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Use a screen reader to share and collaborate on notebooks in OneNote

This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Microsoft 365 screen reader support content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.

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Use OneNote with your keyboard and a screen reader to share your notebooks and efficiently collaborate with your colleagues. 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 also learn how to make copies of specific notes, such as a single page or section from a notebook, and share them.

Notes: 

In this topic

Save a notebook to OneDrive

If you want to share a notebook, make sure it is saved to OneDrive.

Save a new notebook to OneDrive

When creating a new notebook you want to share, save it directly to OneDrive.

  1. Press Alt+F, N. With Narrator, you hear: “Pick a folder.” With JAWS, you hear: “New, backstage view.” With NVDA, you hear: "New grouping, new notebook."

  2. To select the saving location, press Shift+Tab until you hear, with Narrator and JAWS: "Saving features, Recent tab." With NVDA, you hear: "Recent tab selected." Press the Down arrow key until you hear the OneDrive location you want.

  3. Press the Tab key once. You hear "Pick a folder," followed by the currently selected OneDrive folder name.

  4. To name the new notebook, press Enter. You hear: “Create a new notebook dialog, notebook name.” Type in the new notebook name.

  5. To create the notebook, press Enter. A new dialog box opens, asking if you want to share the notebook with other people. Do one of the following:

    • If you want to share the notebook, press the Tab key until you hear "Invite people, button," and press Enter. You are taken to the Share window, where you can choose the people with whom you would like to share your notes. To learn more, refer to Share a notebook.

    • If you don't want to share the notebook, press the Tab key until you hear "Not now, button," and press Enter. The focus moves to your new blank notebook.

Move a notebook to OneDrive

If you have a notebook that you would like to share, but it’s not saved to OneDrive, you can move it.

  1. Make sure the notebook you would like to move is opened.

  2. To move the notebook to OneDrive, press Alt+F, Z. You hear: “Share.”

  3. To select a OneDrive location, use the Up and Down arrow keys until you hear the location you want.

  4. To move the notebook, press Enter. The notebook is saved to OneDrive. You hear the syncing progress. If syncing to OneDrive succeeds, with Narrator and NVDA, you hear “Microsoft  OneNote dialog. OK button,” and with JAWS, you hear: “Your notebook is now syncing into the new location.” Press Enter.

You can now choose the people with whom you would like to share your notes. To learn more about sharing your notebook, refer to Share a notebook.

Share a notebook

Select the notebook you want to share and invite people to collaborate on it.

  1. Make sure the notebook you would like to share is opened.

  2. To share the notebook, press Alt+F, Z. You hear: “Share.”

  3. To invite people to collaborate via email, press the Tab key until you hear: “Enter a name or email address for people to share with.” Type in the names or emails of people you want to invite.

  4. By default, the people invited can edit your notebook. If you want them to only be able to view the notebook, press the Tab key until you hear: “Select a link permission.” Press Spacebar to open the menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Can view," and press Enter to select.

  5. Press the Tab key until you hear “Send, button,” and press Enter to share the notebook.

Share a part of your notes

Sometimes you want to share a specific part of your notes, such as a page or section. To do that, you can export the page or section you want to share to a location on OneDrive.

  1. Make sure the page or section you want to share is active. You can only export the current page or section in your notebook.

  2. Press Alt+F, S. With Narrator and NVDA, you hear: “Export.” With JAWS, you hear: “Backstage view. File. Export tab.”

  3. Choose what you want to export:

    • To export the current page, press P. You hear: “Page tab.”

    • To export the current section, press S. You hear: “Section tab.”

  4. To select the format of the exported file, press the Tab key, and use the Up and Down arrow keys until you find the desired format. Press Enter to select. You hear: “Save as dialog.”

    Note: Besides OneNote's own format (*.one), you can export your notes as a Word document (*.docx or *.doc), PDF (*.pdf), XPS (*.xps), or Single File Web Page (*.mht).

  5. Type in a file name for the exported file, and press Enter to save.

  6. You can now share the saved document with other people. To learn how to share OneDrive files with others, refer to the Share an item from OneDrive section in Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneDrive.

Check the author, date, and time of an update

Any changes introduced by any of the authors of a shared notebook are automatically updated in OneDrive. When you edit your notes, you can check the author of an update and when the update was made.

  1. In the editable text, use the Up or Down arrow key to browse your notes. Your screen reader reads the items for you as you browse.

  2. To check who made a change to the currently selected item and when, press Shift+F10 or the Windows Menu key, and then Shift+Tab twice. You hear the name of the author, as well as the date and time of the update.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert content to notebooks in OneNote

Use a screen reader to organize notebooks, sections, and pages in OneNote

Keyboard shortcuts in OneNote

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneNote

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote

Use OneNote for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in macOS screen reader, to share your notebooks and efficiently collaborate with your colleagues. You can also make copies of specific notes, such as a single page from a notebook, and share them.

