Use narrator to create and format email messages in mail for windows 10

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.

Microsoft 365 Training Center > Accessibility in Office and Windows 10

In this module, you learn how to use Mail for Windows 10 with your keyboard and Narrator to compose and format emails. You'll also learn how to add attachments. To complete this module, play the video and try out the steps.

Try it!

Notes: 

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

Compose and send an email

1. In the inbox, press Ctrl+N. A new window with a blank email opens, with the focus on the To email address field.

2. Type the names or email addresses of the recipients. The list of matching contacts updates as you type. To select a contact, press the Down arrow key until you hear the contact name you want, and then press Enter.

3. If you want to send a copy or hidden copy of the message, press the Tab key until you hear "Cc, Bcc button," and then press Enter. You hear: "Addressing, Cc editing." Then do one of the following:

   • Add the recipients of a copy.

   • To add recipients for a hidden copy, press the Tab key until you hear "Addressing, Bcc, editing," and then add the recipients.

4. To add a subject for the email, press the Tab key until you hear "Subject, editing," and then type the subject.

5. To add your message, press the Tab key until you hear "Message, editing," and then type your message.

6. To send the message, press Alt+S.

Format the email text

1. In the message body, press Alt to move the focus to the ribbon tabs row. You hear the currently selected ribbon tab.

2. Press the Left arrow key until you hear: "Selected, Format tab item."

3. To move to the ribbon, press the Down arrow key once. You hear the first option on the ribbon, for example, "Off, bold button."

4. Press the Right arrow key until you hear the formatting option you want, for example, "Font, button collapsed."

5. If the option has a submenu, press Alt+Down arrow key to expand the menu. Press the Up or Down arrow key to move through the options.

6. To select an option, press Enter.

Add an attachment

1. When composing your message, press Alt+I to open the Windows file picker dialog. The focus is on the file name field.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Type or paste the file path.

   • Press the Tab key and the arrow keys until you locate the file you want to attach.

3. To attach the file, press Alt+O. The dialog closes and the focus returns to the email.

See also

Use a screen reader to format your email text in Mail

Watch videos about using Mail for Windows 10 with Narrator

Basic tasks using a screen reader with Mail

Keyboard shortcuts in Mail

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Mail

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