Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in outlook

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.

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Use the calendar in Outlook with your keyboard and screen reader to do the essential basic tasks. 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. You'll learn how to open and edit calendar events, join online meetings, and more.

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

• Set up your calendar view

• Open, read, and edit calendar events

• Join a meeting from Outlook calendar

• Print your event

Set up your calendar view

You can set up your calendar to show a selected number of days, a work week, a full week, or a month—whichever is your preferred way of working.

1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+2 to open the calendar. You hear the name of the current view, for example, "Work week view."

2. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to select the calendar view:

   • Press Alt + a number key to show a number of days from 1 to 10, starting from today. For example, press Alt+0 to show 10 days.

   • Press Ctrl+Alt+2 to show the work week view.

   • Press Ctrl+Alt+3 to show the full week view.

   • Press Ctrl+Alt+4 to show the month view.

Open, read, and edit calendar events

1. 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.

2. Press Ctrl+Period (.) to browse the events in the current view. For each event, you hear its name, time, and organizer. Press Ctrl+Comma (,) to move to the previous event.

3. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to move in the calendar:

   • Press Ctrl+Right or Left arrow key to move to the next or previous day.

   • Press Alt+Down or Up arrow key to move to the next or previous week.

   • Press Alt+Page down or Page up key to move to the next or previous month.

4. If you want to edit the currently selected event, press Enter, and then use the following keyboard shortcuts to change its details:

   • Press Alt+U to move the focus to the Subject field, and then use the keyboard to edit the text.

   • Press Alt+I to move the focus to the Location field, and then use the keyboard to edit the text.

   • Press Alt+T to move the focus to the Start time row. To change the start date, press the Down or Up arrow key to move the date forward or backward by a day. To change the 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 Alt+D to move the focus to the End time row. 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 time, press the Tab key until you hear "End time," and then press the Down or Up arrow key to move the time forward or backward by half an hour.

5. To edit the description of the event, press the Tab key until you hear "Message, editing," and then use the keyboard to edit the text. With JAWS, you hear: "Notes, edit." With NVDA, you hear: "Message, edit multi-line."

6. Press Ctrl+S to save your changes. To close the event window, press Esc.

Join a meeting from Outlook calendar

Note: To join a Skype for Business or Microsoft Teams meeting as described below, make sure you have Skype for Business or Microsoft Teams installed on your computer, and you're signed in with your work or school account.

Join a Skype for Business meeting

1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+2 to open the calendar view. The screen reader announces the view that opens, such as Work Week view or Month view, and the number of items in that view. The focus is on today.

   Note: You cannot navigate today's calendar events in Month view, so if you're in Month view, first change to another view. To change to, for example, Work Week view, press Ctrl+Alt+2.

2. To navigate to the upcoming calendar events for today, press the Tab key. To navigate to the past items, press Shift+Tab.

3. When you hear the meeting you want to join, press Ctrl+O. The calendar item opens.

4. To join the meeting, press Alt+H, Y. The Skype for Business meeting window opens. To join with full audio and video experience, press Enter.

   Tips: 

   • To mute or unmute your microphone, press the Windows Logo key+F4.

   • To hang up, press Ctrl+Enter.

Join a Microsoft Teams meeting

1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the calendar. The screen reader announces the view that opens, such as Work Week view or Month view, and the number of items in that view. The focus is on today.

2. To navigate to the upcoming calendar events for today, press the Tab key. To navigate to the previous items, press Shift+Tab.

3. When you hear the meeting you want to join, press Ctrl+O. The calendar item opens.

4. To join the meeting, press Alt+H, T, J. The Microsoft Teams app opens and you're now ready to choose how to join the meeting. To join with the default settings, press the Tab key until you hear "Join now," and press Enter.

   Tips: 

   • To mute or unmute your microphone, press Ctrl+Shift+M.

   • To hang up, press Ctrl+Shift+B.

Print your event

1. 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.

2. Press Ctrl+Period (.) to browse the events in the current view. For each event, you hear its name, time, and organizer. Press Ctrl+Comma (,) to move to the previous event.

3. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to move in the calendar:

   • Press Ctrl+Right or Left arrow key to move to the next or previous day.

   • Press Alt+Down or Up arrow key to move to the next or previous week.

   • Press Alt+Page down or Page up key to move to the next or previous month.

4. To open the currently selected event, press Enter.

5. Press Alt+F, and then press P. The Print menu opens.

6. To select which printer you want to use, press I, and then find the printer with the Up and Down arrow keys, and press Enter.

7. To print the event, press Alt+P, and then press P.

8. If you are printing to a file, for example, to convert the event to PDF format, type a file name, and then press Enter to create the file.

   The Print menu closes and the focus returns to the event window.

