2. To change the current attendee type, press the Caps Lock+Right or Left arrow key until you hear the option you want. To select an option, press Caps Lock+Enter.

3. If you selected Invitation only, press the Tab key. You hear: "Attendees, editing, Email or alias of individual or distributing list."

   Type the names, email addresses, or mailing lists of the event team members separated by a comma. Press the Tab key until you hear "Check names, button," and then press Enter.

Define video recording options

You can create a recording or an on-demand video of the broadcast available for those who cannot make the meeting or want to return to the broadcast later on.

1. In the Meeting settings page, press the Tab key until you hear: "Create a video recording for download, checkbox." Narrator also announces if the option is checked or unchecked. To select, press Spacebar.

2. Press the Tab key. You hear: "Make video on demand available after the meeting." Narrator also announces if the option is checked or unchecked. To select, press Spacebar.

Enable transcription and translation

To make your broadcast accessible for a larger audience, you can enable the transcription of the broadcast and the automatic translation of the transcription. The participants can then display the closed captions in the selected language during the broadcast.

Note: Some organizations may have restricted the availability of this feature.

1. In the Meeting settings page, press the Tab key until you hear: "Enable transcription and translation for auto-generating captions." Narrator also announces if the option is checked or unchecked. To select, press Spacebar.

2. A language list opens. Press the Tab key. You hear: "Primary spoken language for the broadcast."

3. To change the primary spoken language, press Alt+Down arrow key. An options list opens. Press Caps Lock+Left or Right arrow key until you hear the language you want, and then press Caps Lock+Enter.

4. To define the translation languages, press Caps Lock+Right arrow key until you hear the first language you want to offer translation in.

5. To select the language, press Caps Lock+Left arrow key, and then press Spacebar. Repeat this step for all languages you want the transcription translated in.

   Note: One meeting can be translated in up to 6 languages.

Send the invitation

When you're done creating your invitation, you can easily send it from Outlook.

1. In the meeting summary page, press the Tab key until you hear "Create Outlook invitation button," and then press Enter.

2. You hear: "Notification text, What do you want to do with BroadcastMeetings.ics?" Press the Tab key until you hear "Save button," and then press Enter.

3. You hear: "Notification text, BroadcastMeetings.ics finished downloading." Press the Tab key until you hear "Open button," and then press Enter. The invitation opens in Outlook. The focus is in the message body.

4. To send the invitation, in Outlook, press Alt+S.

See also

Keyboard shortcuts for Skype for Business

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Skype for Business

Learn how to navigate Skype for Business

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.