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

Share a notebook

Select the notebook you want to share and invite people to collaborate on it.

  1. Open the notebook you would like to share in OneNote for Mac.

  2. Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home, selected, tab."

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Share menu button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. The Share dialog box opens.

  4. Press the Tab key until you hear "Enter a name or email address for people to share with," and then type in the names or emails of people you want to invite. If this is the first time you share a notebook, you might get a pop-up requesting access to your contacts.

  5. By default, the people invited can edit your notebook. If you want them to just be able to view the notebook, press the Tab key once. You hear: "Select a link permission, Can edit selected." Then press Control+Option+Spacebar. Press the Down arrow key once and press Control+Option+Spacebar to select the Can View option.

  6. If you want to include a message with your invitation, press the Tab key until you hear "Enter your optional message here," and then write your message.

  7. To share the notebook, press the Tab key until you hear “Send button,” and press Control+Option+Spacebar to select.

Share a part of your notes

Sometimes you only want to share a specific page in your notes. To do that, you can send the page as an email message or attach it as a PDF.

  1. Make sure the page you want to share is active. You can only export the current page in your notebook.

  2. Press F6 until you hear the currently selected tab, for example, "Home, selected, tab."

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Share menu button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. The Share dialog box opens.

  4. Press the Tab key until you hear "Send copy of page," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. The focus is on the Back button.

  5. Do one of the following:

    • If you want to send the page in an email, press the Tab key until you hear "PDF attachment, File format pop-up button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar to open the menu. Press the Down arrow key once to go to the Email Message option and press Control+Option+Spacebar to select. Then press the Tab key until you hear "Email button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. This opens a new message window in the Mail app with the page content already pasted in, formatting included. Simply add the email address and subject before sending the page.

    • If you want to a send the page in an email as a PDF attachment, press the Tab key until you hear "Email button," and press Control+Option+Spacebar. This opens a new message window in the Mail app with the page attached as a PDF. Simply add the email address and subject before sending the PDF.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert content to notebooks in OneNote

Use a screen reader to organize notebooks, sections, and pages in OneNote

Keyboard shortcuts in OneNote

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneNote

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote

Use OneNote for iOS with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to share your notebooks and efficiently collaborate with your colleagues.

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.

  • This topic assumes that you have added an email account to your device.

In this topic

Share a notebook

When you create a new notebook, OneNote for iOS saves it automatically to OneDrive, so just select the notebook you want to share and invite people to collaborate on it.

  1. Make sure the notebook you would like to share is opened in the Sections view.

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

  3. Swipe right until you hear "Invite people to notebook, button," and then double-tap the screen.

  4. Swipe right until you hear "Type names or email addresses, text field," and then double-tap the screen.

    If this is the first time you share a notebook, you might get a pop-up requesting access to your contacts.

  5. Type in the email address of the person you want to invite. If OneNote can access your contacts, you can also select a contact from the dropdown list that appears as you type an address.

  6. Tap the lower half of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Return." Double-tap the screen.

    Tip: By default, the people invited can edit your notebook. If you want them to only be able to view the notebook, swipe right until you hear: "Can Edit, switch button, on." Double-tap the screen to turn the setting off.

  7. Swipe left until you hear "Send button," and then double-tap the screen.

    An email is sent to your collaborator, inviting them to work with the notebook.

  8. Swipe left until you hear "Done," and then double-tap the screen to return to the Sections view.

Email a page

If you only want to show a single page in your notebook to others, you can send it as a PDF attachment by email.

  1. Open the notebook page you would like to send by email.

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

  3. Swipe right until you hear "Email page button," and then double-tap the screen.

  4. Swipe right until you hear "To, text field," and then double-tap the screen.

  5. Type in the email address of the recipient. If OneNote can access your contacts, you can also select a contact from the dropdown list that appears as you type an address.

    The subject field is automatically filled with the title of the page.

  6. Tap the lower half of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Return." Double-tap the screen.

  7. Tap the upper half of the screen with four fingers. You hear: "Cancel button."

  8. Swipe right until you hear "Send button," and then double-tap the screen.

The email is sent, the menu closes, and you are returned to the page view.

Hide author information

By default, OneNote for iOS displays other authors' initials alongside the text area, and VoiceOver reads them out in the reading mode.

  1. In the notebooks list view of OneNote for iOS, swipe left until you hear: "Settings, button." Double-tap the screen.

    Tip: If you are not in the notebooks list view, tap the upper half of the screen with four fingers. VoiceOver announces where you are returning, followed by "Back button." Double-tap the screen to go back one level. The focus stays on the Back button, so you can simply keep double-tapping until you hear: "Settings button."

