speech to text microsoft word mac shortcut

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Dictate messages and documents on Mac

With Dictation, you can enter text just by speaking, anywhere that you can type it.

On a Mac with Apple silicon , Dictation requests are processed on your device for supported languages—no internet connection is required. When you dictate in a search box, dictated text may be sent to the search provider in order to process the search. Additionally, you can dictate text of any length without a timeout. You can turn off Dictation manually, or it stops automatically when no speech is detected for 30 seconds.

When you dictate on an Intel-based Mac or in a language that doesn’t support on-device dictation, your dictated utterances are sent to Apple to process your requests.

Note: Dictation may not be available in all languages or in all countries or regions, and features may vary. See the macOS Feature Availability webpage to see Dictation languages and on-device processing support. To learn more about how Apple protects your information and lets you choose what you share, click About Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy at the bottom of Keyboard settings, or see the Apple Privacy website .

If you need to dictate text and control your Mac using your voice instead of a keyboard and trackpad, use Voice Control. See Use Voice Control commands . When Voice Control is on, you can’t use Dictation.

Turn on Dictation

Open Keyboard settings for me

Go to Dictation on the right, then turn it on. If a prompt appears, click Enable.

If you’re asked if you want to improve Siri and Dictation, do one of the following:

Share audio recordings: Click Share Audio Recordings to allow Apple to store audio of your Siri and Dictation interactions from your Mac. Apple may review a sample of stored audio.

Don’t share audio recordings: Click Not Now.

Note: You can delete the audio interactions (which are associated with a random identifier and less than six months old) whenever you like—see Delete Siri and Dictation history .

To dictate using another language, click the Edit button next to Languages, then select a language and dialect. (To remove a language, deselect it.)

To learn more about how Apple protects your information and lets you choose what you share, click About Ask Siri, Dictation & Privacy at the bottom of Keyboard settings, or see the Apple Privacy website .

Dictate text

In an app on your Mac, place the insertion point where you want the dictated text to appear.

On a Mac with Apple silicon , you can type text even while dictating; there’s no need to stop dictation. The microphone icon disappears while you type, and then reappears after you stop typing, so you can continue dictating.

To insert an emoji or a punctuation mark, or perform simple formatting tasks, do any of the following:

Say the name of an emoji, like “heart emoji” or “car emoji.”

Say the name of the punctuation mark, such as “exclamation mark.”

Say “new line” (equivalent to pressing the Return key once) or “new paragraph” (equivalent to pressing the Return key twice). The new line or new paragraph appear when you’re done dictating.

For a list of the commands you can use while dictating, see Commands for dictating text .

For information about setting up Dictation for multiple languages, see Turn on Dictation .

When you’re done, press the Dictation keyboard shortcut or the Escape key. Dictation stops automatically when no speech is detected for 30 seconds.

Ambiguous text is underlined in blue. For example, you may get the result “flour” when you intended the word “flower.” If this is the case, click the underlined word and select an alternative. You can also type or dictate the correct text.

Set the Dictation keyboard shortcut

You can choose a specific Dictation keyboard shortcut or create one of your own.

Go to Dictation on the right, click the pop-up menu next to Shortcut, then choose a shortcut to start Dictation.

To create a shortcut that’s not in the list, choose Customize, then press the keys you want to use. For example, you could press Option-Z.

Change the microphone used for Dictation

The microphone source in Keyboard settings shows which device your Mac is currently using to listen for Dictation.

Go to Dictation on the right, click the pop-up menu next to “Microphone source,” then choose the microphone you want to use for Dictation.

If you choose Automatic, your Mac listens to the device you’re most likely to use for Dictation.

Turn off Dictation

Go to Dictation on the right, then turn it off.

Jan 24, 2020

Dictate your documents in Word on Mac

• Add our blog to your RSS feed reader" href="/rss/blog.xml" data-bi-name="RSS Subscription" data-bi-id="rss_feed" data-bi-bhvr="120" data-bi-socchn="RSSSubscription" title="Microsoft 365 Insider Blog RSS" target="blank" class="d-inline-block">

My name is Emily Tran, and I’m a Program Manager on the Office Voice team.

