Basic tasks using a screen reader with sway

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 Microsoft Support home.

Windows Web

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Use Sway with your keyboard and Narrator, the built-in Windows screen reader, to create interactive reports, presentations, personal stories, and more.

Sway structures content as individual cards. Each card represents an element in the document, for example, a title, image, or video. When you create a new Sway, it has a title card. Just add your text, images, videos, or embedded items. Sway does the rest, making sure that your finished content looks beautiful on any device.

You need an organizational account (such as a Microsoft account or a school or work account) to use Sway.

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.

• 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.

• When using Narrator, turn off Scan mode.

In this topic

• Start Sway Universal with Windows 10

• Insert a card

• Save a Sway

• Share a Sway

• Find something in a Sway

• Read a Sway

Start Sway Universal with Windows 10

1. Open the Start menu and type "Sway."

2. Press Enter. You hear "Leaving menus. Sway." The focus is on Sway's Create New button.

Insert a card

1. Press Caps lock and hold it. Press the arrow until you hear, "Insert Content, button."

2. Press Spacebar. You'll hear, "Selected. Show Suggested card types tab item."

3. Press and hold Caps lock. Press the arrow and you'll cycle through all the tabs. You'll hear, "Not selected. Show Text|Media|Group card types tab item. Two|Three|Four of four."

4. Press Spacebar (or Enter) to switch a tab if needed. You'll hear a chime.

5. To know what's under each tab, select it first and then press CAPS and hold it. Press the arrow until you hear, "Insert <type> card. Button." (For example, "Insert Heading 1 card. Button.")

6. Press Spacebar (or Enter) to insert the card under the previous card. The card will be added.

Save a Sway

Sway automatically saves your content as you work.

Share a Sway

You can share a Sway by using the options menu or by copying the URL from the browser and sending it to someone.

1. Press Alt+Shift+S. You hear "Share" followed by either "Share this, toggle. Sway button pressed." or "On. Share. Share this Sway button."

2. If the Share button is not checked, press Spacebar.

3. You can choose "Share with the world" by publishing it on docs.com or you can "Share with friend" via Facebook, Twitter, or an embed code. Press the Tab key to your choice and then press Enter.

Find something in a Sway

1. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Open search button. To activate, press Spacebar."

2. Press Spacebar and then type your search term.

3. Press Enter. You hear "Searching dot-dot-dot" followed by the number of instances of your search term found. The focus is on the first instance.

4. To move to the next instance, press Enter.

Read a Sway

An easy way to read a Sway with a screen reader is to first switch to Accessibility view.

1. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Office App Switcher button menu." The focus moves to the toolbar.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear "More Options button menu."

3. Press Enter. You hear "More Sway Options link." In Narrator, you hear "More Options button."

4. Press the Down Arrow key until you hear "Displays this Sway in a high-contrast design with full keyboard functionality and screen reader access to all content button." Press Enter.

5. Scroll through the Sway by pressing Caps lock+Right arrow or Left arrow key.

See also

Accessibility features in Sway

Keyboard shortcuts for Sway

Make your Sway design accessible to people with disabilities

Use Sway with your keyboard and a screen reader, such as JAWS or Narrator, the built-in Windows screen reader, to create interactive reports, presentations, personal stories, and more.

Sway structures content as individual cards. Each card represents an element in the document, for example, a title, image, or video. When you create a new Sway, it has a title card. Just add your text, images, videos, or embedded items. Sway does the rest, making sure that your Sway looks good on any device.

You need an organizational account (such as a Microsoft account or a school or work account) to use Sway.

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.

• 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 makes note of the JAWS functionality as well. To learn more about JAWS for Windows, go to JAWS for Windows Quick Start Guide.

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

• When you use Sway, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Sway 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 Sway.

• When using Narrator, turn off Scan mode.

• When using JAWS, make sure Virtual Cursor is off. JAWS should automatically turn off Virtual Cursor. If Virtual Cursor is on, press Insert+Z to turn it off.

In this topic

• Start Sway

• Insert a card

• Save a Sway

• Share a Sway

• Use Search in a Sway

• Read a Sway

Start Sway

1. Open your web browser.

2. Go to sway.office.com. You hear: "Microsoft Sway. Create visually striking newsletters, presentations, and documentation in minutes. Get Started." The focus is on the Get Started button. Press Enter.

3. If you're not signed in to your Microsoft account, the Sign in dialog opens. Sign in to your organizational or school account.

   Sway opens with focus on the Create New button.

Insert a card

1. Press the Tab key until you hear the content you want to insert the new card after.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Insert Content," and then press Enter. You hear: "Selected. Show Suggested card types tab item. One of four."

3. Use the Left and Right arrow keys to cycle through the card types tabs. To select a tab, press Enter.

4. Press the Tab key and then use the Left and Right arrow keys to browse the card types within the tab.

5. When you hear the card type you want, press Enter to insert the card. The card is added to your Sway.

Save a Sway

Sway automatically saves your content as you work.

Share a Sway

You can share a Sway by generating a link and sending it to your contacts.

1. To open the Share menu, press Alt+Shift+S.

2. Use the options in the Share menu, define who you want to share the Sway with and whether they can edit it.

3. To copy the link for your Sway, press the Tab key until you hear "Copy link," and then press Enter. Paste the link into a message and send it to your contacts.

Use Search in a Sway

1. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Sway," and then press Ctrl+F6 again. You hear: "Sway."

2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Open Search" and press Enter.

3. Type your search words and press Enter. Narrator announces the number of search results. The focus is on the first instance.

4. To move to the next instance, press Enter.

Read a Sway

To read a Sway with a screen reader, switch to Accessibility view.

1. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear: "Sway." The focus is on the toolbar.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear "More Options," and then press Enter.

3. Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Accessibility view," and then press Enter.

4. Do one of the following:

   • With Narrator, scroll through the Sway by pressing Caps lock+Right or Left arrow key.

   • With JAWS, enable the Virtual Cursor by pressing Insert+Z. Scroll through the Sway using the Up and Down arrow keys.

See also

Accessibility features in Sway

Keyboard shortcuts for Sway

Make your Sway design accessible to people with disabilities

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.