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

  3. Swipe right until you hear: "Hide authors, switch button, off." Double-tap to turn the setting on.

  4. Swipe left until you hear "Back button," and then double-tap the screen. You hear: "Close button." Double-tap the screen to return to the top level view.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert content to notebooks in OneNote

Use a screen reader to organize notebooks, sections, and pages in OneNote

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneNote

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote

Use OneNote for Android with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to share your notebooks (via OneDrive) and pages to efficiently collaborate with your colleagues.

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.

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

In this topic

Share a notebook

When you create a new notebook, OneNote for Android saves it automatically to OneDrive. If you have the OneDrive app on your phone, you can use it to share the whole notebook.

Note: If you are using a work or school account, the steps may be slightly different.

  1. After creating the notebook you want to share in OneNote, open the OneDrive app.

  2. In OneDrive, to browse files and folders, swipe right or left. To open a folder, double-tap the screen. OneNote files are announced as "Notebook," followed by the notebook name.

  3. When you hear the name of the notebook you want to share, swipe right once. You hear the file name, followed by "Commands button." To open the menu, double-tap the screen.

  4. Swipe right until you hear "Share button," and double-tap the screen. The Share menu opens.

  5. Swipe right until you hear "Collapsed, edit box, enter a name or email address for people to share with," and double-tap the screen. The on-screen keyboard opens.

  6. Type in the email address of the person you want to invite using your on-screen keyboard. When done, drag your finger on your keyboard until you hear "Go," and then lift it (and double-tap the screen if needed). To close the keyboard, swipe down-then-left.

    Note: You can find the keyboard by exploring the items on the screen. To explore, place a finger on the screen and drag it around. TalkBack announces the items as you land on them. To select an item, when on the item, lift your finger. Depending on your device settings, you may need to double-tap the screen to insert the character.

  7. If you want to invite more people, swipe right or left until you hear "Collapsed, edit box, enter another person or group to share with," double-tap the screen, and repeat step 6.

  8. By default, the people you invite can edit your notebook. If you want them to only be able to view the notebook, swipe right until you hear: "Collapsed, select link permission." Double-tap the screen to expand the menu, swipe right until you hear "Can view," and double-tap the screen.

  9. Swipe right until you hear "Send, button," and then double-tap the screen.

    An email is sent to your collaborators, inviting them to work with the notebook. The Share menu closes.

Email a page

If you only want to show a single page in your notebook to others, send it in an Outlook for Android email.

  1. In OneNote, open the notebook page you want to send by email.

  2. Swipe left until you hear "More options button," and then double-tap the screen.

  3. Swipe right until you hear "Share page," and then double-tap the screen. The Share as dialog box opens.

  4. Do one of the following:

    • To share the page as a PDF attachment in an email, swipe right until you hear "PDF," and then double-tap the screen.

    • To share the page as plain text in the message body, swipe right until you hear "Plain text," and then double-tap the screen.

  5. Swipe right until you hear "Outlook," and then double-tap the screen. A New message opens in Outlook for Android. Swipe right until you hear: "Edit box, To field, enter recipient's email address, edit box." Double-tap the screen.

  6. Type in the email address of the recipient using the on-screen keyboard. When done, drag your finger on your keyboard until you hear "Done," and then lift it (and double-tap the screen if needed). To close the keyboard, swipe down-then-left.

    Note: The subject field is automatically filled with the title of the page.

  7. To send the email message, swipe left until you hear "Send button," and then double-tap the screen.

    Note: To learn more about how to compose and send an email in Outlook for Android, refer to the "Create and send email" section in Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook.

The email is sent, Outlook closes, and the focus returns to the More options button in the OneNote page view.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert content to notebooks in OneNote

Use a screen reader to organize notebooks, sections, and pages in OneNote

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneNote

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote

Use OneNote for Windows 10 with your keyboard and a screen reader to share your notebooks and efficiently collaborate with your colleagues. 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 also learn how to make copies of specific notes, and share them.

Notes: 

In this topic

Share a notebook

When you create a new notebook, OneNote for Windows 10 saves it automatically to OneDrive, so you just select the notebook you want to share and invite people to collaborate on it.

  1. Press Ctrl+G to open notebook navigation.

  2. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to navigate to the notebook you want to share. When you have found the correct notebook, press Enter. The notebook opens.

  3. To share the notebook, press Alt+H. You hear: “Home tab.” Then press the Tab key until you hear “Share button,” and press Spacebar to select. The Share dialog box opens. You hear: “Enter a name or email address for people to share with.”