I’m excited to share the news that Dictation is now available in Word for Mac. This feature enables you to save time and stay in flow by using speech-to-text to quickly get your thoughts into your document.

Prerequisites

In order to use the Dictate feature, you need:

• A microphone-enabled device or an external microphone
• Insider build 16.32 (19120802) or later installed
• To be logged into an account associated with an Office 365 subscription
• A stable internet connection

For best results, use a headset or microphone recommended for dictating. Also try eliminating background noise from your environment.

Configuration

Make sure your microphone-enabled device is on and confirm that the language is set to the one you’d like to dictate by clicking the down arrow on the Dictate button. We currently do not auto-detect the language you’re speaking.

If you have problems with your microphone-enabled device, check the sound input settings in System Preferences or dictation troubleshooting instructions.

Start Dictation

1. To turn on Dictation, click Home > Dictate .

2. Click on the Dictate button and wait for the red dot to appear.

3. Start talking and notice that the spoken text appears on your screen. If you see a mistake, simply move your cursor to fix it and move it back to continue dictating. You do not need to toggle off the Dictate button while making corrections.

4. When you’re done, click the Dictate button.

Tips & Tricks

• Speak clearly and conversationally, but feel free to pause in between thoughts.
• Question mark
• Exclamation point/mark
• Open quote(s)
• Close quote(s)
• To turn the microphone on without having to always go to the Home tab, you can add the microphone button to your Quick Access Toolbar .
• This feature is powered by the Microsoft Azure Speech Services and built-in directly to Word.
• Word Dictation is separate from Apple Dictation on Mac.

Supported Languages

Below are the currently supported languages:

• Chinese (China)
• English (Canada)
• English (United Kingdom)
• English (United States)
• French (France)
• German (Germany)
• Italian (Italy)
• Spanish (Spain)
• English (Australia)
• English (India)
• French (Canada)
• Norwegian (Bokmal)
• Portuguese (Brazil)

*Preview languages may have lower accuracy or less punctuation available. Improvements will happen over time.

We do not store your speech data. Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft only to provide you with this service. When the transcription is done your audio and transcription results are not stored by our service. For more information see, Connected Experiences in Office .

Availability 

We typically release features over some time to ensure that things are working smoothly. This is true for Insiders as well. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as Insiders, have had the opportunity to try them.

If you have any feedback or suggestions, you can submit them by clicking Help > Feedback in Word.

Learn what other information you should include in your feedback  to ensure  it’s actionable and reaches the right people. We’re excited to hear from you! 

Sign up for the  Office Insider newsletter  and get the latest information about Insider features in your inbox once a month!

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Home » Tech Tips » Apps » How to Use Voice Typing in Microsoft Word Windows and Mac?

How to Use Voice Typing in Microsoft Word Windows and Mac?

Preparing a long document by typing word by word can easily make you boring. Microsoft Word being a most popular documentation software offers simple solution to overcome this situation. It is called “Dictate” feature which helps to convert your speech to text and type on the document. You can use voice typing in Microsoft Word without touching keyboard and finish the document quickly. After finishing the document, you can use Editor to check spelling and grammar to correct mistakes before sharing the document with others.

Voice Typing in Microsoft Word

Before explaining the function in Word, here are the things you should understand.

• Voice typing or dictate function needs internet connection. This means, your voice input is sent to Microsoft and processed for converting to text. Though Microsoft claims they do not store any voice data, you should be aware of this and avoid using dictation for preparing confidential documents.
• The function is available in both Windows and Mac versions of Word as part of Microsoft 365 subscription.
• You do not need to activate voice typing and is available as an in-built feature in Word. Similarly, you also do not need any additional configurations in system level.
• Dictate feature in Word is different than “Voice typing” accessibility feature in Windows operating system and “Dictation” feature in macOS.

Considering voice typing or dictation is part of both operating system and Word, here are the possible ways to use in Word:

• Dictate feature in Word for Windows
• Voice typing feature in Windows OS
• Dictate feature in Word for Mac
• Dictation feature in macOS

1. Use Voice Typing in Word Windows Version (Dictate)

It is super easy to start using dictation in Word.

• Open a blank Word document and go to “Home” tab.
• Click on “Dictate” icon from the ribbon to open a toolbar menu.

