Introduction

Teams is a popular app for businesses. It enables you to connect, chat, collaborate, and share information with friends and colleagues.

Teams includes a wealth of keyboard commands. On this help page we will highlight the key commands you can use and document some useful SuperNova and Dolpin ScreenReader features to help you be even more proficient using Teams.

To view a full list of keyboard commands, visit Keyboard commands for Microsoft Teams on the Microsoft Website.

Reading time: 4 minutes approx.

Navigating Teams with the keyboard

You use popular keystrokes to navigate the Teams interface. This includes using the ARROW KEYS, TAB, and SHIFT + TAB to navigate objects, and F6 and SHIFT + F6 to navigate larger elements.

The main elements of the Teams interface are:

• A horizontal toolbar at the top of the screen containing Back, Forward, and Search options. You can move the focus to the search box at any time by pressing CONTROL + E. You can use the search box to quickly search for contacts, change your status, and much more.
• An Apps sidebar on the left side of the screen listing View options plus any additional installed apps. The default Views include Activity, Chat, Teams, Calendar, Calls, and Files.
• A main central region whose content will vary depending on the View. For example, the Chat View shows the Recent chats list, plus the message history and compose box, while the Calendar View shows the time, date, and appointments.

Tip: Teams Help states the use of CONTROL + F6 and CONTROL + SHIFT + F6 to navigate the main elements in the user interface. Although, our testing shows these keyboard commands work, they can be substituted with the more commonly used F6 and SHIFT + F6.

Switching Views with keyboard commands

You can navigate and switch Views using keyboard commands.

1. Press F6 until the sidebar has focus. This is announced as the 'Apps group' by SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader.
2. Use UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW to select a View.
3. Press ENTER to activate.

Each View has a specific function. If you are familiar with the order of the Views, you can press CONTROL + 1 to 6 to switch to that specific view.

By default, press:

• CONTROL + 1 to go to the Activity View. The Activity View contains a summary of recent updates such as chat messages that have been liked, calls received, etc.
• CONTROL + 2 to go to the Chat View. The Chat View contains your chat history. You can post new messages, respond to messages, and make audio and video calls to colleagues.
• CONTROL + 3 to go to the Team View. The Team View lists your team's activity, grouped into the channels in which you are a participant. You can change channel, contribute to the discussion, and add or leave a channel or team.
• CONTROL + 4 to go to the Calendar View. The Calendar View enables you to schedule a meeting, join a meeting and review upcoming meetings.
• CONTROL + 5 to go to the Calls View. The Calls View enables you to directly call your contacts, view your call history and retrieve your voice mail. Note that this feature is note available in all regions.
• CONTROL + 6 to go to the Files View. The Files View enables you to open your personal files, and view the files shared by your Teams.

Tips:

• You should use RIGHT CONTROL when performing the above keyboard commands to avoid potential SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader hotkey conflicts.

• You can confirm our current View by pressing the 'Speak where am I?' hotkey. Press NUMPAD 7 or, if you are using the Laptop Universal Hotkey Set, press CAPS LOCK + PAGE UP.

• For best accessibility, you should configure Teams to open files and links in their native desktop apps. To do this: Go to Teams settings, select the 'Files and links' category, and set files to open in desktop apps, and links to open in the default browser.

Messaging with Chats

There are several ways to send a chat message. Here are some examples.

Using the New chat command

1. Press CONTROL + N to start a new chat. A new chat window opens with focus in the 'To' box.
2. Type the first few letters of the person's name and then select them from the autocomplete dropdown list. Repeat if you wish to add additional colleagues into the chat.
3. TAB to compose box.
4. Type a message and press ENTER.

Using the Search box

1. Press CONTROL + E to move focus to the search box.
2. Type the first few letters of the person's name and press DOWN ARROW to explore the search results.
3. Select the person you wish to chat with, and press ENTER. Focus moves to the compose box.
4. Type a message and press ENTER.

Using the Recent chat list

1. If you are not in the Chat View, press RIGHT CONTROL + 2.
2. Press CONTOL + L to move focus to the Recent Chat list.
3. Use the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW to explore the list to use first letter search to locate your colleague and press ENTER. The focus moves to the compose box.
4. Type a message and press ENTER.

Reviewing chat history

While you are in the chat pane, you can press SHIFT + TAB (or CONTROL + M) to move focus back to the chat history pane and use the ARROW KEYS to review past messages.

You can copy message text by pressing CONTROL + C, and if you press ENTER on a past message, you will access additional options. The options include: the ability to like or react to the message in many ways; to reply specifically to the message; and, where the message contains a link, the ability to activate the link by pressing ENTER and the ability to copy the link by opening the context menu and choosing "Copy link".

Tip: Another way to copy the message text is to use Layered hotkey mode. Press CAPS LOCK + SPACEBAR, S, then T to access the Speech transcription options. In the transcription options, press SPACEBAR on the item you want to copy, then TAB to select 'Copy' button. As the transcription option retains the last 50 text items spoken, this can be helpful if you have closed Teams before you realised you needed a copy of the message text.

SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader include some useful hotkeys to help you chat. When you are in the Chat View, you can press RIGHT ALT + 1 to 9 to read the last nine messages in the Chat history pane (with RIGHT ALT + 1 being the most recent message).

You can also press RIGHT SHIFT + RIGHT ALT + 1 to 9 to move focus to the equivalent message in the Chat history pane. This enables you to interact with the message without the need to navigate, making it easier to Like the message, reply to the message, or activate a link within the message. 