See also

Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook

Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook

Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook

Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Outlook Calendar

Use the calendar in Outlook for Mac with VoiceOver, the built-in macOS screen reader, to do the essential basic tasks. You'll learn how to open, read, and edit calendar events you've created, join Microsoft Teams meetings, and more.

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 macOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, go to VoiceOver Getting Started Guide.

In this topic

• Set up your calendar view

• Open, read, and edit calendar events

• Join a Microsoft Teams meeting from the Outlook calendar

• Print your calendar

Set up your calendar view

You can set up your calendar to show a selected day, a work week, a full week, or a month - whichever is your preferred way of working.

1. In Outlook, press Command+2 to open the calendar. You hear the current time frame, and if any events are scheduled.

2. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to select the calendar view:

   • Press Control+Command+1 to show the day view.

   • Press Control+Command+2 to show the work week view.

   • Press Control+Command+3 to show the full week view.

   • Press Control+Command+4 to show the month view.

Open, read, and edit calendar events

To keep up with your busy schedule, you can quickly read and edit event details.

Note: You can only edit events that you've created. For example, you cannot edit meeting requests that you've received from someone else.

1. In the Outlook calendar, navigate to the event you want to open and press Control+Option+Spacebar or Command+O. The event details window opens.

2. To browse the details of the event, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab. VoiceOver announces the details as you move. To close the details window without editing the details, press Command+W.

3. To edit the event details, in the event details window, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Edit event button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. To navigate the editable fields and menus, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab.

4. To save your changes, do one of the following:

   • If you are editing a meeting, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Send," and then press Control+Options+Spacebar.

   • If you are editing an appointment, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Save," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

The event is changed and the focus returns to calendar grid.

Join a Microsoft Teams meeting from the Outlook calendar

Note: To join a Microsoft Teams meeting as described below, make sure you have the Microsoft Teams app installed on your Mac, and you're signed in with your work or school account.

1. In the Outlook calendar, navigate to the event you want to join and press Control+Option+Spacebar or Command+O to open the event details.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear "Join Teams meeting button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.

3. The Microsoft Teams app opens and you're now ready to choose how to join the meeting. To join with the default settings, press the Tab key until you hear "Join now," and press Control+Option+Spacebar.

   Tip: To mute or unmute your microphone, press Shift+Command+M. To hang up, press Shift+Command+B.

   To learn more about how to join Microsoft Teams meetings, refer to Use a screen reader to join a meeting in Microsoft Teams.

Print your calendar

Print a selected calendar day, week, or month in Outlook.

1. In Outlook, set the calendar to display the view you want to print as instructed in Set up your calendar view.

2. Navigate to the day, week, or month you want to include in the print.

3. To open the print dialog box, press Command+P. You hear the name of the default printer.

4. To choose a printer, press Spacebar, press the Down arrow key until you hear the name of the printer you want to use, and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to select.

5. Press the Tab key or Shift+Tab to browse and change other printing options. When done, press the Tab key until you hear "Print," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. The calendar is printed.

See also

Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook

Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook

Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Outlook Calendar

Use the calendar in Outlook for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to do the essential basic tasks. You'll learn how to set up your calendar view, open, read, and edit calendar events you've created, join Microsoft Teams meetings, and more.

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 iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.

In this topic

• Set up your calendar view

• Open, read, and edit calendar events

• Join a Microsoft Teams meeting from the Outlook for iOS calendar

• Respond to event reminders

Set up your calendar view

You can choose between three options to view the calendar: Agenda, Day, 3-Day, or Month view. The default option is Agenda.

1. In the Outlook for iOS calendar, tap near the top of the screen with four fingers, swipe right until you hear "Change view," followed by the current view, for example, "Agenda view," and then double-tap the screen.

2. A list of the view options opens. Swipe right or left until you hear the option you want, and then double-tap the screen.

Open, read, and edit calendar events

To keep up with your busy schedule, you can quickly read and edit event details.

Note: You can only edit events that you've created. For example, you cannot edit meeting requests that you've received from someone else.

1. In the Outlook for iOS calendar, do one of the following:

   • In the Agenda view, swipe right until you hear: "Agenda." To browse to events in the future, swipe up.

   • In the Day view, swipe right until you hear "Day, today," followed by the current date and the number of events scheduled for today. To review events in the coming days, swipe up.

   • In the 3-Day view, swipe right until you hear "Timeslot events," followed by the details of the first event of the day. To browse to events in the future, swipe up.

   • In the Month view, swipe right until you hear the first event in the current month's view. To browse to events in the future, swipe right. If you have multiple entries for a single day, double-tap the screen to switch to the Agenda view and review each event separately.

2. When you're on an event whose details you want to review, double-tap the screen. The event details open in a new window.

3. To hear the event details, swipe right or left or slide one finger down the screen. VoiceOver announces the details as you move. To close the details window without editing the details, swipe left until you hear "Back button," and double-tap the screen.

