Microsoft Office Tutorials: Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in outlook

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Use Outlook with your keyboard and a screen reader to schedule appointments or schedule meetings with other people. We have tested it with Narrator and JAWS, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll learn how to check when the people that you invite are available, make the meetings recur, set reminders for meetings, and request responses from the people that you invite in Outlook.

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

Schedule an appointment
Schedule a meeting and invite people to it
Check availability of the people you invite
Make a recurring meeting
Make a Skype meeting
Make a Teams meeting

Schedule an appointment

You can schedule a personal appointment in your calendar, for example, to remind you of an activity. Appointments don't involve inviting other people. If you want to invite others, you can schedule a meeting. For instructions, refer to Schedule a meeting and invite people to it.

Create a new appointment

In Outlook, press Ctrl+2 to open the calendar. You hear the name of the current view, for example, "Work week view," followed by the number of events in the view.
Press Alt+H, N to open a blank appointment window. The focus is in the Title field.
Type the title of the appointment, and then press the Tab key to move focus to the Start date field.
To change the start date, press the Down or Up arrow key to move the date forward or backward by a day. You can also type the start date.
To change the start time, press the Tab key until you hear "Start time," and then press the Down or Up arrow key to move the time forward or backward by half an hour.
Press the Tab key until you hear: "End date." To change the end date, press the Down or Up arrow key to move the date forward or backward by a day.
To change the end time, press the Tab key until you hear "End time," and press the Down or Up arrow key to move the time forward or backward by half an hour.
To add a location to the appointment, do one of the following:
- If you're using a Microsoft Exchange account, you can use the Location picker to add the location such as a company meeting room. Press the Tab key until you hear "Location button," and press Enter. The Select Rooms dialog box opens with the focus in the Search field. Type the name of the location, press the Tab key until you hear the name of the location, and press Enter to select it. To add the location to the appointment, press Enter.
- To add the location by typing, press the Tab key until you hear "Location, edit," and type the location.
To add a note or information about the appointment, such as an agenda or program, press the Tab key until you hear "Message, editing," and then type your note. With JAWS, you hear: "Edit."
If you want to let other people know whether you're busy or available during your appointment, add a status indicator. For instructions, refer to Let people know your availability.
To save your appointment, press Ctrl+S. To close the appointment window and return to the calendar, press Esc.

Let people know your availability

You can add a status indicator to your appointment to let other people know your availability during the appointment. If someone tries to schedule a meeting with you, they'll know whether you are available or busy.

When you have an appointment open, press Alt+H, B to open the Show As menu.
Press the Up or Down arrow keys until you hear the availability option you want.
To select an option, press Enter. The Show As menu closes.
To save your changes, press Ctrl+S. To close the appointment window and return to the calendar, press Esc.

Schedule a meeting and invite people to it

You can send a meeting invitation to one or more people. When you create the invitation, you can set the location for the meeting and use the Scheduling Assistant to choose the best time for your meeting.

To create a meeting invitation from anywhere in Outlook (such as Email, Calendar, or Tasks), press Ctrl+Shift+Q. A blank Meeting invitation opens, with the focus in the Title text field.
Type the title of the meeting.
To invite the required attendees, press the Tab key until you hear: "Required." Type the names of the persons you want to invite. If a person is not in your address book, type their email address.
Outlook automatically searches your address book for matches. To browse the suggested names, use the Down arrow key. To select a name, press Enter.

Tip: To confirm the names and email addresses, press Ctrl+K.
To set the start date of the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear: "Start date." By default, this field shows the date when the meeting invitation was created.

Type the start date or use the Down arrow key to find the date.

Note: If the meeting lasts all day, type the start date or use the Down arrow key to find it, press the Tab key until you hear "All day, check box, unchecked," and then press Spacebar.
To set the start time of the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear: "Start time." Type the start time or use the Up or Down arrow key to find it.
To set end time of the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear: "End time." Type the end time or use the Up or Down arrow key to find it.
To make sure the people you invite are available for your meeting before you save or send the invitation, check their availability. For instructions, refer to Check availability of the people you invite.
To select the location for your meeting, do one of the following:
- If you're using a Microsoft Exchange account, you can use the Location picker to add the location such as a company meeting room. Press the Tab key until you hear "Location button" and press Enter. The Select Rooms dialog box opens with the focus in the Search field. Type the name of the location, press the Tab key until you hear the name of the location, and press Enter to select it. To add the location to the appointment, press Enter.
- To add the location by typing, press the Tab key until you hear "Location, edit," and type the location.
To add a message to accompany the invitation, such as an agenda or program for the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear "Message, editing," and then type your message. With JAWS, you hear: "Edit."
To send the meeting invitation, press Alt+S. The focus moves to the currently active window.

