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.
Use Outlook with your keyboard and a screen reader to modify text and paragraph alignment. 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 center text or align it right or left when composing a message with Mail.
Notes:
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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.
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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This topic assumes that the Reading pane is off.
In this topic
Align text
Alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the paragraph: left-aligned, right-aligned, or centered text.
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When composing an email, select the paragraphs you want to align.
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Press F6 once to go to the ribbon tabs. You hear the currently selected tab.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear: "Format text tab."
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Press the Tab key once to move to the formatting options, and then do one of the following:
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With Narrator and JAWS, press the Right arrow key until you hear the option you want, for example, "Align center," and then press Enter.
Note: With Narrator and JAWS, when the focus is on the Font style or Font size drop-down menu button, you need to press the Tab key instead of the Right arrow key to get to the next formatting option. Narrator announces "End of line" when the focus is on such a button. With JAWS, there is no audio cue.
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With NVDA, press the Down arrow key until you hear the option you want, for example, "Button align center," and then press Enter.
The focus moves to the email message body.
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Add paragraph indents
You can add indentation in paragraphs from the left or right margin of the page.
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When composing a message, select the paragraphs you want to indent.
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Press F6 once to go to the ribbon tabs. You hear the currently selected tab.
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Press the Right arrow key until you hear: "Format text tab."
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Press the Tab key once to move to the formatting options, and then do one of the following:
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With Narrator and JAWS, press the Right arrow key until you hear "Decrease indent" or "Increase indent," and then press Enter.
Note: With Narrator and JAWS, when the focus is on the Font style or Font size drop-down menu button, you need to press the Tab key instead of the Right arrow key to get to the next formatting option. Narrator announces "End of line" when the focus is on such a button. With JAWS, there is no audio cue.
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With NVDA, press the Down arrow key until you hear "Toggle button, not pressed, decrease indent" or "Toggle button, not pressed, increase indent," and then press Enter.
The focus moves to the email message body.
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See also
Use a screen reader to format text in your email in Outlook
Use a screen reader to create bulleted or numbered lists in Outlook
Use a screen reader to insert a hyperlink in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use a keyboard and screen reader to change the alignment of your message text in Outlook. 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 quickly center text, align it right or left, or justify to align with both margins.
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.
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Depending on the screen reader you use, you may need to adjust the verbosity settings to hear the screen reader describe how the text is aligned.
In this topic
Align text
Alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the paragraph: left-aligned, right-aligned, centered, or justified text.
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When composing an email, place the focus anywhere in the paragraph that you want to align.
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Choose the alignment option:
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To align the text to the left, press Alt+H, and then press A, L.
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To align the text to the right, press Alt+H, and then press A, R.
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To center the text, press Alt+H, and then press A, C.
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To justify the text, press Alt+O, and then press A, J.
Note: For people who have a reading disability, such as dyslexia, justified text can be very difficult to read, so consider using other alignment options.
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Customize paragraph alignment
You can add indentation in paragraphs from the left or right margins of the page.
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When composing a message, select the paragraphs you want to indent.
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Do one of the following:
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To add indent to the left, press Alt+H, and then press A, O.
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To add indent to the right, press Alt+H, and then press A, I.
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Tip: In Outlook you can also use the paragraph formatting options to, for example, change the amount of space between lines of text or between paragraphs. To learn more about line and paragraph spacing, refer to Use a screen reader to change the indentation and spacing options in Outlook.
Align text using Tell Me
When you don’t know the keyboard shortcut or want to learn about more options, try using the Tell me what you want to do box.
Depending on the version of Microsoft 365 you are using, the Search text field at the top of the app window might be called Tell Me instead. Both offer a largely similar experience, but some options and search results can vary.
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Place the focus anywhere in the paragraph you want to align.
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To move to the Tell me what you want to do box, press Alt+Q.
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Type a keyword or phrase related to your task, and then press the Down arrow key to choose from the search results. For example, type align text for related actions such as the Align Right button.
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To choose an option, press Enter.
See also
Use a screen reader to change the indentation and spacing options in Outlook
Use a screen reader to format text in your email in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Outlook for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in macOS screen reader, to modify text and paragraph alignment. You can center text, align it right or left, or justify it to adjust the spacing between words in a paragraph so the left and right edges are even.
Notes:
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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
Align text
Alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the paragraph: left-aligned, right-aligned, centered, or justified text.
-
When composing an email, select the paragraphs you want to align.
Tip: To select a piece of text, hold down Shift and press the arrow keys to move the cursor.
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Press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar, Apple."
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Format," and then press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Alignment submenu."
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Press the Right arrow key. You hear: "Alignment submenu."
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear the option you want.
Note: For people who have a reading disability, such as dyslexia, justified text can be very difficult to read.
Tips: You can also use keyboard shortcuts to quickly align the selected text to the right, left or center:
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To align the text to the left, press Command+Left brace ({).
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To align the text to the right, press Command+Right brace (}).
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To center the text, press Command+Vertical bar (|).
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Customize paragraph alignment
You can add indentation in paragraphs from the left or right margins of the page.
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When composing a message, select the paragraphs you want to indent.
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Do one of the following:
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To add indent to the left, press Command+Right bracket (]).
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To add indent to the right, press Command+Left bracket ([).
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See also
Use a screen reader to format text in your email in Outlook
Use a screen reader to create bulleted or numbered lists in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365
Use Outlook on the web with your keyboard and a screen reader to modify text and paragraph alignment. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge and JAWS and NVDA in Chrome, but it might work with other screen readers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques. You'll learn how to center text or align it right or left when composing a message with Mail.
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.
-
This topic assumes that the Reading pane is off.
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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.
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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
Align text
Alignment determines the appearance and orientation of the edges of the paragraph: left-aligned, right-aligned, or centered text.
-
When composing an email, select the paragraphs you want to align.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear: "Formatting options."
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Do one of the following:
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To align the text to the left, press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Align left button," and press Spacebar.
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To align the text to the right, press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Align right button," and press Spacebar.
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To center the text, press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Center button," and press Spacebar.
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After selecting an alignment option, the focus moves to the email message body.
Customize paragraph alignment
You can add indentation in paragraphs from the left or right margin of the page.
-
When composing a message, select the paragraphs you want to indent.
-
Press the Tab key until you hear: "Formatting options."
-
Do one of the following:
-
To add indent to the left, press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Decrease indent button," and press Spacebar.
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To add indent to the right, press the Right or Left arrow key until you hear "Increase indent button," and press Spacebar.
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The focus moves to the email message body.
See also
Use a screen reader to format text in your email in Outlook
Use a screen reader to create bulleted or numbered lists in Outlook
Keyboard shortcuts for Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with email in Outlook
Basic tasks using a screen reader with the calendar in Outlook
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.