4. To edit the event, in the event details window, swipe right or left until you hear "Edit," and double-tap the screen. The Edit Event window opens.

5. Swipe right until you hear the event detail you want to edit, double-tap the screen, and make the changes you want.

6. When finished, to save your changes, swipe left until you hear "Done," and double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the event details window.

7. To close the event details window, swipe left until you hear "Back button," and double-tap the screen. The focus returns to the calendar grid.

Join a Microsoft Teams meeting from the Outlook for iOS calendar

Note: To join a Microsoft Teams meeting as described below, make sure you have the Microsoft Teams app installed on your phone, the app is running, and you've signed in to Microsoft Teams with your work or school account.

1. In your Outlook for iOS calendar, move the focus to the event you want to join. To open the meeting details window, double-tap the screen.

2. Swipe right until you hear "Join, button," and double-tap the screen.

3. The Microsoft Teams app opens, and you're connected to the meeting.

To learn more about how to join Microsoft Teams meetings, refer to Use a screen reader to join a meeting in Microsoft Teams. 

Respond to event reminders

When you have events scheduled in the Outlook app and you have turned on notifications, VoiceOver announces reminders of events at the predefined time prior to the event and an event reminder pops up on the screen. The focus moves to the reminder.

1. To respond to the reminder, do one of the following:

   • To open the event details, swipe right until you hear "View," and double-tap the screen.

   • To close the reminder until the event time, swipe right until you hear "Snooze," and double-tap the screen.

   • To close the reminder without taking any action, swipe right until you hear "Close," and double-tap the screen.

See also

Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook

Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Outlook Calendar

Use the calendar in Outlook for Android with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to do the essential basic tasks. You'll learn how to open, read, and edit calendar events you've created, join Microsoft Teams meetings, and respond to event reminders.

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 Android screen reader, TalkBack. To learn more about using TalkBack, go to Android accessibility.

In this topic

• Open, read, and edit calendar events

• Join a Teams meeting from the Outlook for Android calendar

• Respond to event reminders

Open, read, and edit calendar events

To keep up with your busy schedule, you can quickly read and edit event details.

Note: You can only edit events that you've created. You can't edit meeting requests that you've received from someone else.

1. In the Outlook for Android calendar, slide one finger across the screen until you hear the title of the event you want to review, and double-tap the screen. The event details window opens.

   Tip: If you have many events in your calendar, you can browse them by swiping up and down with two fingers.

2. To hear the event title, day, date, time, location, and other information, swipe right or left or slide one finger down the screen. TalkBack announces the details as you move. To close the details window without editing the details, swipe down-then-left.

3. To edit the event, in the event details window, swipe right or left until you hear "Edit," and double-tap the screen. The Edit Event window opens.

4. Swipe right until you hear the event detail you want to edit, and then double-tap the screen. Make the changes you want. When finished, swipe left until you hear "Save," and double-tap the screen.

   Tip: To cancel the event, swipe right until you hear "Cancel event," and double-tap the screen.

5. To close the event details window, swipe left until you hear "Back button," and then double-tap the screen.

Join a Microsoft Teams meeting from the Outlook for Android calendar

Note: To join a Microsoft Teams meeting as described below, make sure you have the Microsoft Teams app installed on your phone, the app is running, and you've signed in to Microsoft Teams with your work or school account.

1. In the Outlook for Android calendar, move the focus to the event you want to join. When an event is a Microsoft Teams meeting, TalkBack announces: "At location Microsoft Teams meeting." To open the meeting details window, double-tap the screen.

2. Swipe right until you hear "Join, button," and double-tap the screen. The Microsoft Teams app opens, and you're connected to the meeting.

To learn more about how to join Microsoft Teams meetings, refer to Use a screen reader to join a meeting in Microsoft Teams. 

Respond to event reminders

If you have notifications turned on for your Outlook Calendar events, you hear a chime at the predefined time prior to the event.

1. To bring up the event reminder, swipe down from the top of the screen with two fingers to open the notification shade.

2. Swipe right until you hear "Outlook," followed by the event details.

3. Do one of the following:

   • To open the event details window to review the details, double-tap the screen.

   • To close the reminder without taking any action, double-tap and hold the screen, swipe right until you hear "Done," and double-tap the screen.

See also

Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook

Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Outlook Calendar

Use the calendar in Outlook on the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to do the essential basic tasks. 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. You'll learn how to open and edit calendar events, join online meetings, and more.

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.

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

• We're currently updating Outlook.office.com (Outlook on the Web). Some people are already using the new Outlook, and for others the classic version will be the default experience until we complete the update. For more information, go to Get help with the new Outlook on the web. Since the instructions in this topic apply to the new experience, we recommend that you switch from the classic experience to the new Outlook. To switch to the new Outlook, press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Command, Try the new Outlook," and then press Enter. If you hear "Command toolbar" instead of "Command, Try the new Outlook," you're already using the new Outlook.