Check availability of the people you invite

Once you've scheduled the meeting and added the names of the attendees, you can check whether everyone is available to attend your meeting and find the best possible time to meet.

In the Meeting invitation, press Alt+X to open the Scheduling Assistant. You hear: "All attendees status."
To open the Autopick menu, press Alt+X, A, then P.
Use the Down arrow key to navigate the menu. You hear the options as you move, such as "All People and Resources," or "All People and One Resource." To select an option, press Enter.

AutoPick selects the next available time that meets the criteria for the option you selected. With Narrator, you hear the proposed date and time, and each attendee name and availability status. With JAWS, to hear each attendee's availability, use the Up and Down arrow keys to browse through the list of attendees.
Choose one of the following options:
- To accept the time and send the meeting invitation, press Alt+S.
- To accept the time and return to the invitation message to edit it, press Alt+H.
- To return to AutoPick to find a different option, press Alt+X, A, then P.

Make a recurring meeting

If you're scheduling, for example, a weekly meeting, you can easily turn your meeting into a recurring meeting. This way you don't have to create a new meeting for every week separately.

In the Meeting invitation, press Alt+H, and then E to open the Appointment Recurrence dialog box.
To select a recurrence pattern, use the following keyboard shortcuts:
- To select the Daily option, press Alt+D. To select a pattern within the Daily option, do one of the following:
  - To repeat your meeting every weekday, press Alt+K.
  - To repeat your meeting every few days, press Alt+V. To define the day interval, press the Tab key once and type the number of days you want. For example, to repeat the meeting every two days, type 2.
- To select the Weekly option, press Alt+W. To define the week interval, press Alt+C and type the number of weeks you want. For example, to repeat the meeting every three weeks, type 3. To select the day of the week, press the Tab key until you hear the day you want, and press Spacebar to select it.
- To select the Monthly option, press Alt+M. To select a pattern within the Monthly option, do one of the following:
  - To repeat your meeting on the same date each month, press Alt+A. Press the Tab key once and type the number of the date you want. For example, if you want the meeting to take place on the 12th day of each month, type 12. To set the month interval, press the Tab key once and type the number of months. For example, if you want the meeting to repeat every two months, type 2.
  - To repeat the meeting on a specific day in each month, press Alt+E. To select the day interval, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until find the option you want, and press Enter. To select the day of the week, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until find the option you want, and press Enter. To set the month interval, press the Tab key once and type the number of months. For example, if you want the meeting to repeat every two months, type 2.
- To select the Yearly option, press Alt+Y. To set the year interval, press Alt+C and type the number of years you want. For example, if you want the meeting to repeat every two years, type 2. To select a pattern within the Monthly option, do one of the following:
  - To repeat your meeting on the same date every year or every few years, press Alt+Colon (:). To select the month for the meeting, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until find the month you want, and press Enter. To set the date, press the Tab key once and type the date you want. For example, if you want the meeting to take place on the 12th day of each month, type 12.
  - To repeat your meeting on a specific weekday of a month, press Alt+E. To select the day interval, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until find the option you want, and press Enter. To select the day of the week, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until find the option you want, and press Enter. To select the month, press the Tab key once, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu, press the Up or Down arrow key until find the month you want, and press Enter.
To save your selections and close the Appointment Recurrence dialog box, press the Tab key until you hear "OK button," and press Enter.

Make a Skype meeting

You can easily turn your meeting into an online Skype meeting.

In the Meeting invitation, to select the Skype Meeting option and create a Skype meeting link, press Alt+H, O, M.

Outlook adds the online meeting details and the link to the meeting message field.

Make a Teams meeting

Turn your meeting into an online Microsoft Teams meeting.

In the Meeting invitation, to select the Teams Meeting option and create a Microsoft Teams meeting link, press Alt+H, T, M.

Outlook adds the online meeting details and the link to the meeting message field.