• Click the microphone icon in the toolbar and start speaking. Word will automatically recognize your voice input and start converting to text in your document. However, make sure you have stable internet connection for this to work faster.

• For configuring the dictation, click on the gear icon in the toolbar. You have options to select the language, microphone device , adjust volume, enable auto-punctuation and filter sensitive phrases. If you make changes, make sure to click “Save” button to apply your settings.

2. Use Windows Voice Typing in Word

As mentioned above, Windows has a separate feature called voice typing. This works similar as Word dictation and generate text output from voice or audio input. Earlier, you should setup external microphone and configure voice recognition for using Windows voice typing feature. Now, you can simply start using the feature by using a keyboard shortcut on any text input screen.

• Open your Word document and press “Win + H” keys.
• This will open a toolbar showing a microphone, settings and help icons.
• Click the microphone icon and start using voice typing similar to dictation feature in Word.

• For configuring the voice typing, click on the gear icon and change your settings.

3. Use Voice Typing in Word for Mac (Dictate)

Word for Mac ( Microsoft 365 subscription ) also has a similar setup like Windows version.

• When you are in Word document, go to “Home” tab and click on “Dictate” icon in the ribbon.

• On the pop-up that appears, click on the microphone icon and start talking.
• Word will convert your speech to text and start typing on the document.
• Click on the gear icon to configure the dictate options. Here you can switch the language , select different microphone, set input volume level, enable auto-punctuation and enable avoiding sensitive content while text conversion process.

4. Using macOS Dictation Feature in Word

Mac comes with a “Dictation” feature similar to Windows voice typing. This is by default enabled and you can check and configure the settings if required.

• Click on the Apple logo menu and select “System Preferences…” option.
• Go to “Keyboard” section and then click “Dictation” tab.

• Make sure “Dictation” is “On”, select the language and check the keyboard shortcut keys . By default, pressing function key twice will open dictation feature in Mac.
• Launch Word app to open a blank document and press Fn key twice on your keyboard.
• This will show the microphone and you cat start speaking.
• Mac will convert your speech to text and type on the document.

Remember that when using dictation, Mac will send your voice inputs, contacts and location information to Apple for processing and converting to readable text.

Voice Typing Commands for Word

As we tested, voice typing and dictation features work very well with all the above options for converting your speech to text. However, the problem is that you should understand some basic commands for using these features.

• For example, you need to say “full stop” or “period” to end a sentence and “next line” to start a new line when using “Dictate” in Word. Most of these command also work with voice typing feature in all Windows apps.
• However, these commands are slightly different when using “Dictation” feature in macOS. For example, the command for creating a new line with macOS dictation feature is “new line” and using “next line” command will not work.

Below are the links to get complete list of voice typing commands from official Microsoft and Apple documentations.

• Dictate commands for Word Windows
• Dictate command for Word for Mac
• Voice typing commands for Windows OS
• Dictation commands for macOS

Final Words

We strongly recommend using the “Dictate” feature which comes as part of Word app. This function does not need internet connection and your voice input is not sent to Microsoft/Apple for processing. In case, if you are not comfortable using Word feature, then you can use the system wide “Voice typing” in Windows or “Dictation” in Mac. However, this needs a stable internet connection and your voice input is sent to Microsoft/Apple for processing. In either case, make sure to go through the voice typing/dictation commands and familiarize yourself before using the function.

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How to use speech to text in Microsoft Word

Speech to text in Microsoft Word is a hidden gem that is powerful and easy to use. We show you how to do it in five quick and simple steps

Master the skill of speech to text in Microsoft Word and you'll be dictating documents with ease before you know it. Developed and refined over many years, Microsoft's speech recognition and voice typing technology is an efficient way to get your thoughts out, create drafts and make notes.

Just like the best speech to text apps that make life easier for us when we're using our phones, Microsoft's offering is ideal for those of us who spend a lot of time using Word and don't want to wear out our fingers or the keyboard with all that typing. While speech to text in Microsoft Word used to be prone to errors which you'd then have to go back and correct, the technology has come a long way in recent years and is now amongst the best text-to-speech software .