Other useful keyboard commands include:

• CONTROL + R moves focus to the compose box.
• CONTROL + J move focus to the most recent message in the chat history.
• SHIFT + ALT + A calls the chat participant using audio.
• SHIFT + ALT + V calls the chat participant using video.
• CONTROL + SHIFT + H hangs up an audio call and a video call.
• NUMPAD 2 or, if you are using the Laptop Universal Hotkey Set, press CAPS LOCK + PAGE DOWN to announce the selected participant's status, for example, Available, Busy, or Away.
  

Message and call notifications

You receive notifications when a colleague is contacting you. The notifications appear as pop-up messages (called balloons), which you can interact with or ignore.

By default, SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader will announce the notification. When the notification appears, you can press SHIFT + WINDOWS KEY + Y to move focus to the notification window. From here, you can TAB through and choose a response such as Accept with video, Accept with audio, Decline, Join (if it is a meeting notification), or use the quick response edit box if it is a message notification.

Alternatively, when the notification appears, you can:

• Press CONTROL + SHIFT + A to accept with video enabled.
• Press CONTROL + SHIFT + S to accept with audio enabled.
• Press CONTROL + SHIFT + D to decline the call.
• CONTROL + SHIFT + J to join a meeting.

You may find the Accept with audio enabled keyboard command and the Decline call keyboard command conflicting with the launch SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader commands set in File Explorer.

To resolve this issue, you can either move focus to the notification and select your option or modify the shortcut key to launch SuperNova or Dolphin ScreenReader.

To modify (requires Version 23.02 or later):

1. Open the SuperNova or Dolphin ScreenReader Control Panel.
2. Open the 'General' and select 'Startup Preferences' (ALT + G, S).
3. Change the 'Shortcut key' value. You can choose between 'None', 'Control + Shift + S' or 'CONTROL + ALT + S'. Note that the change effects the latest version release and removes the shortcut for all previous versions.

If you are using an earlier version of SuperNova or Dolphin ScreenReader, you must manually locate and modify the assigned hotkey for all shortcuts. For instructions, please see How to change the shortcut key to launch SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader.

Tip: You can adjust the sound and appearance of notifications in the Teams settings, Notifications and activities category. Changes include whether a sound plays, what sound is used, whether a message preview appears, and whether notifications appear during calls.

Managing screen reader speech output during calls and meetings

You may not always be able to hear what your screen reader speech is saying against the continuous chatter occuring in a call or meeting. SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader include two features to help you address the issue.

Audio splitting

SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader supports audio splitting. For example, if you are using headphones, you can configure the screen reader speech to play in your left ear and the audio from the app to play in your right ear and vice versa.

To set the audio channel:

1. Open the SuperNova or Dolphin ScreenReader Control Panel.
2. Open 'Speech' menu and select 'Advanced Options' (ALT + S, A).
3. Select the 'Audio' page and choose your settings.

Alternatively, you can quickly make this change using Layered hotkey mode.

To do this: Press CAPS LOCK + SPACEBAR, A, then LEFT ARROW to set screen reader speech to the left channel, or RIGHT ARROW to set screen reader speech to the right channel. On pressing the ARROW KEY, you will be automatically exited from Layered hotkey mode.

To balance the audio output again: Press CAPS LOCK + SPACEBAR, A, UP ARROW.

NOTE: If you toggle your screen reader speech off while audio split is active, then the app audio is automatically switched back to both channels. If you toggle speech on again, the audio split is reinstated.

Audio ducking

SuperNova and Dolphin ScreenReader supports the use of audio ducking. Audio ducking means the audio volume from the app is lowered when the screen reader speaks. This makes it easier to hear what the screen reader is saying over the audio produced by the app.

You can control audio ducking with Layered hotkeys. Press CAPS LOCK + SPACEBAR, A, DOWN ARROW to enable or disable this feature. When you press DOWN ARROW, you are automatically exited from Layered hotkey mode.

If the ducking level requires adjusting, then you can do this by doing the following:

1. Open the SuperNova or Dolphin ScreenReader Control Panel.
2. Open the 'Speech' menu and select 'Advanced Options' (ALT + S, A).
3. Select the 'Audio' page.
4. If unselected, select 'Duck audio when speaking' checkbox.
5. Adjust the slider.
6. If you do not want the audio ducking to be in constant use, deselect 'Duck audio when speaking' checkbox. Remember, you can quickly enable and disable it with the use of Layered hotkey mode.
7. Select the 'OK' button.

Useful keyboard commands when participating in calls and meetings

You can use the ARROW KEYS, TAB key, and SHIFT + TAB keys to explore the options in the audio and video chat window. You can also press F6 and SHIFT + F6 to move to different elements within the window.

There are also several keyboard commands to perform actions. The key commands are provided below. For a full list, please visit Keyboard commands for Microsoft Teams on the Microsoft website.

Adding and reviewing upcoming meetings

You can use the Teams Calendar to add and review upcoming meetings.

To add a meeting, do the following:

1. If you are not in the Calendar View, press RIGHT CONTROL + 4.
2. Select the "Schedule a new meeting" button or press SHIFT + ALT + N. The 'New meeting' dialog opens.
3. TAB through and complete the fields as required.

To review upcoming meetings depends on your Calendar View. You can configure you Calendar to view meetings in a Day, Week, Work week, and Agenda View. Agenda View presents your meetings as list.

You can use the TAB and SHIFT + TAB key to navigate to upcoming meetings. If you are using Agenda View, you can use the UP and DOWN ARROW keys to navigate your event list. To join a meeting, open the context menu and choose Join.

Hotkey Summary