In this topic

Schedule a new appointment or meeting
Invite others to make a meeting
Check availability for the people you invite
Make a recurring meeting
Make a Skype meeting

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

In Outlook, press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar, Apple." Press the Right arrow key until you hear: "File." Press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the File menu.
To open the New submenu, press the Down arrow key, and then Control+Option+Spacebar.
Do one of the following:
- To create a new appointment, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Appointment," and then press Enter. A new appointment window opens with the focus in the Subject text field.
- To create a new meeting, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Meeting," and then press Enter. A new meeting window opens with the focus in the To: text field.
To browse the appointment or meeting options press the Tab key or Shift+Tab.
- If you are creating a meeting, to invite people, type the contacts in the To: text field.
- To give the event a name, press the Tab key until you hear "Subject, edit text," and then type a name for the event.
- To set a location for the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear "Location edit text," and then type the location you want.
- To set the start and end date, and time for the event, press the Tab key until you hear the default values. To change the values, type new values.
  
  Tip: To create an all-day event, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "All day event, unchecked checkbox," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
- To set the reminder time for the event, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Reminder pop-up button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. Press the Down arrow key until you hear the option you want, and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
- To add more information about the event, for example, a meeting agenda, press the Tab key until you hear "New line," and then type the details you want.
When you're done adding the event details, do one of the following:
- If you are creating an appointment, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Save and close button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
- If you are creating a meeting, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Send button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
The new event window closes and the focus moves to the previous Outlook view.

Let people know your availability

Show others your availability during the time of an event.

In the event window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear the current availability status (for example, "Busy") and "Show as, pop-up button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
To select the availability, press the Down arrow key until you hear the availability you want to show. To select, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Invite others to make a meeting

Invite others to join you and turn an appointment into a meeting.

In the appointment window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Invite button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to make it a meeting.
The focus moves to a newly created To text field, and you can type the contacts you want to invite to the meeting.
When done, to send the invitations, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Send button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Check availability for the people you invite

After you enter names in a meeting invitation, you can check to see when they are available.

In the meeting window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Scheduling, unchecked checkbox," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the Scheduling view.
Press the Tab key until you hear "Attendee status table, row 1 of (...), " followed by the name fo the organizer and the attendee status. To browse the invitee status, press the Down arrow key. VoiceOver announces the invitee name and availability as you move.
To return to the Appointment view, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Appointment, unchecked checkbox," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Make a recurring meeting

If you're scheduling, for example, a weekly meeting, you can easily turn your meeting into a recurring meeting. This way you don't have to add a meeting for every week separately.

In the event window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Recurrence button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. A new window opens, where you can select the options for the recurring event, with the focus on the Repeats pop-up button.
To select the frequency of the meeting, press Control+Option+Spacebar, and then press the Up or Down arrow keys until you hear the frequency you want the appointment to recur (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly). To select, press Control+Option+Spacebar.
To browse other options, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab. When done, press the Tab key until you hear "OK default button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

Make a Skype meeting

You can easily turn your meeting into an online Skype meeting.

In the meeting window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Online meeting, menu button" or "Skype meeting," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.
To create a Skype meeting link, press Control+Option+Spacebar.
Outlook adds the online meeting details and the link in the Description field.

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

Swipe left or right until you hear "Create an event button, and then double-tap the screen. The New Event window opens, the focus is in the Title text field, and the on-screen keyboard is in the bottom half of the screen.
Type a name for the event.
To set the start and end date and time for the event, swipe left until you hear the default values. To change the values, double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the option you want to change, and then swipe up or down until you hear the value you want. To confirm the selection, swipe left until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen.

Tip: To create an all-day event, swipe left or right until you hear "All-day, switch button, off" and then double-tap the screen.
To set a location for the meeting, swipe right until you hear "Location button," and then double-tap the screen. Start typing the location. The suggested locations list updates as you type. To select a location, swipe right until you hear the location you want, and then double-tap the screen.
To set the alert time for the event, swipe right until you hear "Alert," followed by the current alert value, and then double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the option you want, and then double-tap the screen.
To add more information about the event, for example, a meeting agenda, swipe right until you hear "Description button," and then double-tap the screen. The on-screen keyboard is in the bottom half of the screen. Type the details, and when finished, swipe left until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen.
When you're done adding the event details, swipe left or right until you hear "Done button," and then double-tap the screen.

Invite others to make a meeting

Invite others to join you and turn an appointment into a meeting.

When you're editing or creating an event, in the Edit Event or New Event window, swipe right until you hear "People button," and then double-tap the screen.

