Use a screen reader to read pages in OneNote

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.

Use OneNote with your keyboard and a screen reader to read OneNote pages. 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. With a screen reader, you can easily recognize lists and headings. You can also check the descriptions of graphics in alt text (if available).

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.

In this topic

Read a page in OneNote

Your screen reader reads aloud through a page in OneNote, announcing pictures, lists and list items, tables and their content, headings, and hyperlinks.

To switch to the full screen mode for easier navigation, press F11.

Navigate to the page you want to read. Then do one of the following:

With Narrator, if you do not hear: «Content block, editing» when you open the notebook, press the Down arrow key until you do. Then press the SR key+Ctrl+R. Narrator starts to read continuously from your current location. Alternatively, press the arrow keys to move to the next or previous line, for example, in the OneNote page title.

With JAWS, press Insert+Down arrow key to hear the whole page. Alternatively, use the arrow keys to navigate to readable elements one by one. For other JAWS reading commands, refer to JAWS Reading Commands.

To stop the continuous reading at any time, press Ctrl or give any other command.

Read the alternative text of images

If your OneNote page has images with alternative text (alt text) titles and descriptions, Narrator reads the description when you navigate to the image with the arrow keys. In continuous reading mode, Narrator announces the picture object, but not the heading or the description. JAWS announces only the picture object and heading but doesn’t read the alt text.

Navigate to the graphic, and press Shift+F10. The context menu opens.

In the menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear: “Alt text”. Then press Enter. You hear: “Alternative Text, custom title, editing,» followed by the title text.

In JAWS, you hear: “Leaving menu, Alternative Text,» followed by the title text, and «Title, edit.”

To move to the alt text description, press the Down arrow key. You hear the description text.

In JAWS, you hear: “Description, edit,» followed by the the description.

To exit the Alternative Text window, press the Tab key until you hear: “OK button”. Then press Enter.

Use Scan Mode

If OneNote doesn’t support a command in the focused area, Narrator says: “Not an explorable text”. In this case, you can use Narrator Scan Mode to navigate and read text.

To turn on Scan Mode, press the SR key+Spacebar. For more info on Scan Mode, refer to Using Scan Mode.

Adjust the screen reader’s verbosity level

You can change the level of detail your screen reader provides on the text’s characteristics of a OneNote page.

In Narrator, you can choose between six different levels, from hearing only the text to hearing detailed info on formatting. For more info on the Narrator verbosity levels, refer to Reading text.

To adjust Narrator verbosity, press the SR key+V until you hear the level you want.

To adjust JAWS verbosity, press the SR key+V. Then press the Down arrow key to navigate to the verbosity settings.

See also

Use OneNote for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in macOS screen reader, to help you read pages. With a screen reader, you can easily recognize lists, hyperlinks, and headings. You can also check the descriptions of graphics and attached files in alternative text (if available).

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

Read a page

Your screen reader reads aloud through a page in OneNote for Mac, announcing texts, pictures and their alternative text descriptions (if available), tables and their content, list items, headings, and hyperlinks. You can also hear if there are attached files on a page, and their alternative text descriptions (if available).

To switch to the full canvas mode for easier navigation, press F6 until you hear: «Undo typing button.» Then press Control+Option+Right or Left arrow key until you hear: “Enter full canvas mode button» and press Control+Option+Spacebar. The section and page panes are now hidden.

Navigate to the page you want to read as instructed in Work with notebooks and sections, and on the page, do one of the following:

To read the whole page starting from your current location, press Control+Option+A.

To read the next line or item, press Control+Option+Down arrow key.

To read the previous line or item, press Control+Option+Down arrow key.

To read the next word, press Control+Option+Right arrow key.

To read the previous word, press Control+Option+Left arrow key.

Tip: To read everything visible in the window, for example, all elements and containers, press Control+Option+Shift+W.

To stop the continuous reading at any time, press Control or give any other command.

Adjust the screen reader’s verbosity level

You can change the level of detail your screen reader provides on the text characteristics of a OneNote for Mac page. In VoiceOver, you can choose between three different levels, from hearing only the text to hearing detailed info on formatting.

To adjust VoiceOver verbosity, press Control+Option+V. You hear: “Adjust speech verbosity level.” Press the Up or Down arrow key until you hear the verbosity level you’d like to use. To select an option, press Control+Option+Spacebar.

For a description of the verbosity options, refer to Customizing VoiceOver.

See also

Use OneNote for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to read OneNote pages. With a screen reader, you can easily recognize lists and headings. You can also check the descriptions of graphics in alt texts (if available).

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

Read a page

Your screen reader reads aloud through a page in OneNote for iOS, announcing pictures and links.

Navigate to the page you want to read. Then swipe right until you hear «Page title,» followed by the title text.