Regardless of whether you have the best computer or the best Windows laptop , speech to text in Microsoft Word is easy to access and a breeze to use. From connecting your microphone to inserting punctuation, you'll find everything you need to know right here in this guide. Let's take a look...

How to use speech to text in Microsoft Word: Preparation

The most important thing to check is whether you have a valid Microsoft 365 subscription, as voice typing is only available to paying customers. If you’re reading this article, it’s likely your business already has a Microsoft 365 enterprise subscription. If you don’t, however, find out more about Microsoft 365 for business via this link . 

The second thing you’ll need before you start voice typing is a stable internet connection. This is because Microsoft Word’s dictation software processes your speech on external servers. These huge servers and lighting-fast processors use vast amounts of speech data to transcribe your text. In fact, they make use of advanced neural networks and deep learning technology, which enables the software to learn about human speech and continuously improve its accuracy. 

These two technologies are the key reason why voice typing technology has improved so much in recent years, and why you should be happy that Microsoft dictation software requires an internet connection. 

Once you’ve got a valid Microsoft 365 subscription and an internet connection, you’re ready to go!

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Step 1: Open Microsoft Word

Simple but crucial. Open the Microsoft Word application on your device and create a new, blank document. We named our test document “How to use speech to text in Microsoft Word - Test” and saved it to the desktop so we could easily find it later.

Step 2: Click on the Dictate button

Once you’ve created a blank document, you’ll see a Dictate button and drop-down menu on the top right-hand corner of the Home menu. It has a microphone symbol above it. From here, open the drop-down menu and double-check that the language is set to English.

One of the best parts of Microsoft Word’s speech to text software is its support for multiple languages. At the time of writing, nine languages were supported, with several others listed as preview languages. Preview languages have lower accuracy and limited punctuation support.

Step 3: Allow Microsoft Word access to the Microphone

If you haven’t used Microsoft Word’s speech to text software before, you’ll need to grant the application access to your microphone. This can be done at the click of a button when prompted.

It’s worth considering using an external microphone for your dictation, particularly if you plan on regularly using voice to text software within your organization. While built-in microphones will suffice for most general purposes, an external microphone can improve accuracy due to higher quality components and optimized placement of the microphone itself.

Step 4: Begin voice typing

Now we get to the fun stuff. After completing all of the above steps, click once again on the dictate button. The blue symbol will change to white, and a red recording symbol will appear. This means Microsoft Word has begun listening for your voice. If you have your sound turned up, a chime will also indicate that transcription has started. 

Using voice typing is as simple as saying aloud the words you would like Microsoft to transcribe. It might seem a little strange at first, but you’ll soon develop a bit of flow, and everyone finds their strategies and style for getting the most out of the software. 

These four steps alone will allow you to begin transcribing your voice to text. However, if you want to elevate your speech to text software skills, our fifth step is for you.

Step 5: Incorporate punctuation commands

Microsoft Word’s speech to text software goes well beyond simply converting spoken words to text. With the introduction and improvement of artificial neural networks, Microsoft’s voice typing technology listens not only to single words but to the phrase as a whole. This has enabled the company to introduce an extensive list of voice commands that allow you to insert punctuation marks and other formatting effects while speaking. 

We can’t mention all of the punctuation commands here, but we’ll name some of the most useful. Saying the command “period” will insert a period, while the command “comma” will insert, unsurprisingly, a comma. The same rule applies for exclamation marks, colons, and quotations. If you’d like to finish a paragraph and leave a line break, you can say the command “new line.” 

These tools are easy to use. In our testing, the software was consistently accurate in discerning words versus punctuation commands.

Microsoft’s speech to text software is powerful. Having tested most of the major platforms, we can say that Microsoft offers arguably the best product when balancing cost versus performance. This is because the software is built directly into Microsoft 365, which many businesses already use. If this applies to your business, you can begin using Microsoft’s voice typing technology straight away, with no additional costs. 

We hope this article has taught you how to use speech to text software in Microsoft Word, and that you’ll now be able to apply these skills within your organization. 

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How-To Geek

How to dictate a document in microsoft word.

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Why i can't let go of these weird wireless earbuds, macs waste a lot of space on old scanned images, here's where to find them, quick links, dictate a document on your desktop, dictate a document on the web, dictate a document on your mobile device.

