Use a screen reader to review the version history for a file in a document library in sharepoint online

Screen reader content

This article is for people with visual impairments who use a screen reader program with Office products and is part of the Office Accessibility content set. For more general help, see Microsoft Support home.

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Use SharePoint in Microsoft 365 with your keyboard and a screen reader to review the version history for a file (including the date it was modified and by whom) in a document library. 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.

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 SharePoint in Microsoft 365, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because SharePoint in Microsoft 365 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 SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

Review the version history of a SharePoint file

1. Sign in to your organization's Microsoft 365 account, start the SharePoint app, and then open your document library.

   Tip: Document libraries in SharePoint Online have two different views: classic and SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience. For most people, SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience is the default. However, if you hear "Check it out button" when navigating your document library, you're using the classic experience. To view SharePoint in Microsoft 365 document libraries, when you hear "Check it out button," press Enter. After the view of your document library changes to the SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience and the focus moves from the Check it out button to the New link, you hear the name of your document library, followed by "New."

2. To view SharePoint in Microsoft 365 document libraries, press the Tab key until you hear "Check it out button." Press Enter. After the view of your document library changes to the SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience and the focus moves from the Check it out button to the New link, you hear the name of your document library, followed by "New."

   Tip: If you don't hear "Check it out button," you're already using the SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience.

3. To move the focus to the list of items in your document library, press the Tab key until:

   • With JAWS, you hear the first item in the document library.

   • With Narrator and NVDA, you hear "List of folders and files."

4. To move the focus to the file for which you want to review the version history, press the Down arrow key until you hear the name of the file you want.

5. To open the shortcut menu for the file, press Shift+F10. With JAWS, you hear: "Menu." With Narrator, you hear: "Popup window." With NVDA, you hear: "List."

6. To move the focus to the Version History command on the menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Version History." The Version History dialog opens.

7. To hear the details about each version of the file (the date the file was modified and by whom), press the Tab key until you hear a date. Then, to hear the name of the user who modified the file on that date, press the Tab key again until you hear the name. Repeat this process for each version of the file.

8. To close the Version History dialog, press the Tab key until you hear: "Close." Press Enter. As the focus returns to the selected file in the document library, you hear the name of the selected file.

See also

Use a screen reader to get notified when a file or folder changes in SharePoint Online

Use a screen reader to check out or check in files in a document library in SharePoint Online

Keyboard shortcuts in SharePoint Online

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate SharePoint Online

Accessibility features in SharePoint Online

Use SharePoint in Microsoft 365 with your keyboard and a screen reader to review the version history for a file (including the date it was modified and by whom) in a document library. We have tested it with Narrator and NVDA, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.

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 SharePoint in Microsoft 365, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because SharePoint in Microsoft 365 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 SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

Review the version history of a SharePoint file

1. Navigate to the SharePoint document library that contains the document whose history you want to review.

2. Press the Tab key until you hear: "List of folders, files, or items."

3. If you are using Narrator, press the SR key+Spacebar to turn scan mode off before you continue. You hear: "Scan off."

   If you are using NVDA, press the Tab key twice before you continue. Your hear the first folder, file, or item in the list.

4. Use the Down and Up arrow keys to navigate the list until you find the file you want. If the file is in one of the listed folders, press Enter to open the folder, and use the Down and Up arrow keys to navigate the folder contents until you find the file you want.

5. Press Shift+F10 to open the context menu of the currently selected file, press the Up arrow key until you hear "Version history," and press Enter. The Version History window opens.

6. To hear the details about each version of the file (the date and time the file was modified on and by whom, and the file size), do one of the following:

   • With Narrator, press the SR key+Down arrow key. Narrator starts reading the list of revisions, starting from the most recent revision. To stop reading, press Ctrl.

   • With NVDA, the information for the latest revision is read automatically. To hear the rest, press the Down arrow key to move to the next revision, one table cell at a time.

7. To close the Version History window with Narrator, press Shift+Tab until you hear "Close, button," and press Enter. To close the window with NVDA, press Esc.

See also

Use a screen reader to get notified when a file or folder changes in SharePoint Online

Use a screen reader to check out or check in files in a document library in SharePoint Online

Keyboard shortcuts in SharePoint Online

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate SharePoint Online

Basic tasks using a screen reader with SharePoint Online

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