Note: To learn how to open and edit calendar events, refer to Open, read, and edit calendar events.

The People window opens, the focus is on an editable text field, and the on-screen keyboard is in the bottom half of the screen.
Start typing a contact name. The list of suggested contacts is updated as you type. To select a contact, swipe right until you hear the name you want, and then double-tap the screen. Repeat this for all contacts you want to invite.
When you're done, swipe left until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen.

Make a recurring meeting

If you're scheduling, for example, a weekly meeting, you can easily turn your meeting into a recurring meeting. This way you don't have to add a meeting for every week separately.

When you're editing or creating an event, in the New Event window, swipe right until you hear "Repeat, None, button," and then double-tap the screen. The Repeat menu opens.
To select the frequency of the meeting, swipe right until you hear the frequency in which you want the meeting to occur. To select, double-tap the screen.
To move the focus moves back to the New Event window, swipe left until you hear "Back button," and then double-tap the screen.

Make a Skype meeting

You can easily turn your meeting into an online Skype meeting.

When you're editing or creating an event, in the Edit Event or New Event window, swipe right until you hear "Skype call, switch button, off" and then double-tap the screen.
To save the changes, swipe left until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen.

Outlook adds the online meeting details and the link in the Description field.
To join a Skype meeting, open the event, and then swipe right until you hear "Join button," and then double-tap the screen.

In this topic

Schedule a new appointment or meeting
Invite others to make a meeting
Make a recurring meeting
Make a Skype meeting

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

Let your screen reader help you schedule an appointment or a meeting.

Swipe left or right until you hear "Add new event button," and then double-tap the screen. The New Event window opens, the focus is on the Title text field, and the on-screen keyboard is in the bottom half of the screen.
Type a name for the event.
To set the start and end date and time for the event, swipe left until you hear the default values. To change the values, double-tap the screen, swipe left or right until you hear the option you want, and then double-tap the screen. To confirm the selection, swipe left or right until you hear "OK button," and then double-tap the screen.

Tip: To create an all-day event, swipe left or right until you hear "All day event," and then double-tap the screen.
To set a location for the meeting, swipe right until you hear "Location," and then double-tap the screen. To type the name of the location you want to use, double-tap the screen and start typing. The suggested locations list updates as you type. To select a location, swipe right until you hear the location you want, and then double-tap the screen.
If you use multiple calendars, you can specify to which calendar you're adding the new event. Swipe right until you hear "Calendar, <the current calendar account>," and then double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the calendar you want, and then double-tap the screen.
To set the alert time for the event, swipe right until you hear "Alert," followed by the current alert value, and then double-tap the screen. Swipe right until you hear the option you want, and then double-tap the screen.
To add more information about the event, for example, a meeting agenda, swipe right until you hear "Description," and then double-tap the screen. The on-screen keyboard is shown on the bottom half of the screen. Type the details, and when finished, swipe left or right until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen.
When you're done adding the event details, swipe left or right until you hear "Save," and then double-tap the screen.

Invite others to make a meeting

Invite others to join you and turn an appointment into a meeting.

When you're editing or creating an event, in the Edit Event or New Event window, swipe right until you hear "People," and then double-tap the screen.

Note: To learn how to open and edit calendar events, refer to Open, read, and edit calendar events.

The Add People window opens, the focus is on an editable text field, and the on-screen keyboard is in the bottom half of the screen.
Start typing a contact name. The list of suggested contacts updates as you type. To select a contact, swipe right until you hear the name you want, and then double-tap the screen. Repeat this for all contacts you want to invite.
When you're done, swipe left or right until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen.

Make a recurring meeting

If you're scheduling, for example, a weekly meeting, you can easily turn your meeting into a recurring meeting. This way you don't have to add a meeting for every week separately.

When you're creating an event, in the New Event window, swipe right until you hear "Repeat, Never," and then double-tap the screen. The Repeat menu opens.
To select the frequency of the meeting, swipe right until you hear "Frequency, never," double-tap the screen, and then swipe right until you hear the frequency in which you want the meeting to occur. To select, double-tap the screen.
To save the changes, swipe left or right until you hear "Save," and then double-tap the screen. The focus moves back to the New Event window.

Make a Skype meeting

You can easily turn your meeting into an online Skype meeting.

When you're editing or creating an event, in the Edit Event or New Event window, swipe right until you hear "Skype," "Skype meeting," or "Off switch," and then double-tap the screen.
To save the changes, swipe left or right until you hear "Save," and then double-tap the screen.

