How I use Microsoft Immersive Reader with low vision

One of my all-time favorite low vision assistive technology tools is the simplified reading display, which applies a consistent text style, size, and background color to digital text. I use a few different simplified reading displays across different devices, but my favorite one is the Microsoft Immersive Reader, which has been a major game changer for accessing my college classwork, websites, and for reading content at my Microsoft internship. Here is how I use the free Microsoft Immersive Reader with low vision in a variety of different contexts and applications- I’ve been using it for over five years now and still love it!

Where to find Immersive Reader

Microsoft has made Immersive Reader available across a variety of applications, along with an Immersive Reader API for integrating it into other tools. Supported applications include:

Microsoft Edge

Immersive Reader is supported in the Microsoft Edge web browser for Windows 10 and Windows 11, as well as the iOS and Android Microsoft Edge web browsers.

To open Immersive Reader on Windows, press F9 on the keyboard or select the Enter Immersive Reader icon in the address bar, which is a book icon with a speaker. Press F9 or the icon again to close Immersive Reader.

To open Immersive Reader in Microsoft Edge for iOS or Android, select the Enter Immersive Reader icon in the address bar, which is a book icon with a speaker. Select the icon again to close Immersive Reader.

Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms supports Immersive Reader on all forms and across all devices. Each question is displayed one at a time, prompting the user to close Immersive Reader before selecting an answer.

To open Immersive Reader in Microsoft Forms on any device, open a form and select the three dots icon next to the form title, then select Enable Immersive Reader. To open each question in Immersive Reader, select the Enable Immersive Reader icon next to the question.

Microsoft Office Lens

Microsoft Office Lens supports Immersive Reader on their mobile applications. Once a user scans a document or other content with Office Lens, they can select Immersive Reader from the list of save options and have the text displayed on their device.

Microsoft OneNote

Microsoft OneNote supports Immersive Reader in its desktop, web, and mobile applications. Immersive Reader can be found in the View tab- select the Immersive Reader icon to open the page in Immersive Reader.

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook supports Immersive Reader for the desktop and web applications, but not mobile applications.

To open an email in Immersive Reader on desktop, open the View tab in the ribbon and select Open Immersive Reader.

To open an email in Immersive Reader on Outlook for the web, select the Open More Actions menu, then View, and then Open Immersive Reader.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint supports Immersive Reader for the desktop and web applications, but not the mobile applications.

To open Immersive Reader in PowerPoint, select text or slide(s) and open the View tab in the ribbon, then select Open Immersive Reader. Another option is to use the keyboard shortcut Control-Shift-I, or right-click on a slide or highlighted text and select Open Immersive Reader.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word supports Immersive Reader for the desktop, web, and mobile applications.

To open Immersive Reader in Microsoft Word, select the View tab and Open Immersive Reader.

Supported file types

Immersive Reader supports the following file types in each of these applications:

Word documents (.doc, .docx)
OneNote notebooks (.one)
PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx)
PDF (.pdf)
Website/HTML files (.html)

Customize Microsoft Immersive Reader for low vision

Microsoft Immersive Reader customization features may vary by application, and are not synchronized across devices or applications- users will need to configure Immersive Reader settings in each application when using it for the first time. Users can use the scroll wheel to navigate content, use swipe gestures, or use the arrow keys on the keyboard.

Page color

Page color may be listed as an individual option or in the group of settings labeled Text Preferences. Users can select from several page colors and themes, including a dark/inverted theme.

Font size and Font type

Within Text Preferences, users can customize the font size with a text slider and select a print disability friendly font that will be applied across all text- options include Calibri, Sitka, or Comic Sans.

Column width

This may be listed as an individual option or grouped with Reading Preferences. Set the width of columns with options ranging from very narrow to wide.

Line spacing and line focus

In the Reading Preferences menu, users can choose how much spacing they want between lines, as well as how many lines to display on the screen at once- this is helpful for users with double vision or that struggle with line tracking.

Syllables and parts of speech

Separate words by syllables and highlight parts of speech in the Grammar Tools menu. Users can also enable a picture dictionary in Reading Preferences, which will display a picture for select words.

Translate

Another tool in Reading Preferences, Immersive Reader supports dozens of languages including Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Hindi, Korean, and many others.

Read aloud

Use text-to-speech to have text read out loud- words are highlighted as they are read out loud.

Read Aloud can also be enabled outside of Immersive Reader with the following options:

Select the Read Aloud icon in the address bar of Microsoft Edge
Use the keyboard shortcut Control-Shift-U in Microsoft Edge
Select the Read Aloud icon in Microsoft Word or Outlook
Use the keyboard shortcut Control-Alt-Space in Microsoft Word