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Secret Microsoft Office accessibility features I use every day

A list of hidden and "secret" Microsoft Office accessibility features I use every day with low vision.

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When I wrote the first version of this post in 2019, I included seven accessibility features most people didn’t realize existed in Microsoft Office products, many of which I had learned about during my time as a Microsoft intern. Since then, Microsoft Office has added even more “secret features” that aren’t often publicized as accessibility options or included in posts about Microsoft Office accessibility, which have helped to streamline my experience and digital workflows as a user with low vision that accesses information visually. Here is a list of “secret”, hidden and little-known Microsoft Office accessibility features I use every day with low vision.

DISCLAIMER

I worked at Microsoft as a program management intern on the Excel team in 2019, and I did not work on any accessibility-related projects or features during my internship. This post was written after my internship ended and has been updated numerous times since to include information about how I personally use these products in my own day-to-day life. All opinions are my own.

A note on enabling Microsoft Office accessibility features

While all of these accessibility features are available across multiple applications, users must individually configure accessibility settings for each application they want to use. For example, if I set the default Word font size to 22, this has no impact on the default font size I use for Excel or OneNote, and I would have to manually configure the default font sizes within these applications. However, things like system wide dark mode or high contrast mode should be applied to all applications automatically.

Provide feed back with sound

By default, Microsoft Office applications provide feedback with animation when users complete certain tasks, which can include changes in color, sliding columns into position or short flickering effects. It’s easy to miss these items with low vision, or users may prefer to turn off animations due to motion sensitivity. Instead of using animation, Microsoft Office also has an option to provide feedback with sound, which will play a quick tone when an email is sent, something new appears on the screen or when selecting an item from the ribbon. This doesn’t read the information out loud, rather it provides an audio cue so the user can know that their task was performed successfully (or not).

To provide feedback with sound in Microsoft Office:

  1. Open a Microsoft Office application or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. Select Accessibility
  4. Select the checkbox for Provide Feedback with Sound, and select a sound scheme to use
  5. Select OK to save changes

Change default font and text size

When I take notes for my classes in OneNote, I like to use larger font sizes so that I don’t have to strain my eyes to read. Instead of manually enlarging fonts or switching the default font every time I open OneNote, I configured my settings so that my preferred font style and size is used by default when opening OneNote or creating a new notebook. This can also be used with other applications like Word and Excel, though is not available in PowerPoint.

To change the default font and text size in Excel and OneNote:

  1. Open Excel or OneNote, or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. For Excel, select Accessibility and change the default font size in the drop-down menu
  4. For OneNote, select General and use the drop-down menus to change the default font, text size and font color
  5. Select OK

To change the default font and text size in Word:

  1. Open a new or existing Word document
  2. Select the font call-out menu (Ctrl + D)
  3. Choose the default font style, size, color and weight from the drop-down menus
  4. Select Set as Default to use this font by default when creating a new document

Use keyboard shortcuts to access Microsoft Office

Learning how to use keyboard shortcuts to access Microsoft Office applications has been a game changer, especially when taking online classes. Keyboard shortcuts can be accessed by pressing the Alt key on the keyboard, which will overlay letters/numbers for corresponding keyboard shortcuts across the display ribbon. As the user presses letters/numbers for designated areas, additional keyboard shortcuts will be overlayed over other items so the user can select the feature they want to use. This is a helpful tool when first memorizing different keyboard shortcuts for the ribbon, though there are many other keyboard shortcuts available within applications as well.

For Microsoft Word only, users can create custom keyboard shortcuts by doing the following:

  1. Open Word or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. Select Customize Ribbon
  4. Under Keyboard Shortcuts, select Customize
  5. Choose an option from the lists of Categories and Commands
  6. Select the text box that says Press new shortcut key
  7. Type in the desired keyboard shortcut using the keyboard
  8. Select Assign to save the shortcut to the default template, or to a specific document

Customize and rearrange items on the ribbon

To help reduce visual clutter from having ribbon categories and features that I never use or to make an application easier to access for younger users, I like to customize and rearrange items on the ribbon, which can include renaming items, adding/removing features from the ribbon and rearranging how they are displayed. While I can’t change the ribbon color, adjust the font size,or change the icons on the ribbon, this is still helpful for streamlining workflows since there aren’t a bunch of unused items taking up visual space.

To customize the Microsoft Office Ribbon:

  1. Open a Microsoft Office application or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. Select Customize Ribbon
  4. To add items, select the Choose Commands From menu and select the desired command(s). Add them to the ribbon by selecting Add
  5. To remove items already on the ribbon, select Customize the Ribbon and select the desired command(s). Remove them from the ribbon by selecting Remove.
  6. To relocate an item in the ribbon, use the on-screen arrow keys (or keyboard arrow keys + enter) to reposition an item in the list
  7. When renaming an item, select a command from the ribbon and select Rename to type a new name
  8. To create a new tab on the ribbon with multiple commands, select New Tab and use the arrow keys to rearrange items or add items from Choose Commands From using the Add/Remove buttons. This will appear as a heading on the ribbon
  9. To create a new group within a new or existing tab, which organizes a list of commands, select New Group and use the arrow keys to rearrange items or add items from Choose Commands From using the Add/Remove buttons.
  10. To save changes, select OK