In this topic

• Set up your calendar view

• Open, read, and edit calendar events

• Join an online meeting from Outlook calendar

• Set options for your calendar

• Print your calendar

Set up your calendar view

You can set up your calendar to show a selected day, a work week, a full week, or a month—whichever is your preferred way of working.

1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the calendar. You hear "Loaded," followed by the number of events in one selected calendar.

2. Use the following keyboard shortcuts to select the calendar view:

   • Press Shift+Alt+1 to show the day view.

   • Press Shift+Alt+2 to show the work week view.

   • Press Shift+Alt+3 to show the full week view.

   • Press Shift+Alt+4 to show the month view.

Open, read, and edit calendar events

To keep up with your busy schedule, you can quickly read and edit event details.

Note: You can only edit events that you've created. For example, you cannot edit meeting requests that you've received from someone else.

1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the calendar. You hear "Loaded," followed by the number of events in one selected calendar.

2. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Jump to calendar view options," and press Enter. Do one of the following to move in the calendar:

   • To move to the previous day, week, or month, press the Right arrow key until you hear "Go to previous," followed by the unit of time, and press Enter.

   • To move to the next day, week, or month, press the Right arrow key until you hear "Go to next," followed by the unit of time, and press Enter.

3. In any view, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab to browse the events for the time period displayed. As you move, you'll hear the "Events" followed by the date, hours, event title, event location, and organizer of the selected event.

4. To review the event in more detail, or open the event to edit it, press Enter. The event Details window opens. You hear: "Add a title for the event."

5. To browse the event details and options, press the Tab key. Narrator announces the details and options as you move.

6. When finished, do one of the following:

   • If you are editing a meeting, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Send button," and then press Enter.

   • If you are editing an appointment, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Save button," and then press Spacebar.

   • If you didn't change anything in the event, to close the event Details window, press Esc.

The event is changed, and the focus moves to Calendar.

Join an online meeting from Outlook calendar

You can easily join Skype for Business or Microsoft Teams online meetings.

Join a Skype for Business meeting

1. In Outlook on the web, press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the calendar.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear the event you want to join, and press Enter to open the event.

3. Press the Tab key until you hear the link to join the meeting, and press Enter. The Join Meeting Audio dialog box opens.

4. To join with full audio and video experience, press Enter. The Join Meeting Audio dialog box closes and you're connected to the meeting.

   Tip: To mute or unmute your microphone while in the meeting, press the Windows Logo key+F4. To hang up, press Ctrl+Enter.

Join a Microsoft Teams meeting

1. In Outlook on the web, press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the calendar.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear the event you want to join, and press Enter to open the event.

3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Join Teams meeting," and press Enter. The Join conversation tab is opened in your browser.

4. You might be prompted to confirm you want to switch apps away from Calendar. If so, press the Tab key until you hear "Yes button," and press Enter.

5. To use Microsoft Teams on the web, press the Tab key until you hear "Join on the web instead," and press Enter.

6. Enter your credentials when asked, and press Enter. You hear: "Choose your audio and video settings."

7. To change the settings, press the Tab key until you hear the setting you want to change, and press Enter to change it. To join the meeting, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Join the meeting button," and press Enter.

8. To change meeting settings or to hang up, press the Tab key until you hear the option you want, and then press Enter.

Set options for your calendar

In the calendar settings, you can change the appearance of your calendar or choose to receive notifications. You can also modify your out-of-office messages and how you want to send them.

1. In Outlook, to open the Settings pane, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear "Settings button," and then press Enter.

2. To navigate between the available settings in the pane, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab. Narrator announces the settings as you move through the pane.

3. To select a setting or open further options from a setting, press Enter. To move between settings, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab.

4. When done, to exit the Settings pane, press Esc.

Print your calendar

Print out a selected day, week, or calendar month in Outlook.

1. In Outlook, press Ctrl+Shift+2 to open the calendar.

2. Select the calendar view you want to print.

3. In the Calendar main window, Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear "Jump to calendar view options," and press Enter. Then press the Right arrow key until you hear "Print," and press Spacebar. A print preview opens.

4. To open the print dialog box, press the Tab key until you hear "Print button," and press Enter. The dialog box opens with the focus on the Printer combo box.

5. To choose a printer, press the Tab key or Shift+Tab until you hear: "Printer." Press Spacebar, and then press the Down arrow key until you hear the name of the printer you want to use. To select, press Spacebar.

6. Press the Tab key or Shift+Tab to browse other printing options. When done, press the Tab key until you hear "Print button," and then press Spacebar. The calendar is printed.

See also

Use a screen reader to read and reply to a meeting request in Outlook

Use a screen reader to schedule appointments or meetings in Outlook

Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook

Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Outlook Calendar

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.