Swipe down with two fingers to start reading the whole page from the title onwards.

To stop the reading at any time, tap once with two fingers.

Read the alternative text of images

If your OneNote for iOS page has images with alternative text (alt text) titles or descriptions, VoiceOver reads the title and description and says «Image» when you encounter an image in reading mode.

See also

Use OneNote for Android with Android, the built-in Android screen reader, to read OneNote pages. With a screen reader, you can easily recognize lists and headings. You can also check the descriptions of graphics in alt texts (if available).

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.

Make sure you turn on TalkBack before launching OneNote for Android.

In this topic

Read a page

Your screen reader reads aloud through a page in OneNote for Android, announcing pictures and links.

Navigate to the page you want to read, and swipe right until you hear: «Page title, , edit box.» Then swipe right until you hear the page date.

To read all content on a page, swipe right. TalkBack starts reading the text or links of the page.

To stop reading, tap the screen with one finger.

Read the alternative text of images

If your OneNote for Android page has images with alternative text (alt text) titles or descriptions, TalkBack reads the title and description followed by «Image,» when you encounter an image in reading mode.

See also

Use OneNote for Windows 10 with your keyboard and a screen reader to read OneNote pages. 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.

With a screen reader, you can easily recognize lists and headings in OneNote. You’ll also learn how to check the descriptions of graphics in alternative texts (if available).

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.

In this topic

Read a page

Your screen reader reads aloud through a page in OneNote for Windows 10, announcing pictures, lists, and headings.

Note: If you did not sign out of OneNote for Windows 10 the last time you used it, the app opens without prompting you to sign in.

Navigate to the page you want to read. Then do one of the following:

With Narrator, if you do not hear: «Content block, editing» when you open the notebook, press the Down arrow key until you do. Then press the SR key+Ctrl+R. Narrator starts to read continuously from your current location. Alternatively, press the Down or Up arrow keys to move to the next or previous line.

Note: If OneNote for Windows 10 doesn’t support a command in the focused area, Narrator says: “Not an explorable text”. In this case, you can use Narrator Scan Mode to navigate and read text. To turn on Scan Mode, press the SR key+Spacebar.

With JAWS, press the SR key+Down arrow key to hear the whole page. Alternatively, use the arrow keys to navigate to readable elements one by one. For other JAWS reading commands, refer to JAWS Reading Commands.

To stop the continuous reading at any time, press Ctrl or give any other command.

Read the alternative text of images

If your OneNote for Windows 10 page has images with alternative text (alt text) titles and descriptions, Narrator reads the title and the description when you navigate to the image with the arrow keys, or when you use continuous reading mode.

JAWS reads the title and the description when you navigate to the image, but skips images in continuous reading mode.

Adjust the screen reader’s verbosity level

You can change the level of detail your screen reader provides on the text’s characteristics of a OneNote for Windows 10 page.

In Narrator, you can choose between six different levels, from hearing only the text to hearing detailed info on formatting. For more info on the Narrator verbosity levels, refer to Reading text.

To adjust Narrator verbosity, press the SR key+V until you hear the level you want.

To adjust JAWS verbosity, press the SR key+V. Then press the Down arrow key until you hear: «User verbosity,» followed by the current level, and press Spacebar until you hear the level you want. Press Enter to close the Quick Settings menu.

See also

Use OneNote for the web with your keyboard and Narrator, the built-in Windows screen reader, to read OneNote for the web pages. With a screen reader, you can easily recognize lists and headings. You can also check the descriptions of graphics in alt texts (if available).

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.

When you use OneNote for the web, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because OneNote for 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 OneNote for the web.

In this topic

Read a page

Your screen reader reads aloud through a page in OneNote for the web, announcing pictures, lists, and headings.

Navigate to the page you want to read. When you open a page, you hear the name of the notebook, followed by «Editing area, editing, main landmark, title.» This tells you that the focus is on the title area.

Press the Tab key to move to the first content block. Narrator reads the first line of text.

Press the SR key+Ctrl+R to have Narrator start reading continuously from your current location. Alternatively, press the Down or Up arrow keys to move to the next or previous line.

To stop the continuous reading at any time, press Ctrl or give any other command.

Read the alternative text of images

If your OneNote for the web page has images with alternative text (alt text) descriptions, Narrator reads the description and says «Image» when you navigate to the image with the arrow keys, or when you use continuous reading mode.

Note: In OneNote and OneNote for Windows 10 you can add two kinds of alt text to an image: a title and a description. In OneNote for the web, any alt text you add is always a description. Narrator may not read alt text titles in OneNote for the web.

Read lists and headings

If your OneNote for the web page has bulleted or numbered lists or headings, Narrator announces the list or heading level when you navigate to a list item or heading with the arrow keys. It also announces headings when you use continuous reading mode.

See also

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.