Outlook adds the online meeting details and the link in the Description field.
To join a Skype meeting, open the event, and then swipe right until you hear the description and then the Skype meeting URL, and then double-tap the screen.

In this topic

Schedule a new appointment or meeting
Invite others to make a meeting
Check availability for the people you invite
Make a recurring meeting
Make an online meeting

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

Let your screen reader help you schedule an appointment or a meeting.

In Outlook, press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the calendar. You hear "Loaded," followed by the number of events and the number of calendars currently selected.
To create a new event press Ctrl+N. An event details window opens with the focus on the event title text field. You hear: "Add details for the event. Add a title."
To browse the event options, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab.
- To name the event, type a name in the Add a title field.
- If you are creating a meeting, press the Tab key. You hear: "Invite attendees." To add a contact, type the contact and press Enter.
- To set the start and end date and time for the event, press the Tab key until you hear the default values. To change the date, when on the start or end date, press the SR key+Right arrow key once, press Enter to open the drop-down calendar, then use the arrow keys to browse the drop-down calendar, and press Enter to select. To change the hours, type the new values.
- To set a location for the meeting, press the Tab key until you hear "Search for a room or location," and then type the location you want.
- To add more information about the event, press the Tab key until you hear "Add a description or attach documents," and then type the details you want.
When you're done, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Send button" (for a meeting) or "Save button" (for an appointment), and then press Spacebar.
The new event window closes, and the focus moves to Calendar.

Invite others to make a meeting

Invite others to join you and turn an appointment into a meeting.

In the event details window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear: "Invite attendees."
To add a contact, type or paste the email address of an attendee, and then press Enter. Repeat for other attendees.

Check availability for the people you invite

After you enter names in a meeting invitation, Outlook can help you pick a time when every invitee is available.

In the event details window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear a meeting time suggestion, under Schedule. Narrator announces the suggested meeting time.
To browse for more suggested times, press the Up or Down arrow keys until you hear the suggested time slot you want. Narrator announces the suggested times as you move. To select a time, press Spacebar.
If you cannot find any available time for that particular day, you can check invitee availability for another day. To browse for other days, under Schedule, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Open month picker, button collapsed," and then press Spacebar. Press Shift+Tab until you hear the currently selected day, and then use the arrow keys to browse the days. To select a day, press Enter.

Make a recurring meeting

If you're scheduling, for example, a weekly meeting, you can easily turn your meeting into a recurring meeting. This way you don't have to add a meeting for every week separately.

In the event details window, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear: "Repeat."
To select the frequency of the meeting, press Spacebar, and then use the Down arrow key until you hear the frequency in which you want the meeting to occur. To select, press Spacebar.

Make an online meeting

You can easily turn your meeting into an online meeting using Skype or Microsoft Teams.

Note: Depending on your organization and whether you are an Microsoft 365 subscriber, Skype and/or Microsoft Teams may not be available.

In the event details window, do one of the following:

If either Skype or Microsoft Teams is available to you, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear either "Off, Teams meeting, toggle switch" or "Off, Skype meeting, toggle switch." The option you hear is determined by your administrator. Press Enter to turn the meeting into an online meeting.
If both Skype and Microsoft Teams are available, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Add online meeting," then press the Down arrow key to select between the available options, and press Enter to confirm your selection.

Outlook adds the online meeting details and the link in the event body after the invitation is sent.

Technical support for customers with disabilities

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If you are a government, commercial, or enterprise user, please contact the enterprise Disability Answer Desk.

Thursday, April 15, 2021

Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in outlook

In this topic

Schedule an appointment

Create a new appointment

Let people know your availability

Schedule a meeting and invite people to it

Check availability of the people you invite

Make a recurring meeting

Make a Skype meeting

Make a Teams meeting

See also

In this topic

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

Let people know your availability

Invite others to make a meeting

Check availability for the people you invite

Make a recurring meeting

Make a Skype meeting

See also

In this topic

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

Invite others to make a meeting

Make a recurring meeting

Make a Skype meeting

See also

In this topic

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

Invite others to make a meeting

Make a recurring meeting

Make a Skype meeting

See also

In this topic

Schedule a new appointment or meeting

Invite others to make a meeting

Check availability for the people you invite

Make a recurring meeting

Make an online meeting

See also

Technical support for customers with disabilities

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