Enlarge content without changing font sizes

I prefer to read content in large print, but I don’t always want to change the font size of the original document in order to enlarge everything. Instead, I have a few different options for enlarging content without changing font sizes, including:

Adjust how colors are displayed

There are two options to adjust how colors are displayed in Microsoft Office products without altering the original template, including a dark mode for pages and high contrast for PowerPoint slides:

Dark Mode for documents

Instead of viewing content on a white background, dark mode is available in Microsoft Office applications and can be activated from the View ribbon in Word and OneNote by selecting Switch Background. If this feature is not available, it may need to be manually added from the Customize Ribbon menu:

  1. Open Word or OneNote, or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. Select Customize Ribbon and open All Commands
  4. If needed, create a new group within the display ribbon or a new tab
  5. From the All Commands list, select Switch Background and select Add
  6. Select OK

High contrast for PowerPoint

I personally rely on color for accessing information, though there are many users with low vision that prefer a high contrast view with black-and-white content. This is especially helpful for removing background graphics in PowerPoint or complex color palettes.

To activate high contrast for PowerPoint:

  1. Open PowerPoint or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. Select Customize Ribbon and open All Commands
  4. If needed, create a new group within the display ribbon or a new tab
  5. From the All Commands list, select High Contrast and select Add
  6. Select OK

Activating High Contrast will not impact the original design of the slide or how it is viewed in a presentation, but can make it easier for reading or editing slide content.

Add text-to-speech for Excel and other office applications

I don’t use a screen reader full-time, but I find it helpful to listen to content read out loud if  I am having trouble seeing something. Microsoft Office offers several options for using text-to-speech, but this has especially been helpful when working with Excel, which displays information in an inherently visually complex format due to the vast amount of rows/columns.

Use text-to-speech and Speak Cells with Excel

Speak Cells appears on the Quick Access menu by default for some users. If Speak Cells is not visible, follow these instructions to add it:

  1. Open Excel or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. Select Customize Ribbon and open All Commands
  4. If needed, create a new group within the display ribbon- I used the Home tab
  5. From the All Commands list, select Speak Cells and select Add
  6. Select OK

To use Speak Cells, select a single cell or group of cells followed by Speak Cells to hear information read from top-to-bottom and left-to-right. Speak Cells does have a keyboard shortcut, but it will vary depending on where it is added in the display ribbon- for me, it is Alt + H, Y.

Use Text-to-speech and Speak with PowerPoint and OneNote

Speak appears on the Quick Access menu by default for some users. If Speak is not visible, follow these instructions to add it:

  1. Open OneNote or PowerPoint, or open the File menu in an existing document
  2. In the left sidebar, select Options
  3. Select Customize Ribbon and open All Commands
  4. If needed, create a new group within the display ribbon – I used the Home tab
  5. From the All Commands list, select Speak and select Add
  6. Select OK

To use Speak, highlight text or select a text box and then select Speak to hear information out loud. Speak does have a keyboard shortcut, but it will vary depending on where it is added in the display ribbon- for me, it is Alt + H, Y.

Use Text-to-Speech and Read Aloud with Word

Speak can also be added to Microsoft Word, but I prefer to use the Read Aloud tool, which reads text from a selection or reads the entire document continuously using a more natural sounding synthesized voice. To activate Read Aloud:

  1. Open a Microsoft Word file
  2. Use keyboard shortcut Alt + Ctrl + Space to read all text or read from the text insertion point
  3. Alternatively, open the Review ribbon, and then select Read Aloud using keyboard shortcut Alt + R, R

Read content in large print with Immersive Reader

One of my all-time favorite tools for reading text in large print is a simplified reading display, which applies a consistent font, text size and background color to content so that it’s easier to read. Microsoft’s Immersive Reader can be found across several Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office applications, the Edge web browser and more. However, it is only available in select versions of Microsoft Office applications right now.

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.

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel supports Immersive Reader for the web applications only. To open Immersive Reader in Excel, first select a cell that has text in it. Then, open the View tab and select Open Immersive Reader.

Design beautiful web documents with Microsoft Office Sway

The most underrated Microsoft Office application by far is Microsoft Office Sway, which I use for school projects, presentations, portfolios and so much more. Sway is a web application that can be used to design one-page multimedia documents that can be accessed through a web browser, with an option for reading in an Accessibility View that includes options for screen reader and braille access. I’m not joking when I say that every assignment and project I’ve created in Sway has earned a 100% or higher, and I love that I can use it to create amazing looking documents that can be viewed on any device, as well as customized with reader preferences in mind.

Get accessibility support 24/7 with Microsoft Disability Answer Desk

This isn’t exactly a “secret” feature and I don’t call them every day, but the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk is a 24/7 tech support service that helps assistive technology users troubleshoot issues with Microsoft products. I typically use this service via the Be My Eyes Specialized Help channel, which allows for one-way video and two-way audio, though I also have used their phone support with a different screen sharing tool. It’s a fantastic resource to have!

More Microsoft Office Accessibility features I use every day

By Veronica Lewis/Veronica With Four Eyes, www.veroniiiica.com

Updated October 2024; original post published 

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