  4. Type in the names or emails of people you want to invite, separated by a semicolon if there are more than one.

  5. By default, the people invited can edit your notebook. If you want them to be able to only view the notebook, press the Tab key once. You hear: “Select a link permission, Can edit selected.” Press Enter, and then press the Down arrow key once. You hear: “Can view.” Press Enter to select.

  6. If you want to send a message with your invitation, press the Tab key until you hear "Enter your optional message here," and type your message.

  7. To share the notebook, press the Tab key until you hear “Send button,” and then press Spacebar.

  8. A confirmation message window opens notifying you that the notebook is now shared. To close this window and return to the notebook, press Esc.

    Tip: To stop sharing the notebook with someone, in the Share dialog box, press the Tab key until you hear with Narrator and NVDA: "Shared with." With JAWS, you hear: "Manage access, button." Then press Enter. The Manage access dialog box opens, showing the links you have shared for the notebook. Press the Tab key until you hear with Narrator and NVDA: "People who have access to the link above." With JAWS, you hear: "Shows people who use this link." Press Enter to open the list of users. Then press the Tab key until you hear "Remove," followed by the person's name you want to remove, and press Enter. Press the Tab key until you hear "Remove, button," and press Enter to stop sharing with the person.

Send a copy by email

With OneNote for Windows 10, you can easily email a copy of your notes by email.

  1. Make sure the page you want to share is active in the editing mode.

  2. To send a copy of the page, press Alt+H. You hear: “Home tab.” Then press the Tab key until you hear “Share button,” and press Spacebar to select. The Share dialog box opens. You hear: “Enter a name or email address for people to share with.”

  3. Press the Tab key until you hear "Send copy of page, button," and press Enter. A pop-up window opens and you hear "You are sharing," followed by the title of the page you are sharing.

  4. Press the Tab key until you hear "Share to apps, Mail," and press Enter to select.

    Note: You might be asked to select the account you want to use. Use the Tab key to browse the options, and press Enter to select.

  5. The Mail for Windows 10 app opens, with the focus in the To field, where you can type the emails of the people to whom you would like to send the copy. For instructions on how to send an email message using a screen reader, go to Basic tasks using a screen reader with Mail.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert content to notebooks in OneNote

Use a screen reader to organize notebooks, sections, and pages in OneNote

Keyboard shortcuts in OneNote

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneNote

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote

Use OneNote for the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to share your notebooks and efficiently collaborate with your colleagues. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge and JAWS and NVDA in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers 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 365.

  • 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

Share a notebook

Select the notebook you want to share and invite people to collaborate on it.

  1. Open the notebook you would like to share in OneNote for the web.

  2. Press Ctrl+F6 until you hear, with Narrator and JAWS, "Ribbon tabs," followed by the name of the currently selected tab. With NVDA, you hear "Ribbon tool bar, tab control," followed by the name of the currently selected tab. 

  3. Press Z and then S. You hear: "Share." Press Enter. The Share dialog box opens and the focus is on the To field.

  4. Press Shift+Tab once. You hear: "Share dialog, Link settings, People in your organization with the link can edit." 

    Note: If you have previously shared the file and changed the sharing setting, you might hear the previous setting you selected instead, for example, "Share dialog, Link settings, People with existing access."

  5. If you want to change who the link you want to share works for, or whether the recipient can edit the shared notebook, press Enter. The Link settings dialog box opens. Do one or more of the following:

    1. To restrict the link to a particular user or users, press the Tab key until you hear "Link settings, who would you like this link to work for?" Press the Down or Up arrow key until you hear the option you want. With JAWS, press Spacebar to confirm the selection.

    2. To change the link to a view link, press the Tab key until you hear "Other settings, Allow editing, checkbox checked," and then press Spacebar. With Narrator, you hear: "Unchecked." With JAWS and NVDA, you hear: "Not checked."

  6.  To confirm the selections in the Link settings dialog box, press the Tab key until you hear "Apply button," and press Enter. You return to the Share dialog box.

  7. Press the Tab key until you hear: "Enter a name or email address." Type in the names or emails of people you want to invite, separated by a semicolon if there are more than one.

  8. If you want to send a message with your invitation, press the Tab key until you hear "Enter your optional message here," and then type your message.

  9. To share the notebook, press the Tab key until you hear "Send button," and then press Spacebar.

  10. A confirmation message window opens notifying you that the notebook is now shared. To close this window and return to the notebook, press Esc. With JAWS and NVDA, you might need to press Esc twice.

See also

Use a screen reader to insert content to notebooks in OneNote

Use a screen reader to organize notebooks, sections, and pages in OneNote

Keyboard shortcuts in OneNote

Basic tasks using a screen reader with OneNote

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate OneNote

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.

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