Whether out of necessity or convenience, you can give your keyboard a break and dictate a document in Microsoft Word. You can use the feature in the desktop app, Word for the web, and in the mobile app.

You will need a Microsoft 365 subscription in order to dictate. If you're using Microsoft Office , you may not have the dictation feature. 365 for the web, however, is free for anyone with a Microsoft account.

With your computer's internal microphone, or with a USB microphone in hand, you can dictate your document in Word on both Windows and Mac. Head to the Home tab and click "Dictate."

When the microphone icon appears, you can drag to move it anywhere you like. Click the icon to begin dictating, click again to stop or pause. You can also say "Pause dictation" or "Stop dictation" and can click the icon to resume.

To enable auto-punctuation, change the dialect, or filter sensitive language, click the gear icon to open the Settings.

If you need help with what you can say for things like punctuation, symbols, making corrections, or controlling dictation, click the question mark icon near the microphone to open the Help sidebar.

To stop using dictation , click the "X" in the corner of the icon's window to close it.

Related: How to Use Voice Dictation on Windows 10

The web version of Microsoft Word is free, as long as you have a Microsoft account . The dictation feature is currently available when using Edge, Firefox, Chrome, and Brave  web browsers .

Visit Microsoft Word for the web , sign in, and open your document or create a new one. Go to the Home tab and click the Dictate icon. If it's your first time using the feature, you'll be prompted to allow access to your microphone .

Just like in the desktop application, you'll see a small microphone icon at the bottom. You can move the icon by dragging it. Simply click the icon and begin speaking.

You can pause or stop by clicking the icon again or by saying, "Pause dictation" or "Stop dictation." Then click the icon to continue when you're ready.

To adjust the language, microphone, or other options, click the gear icon near the microphone icon to open the Dictation Settings. Make your changes and click "OK" to save them.

For help with what you can say or specific commands for controlling dictation, click the question mark icon to open the Help panel on the right.

When you finish using dictation, click the "X" in the corner of the icon's window to close it.

Related: How to See Which Apps Are Using Your Microphone on Windows 10

If you use Word on your Android device, iPhone, or iPad, dictation can be handy, especially when you're on-the-go. Open your document and tap the microphone icon.

Begin speaking, tap the icon to pause or stop, or say "Pause dictation" or "Stop dictation" just like the desktop and web applications .

To change the settings, tap the gear icon. Make your adjustments and tap the X to save them and return to your document.

For additional help with dictation on your mobile device , tap the question mark icon.

To stop dictating and type instead, simply tap the keyboard icon.

If you enjoy using the dictation feature in Microsoft Word, be sure to check out how to transcribe audio in Word too.

Related: How to Use Microsoft Word's Hidden Transcription Feature

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Word

How to use speech-to-text on Microsoft Word to write and edit with your voice

• You can use speech-to-text on Microsoft Word through the "Dictate" feature.
• With Microsoft Word's "Dictate" feature, you can write using a microphone and your own voice.
• When you use Dictate, you can say "new line" to create a new paragraph and add punctuation simply by saying the punctuation aloud.
• If you're not satisfied with Word's built-in speech-to-text feature, you can use a third-party program like Dragon Home.
• Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.

While typing is certainly the most common way to create and edit documents in Microsoft Word , you're not limited to using a keyboard. 

Word supports speech-to-text, which lets you dictate your writing using voice recognition. 

Speech-to-text in Word is convenient and surprisingly accurate, and can help anyone who has issues typing with a typical keyboard. 

You can use speech-to-text in Microsoft Word in the same way on both Mac and PC.

Check out the products mentioned in this article:

Apple macbook pro (from $1,299.00 at apple), acer chromebook 15 (from $179.99 at walmart), how to use speech-to-text on word using dictate.

Make sure you have a microphone connected to your computer. This can be built-in, like on a laptop, or a separate mic that you plug into the USB or audio jack. 

It doesn't matter which type you use, though the best kind of mic to use is a headset, as it won't need to compete with as much background noise as a built-in microphone.

1. In Microsoft Word, make sure you're in the "Home" tab at the top of the screen, and then click "Dictate."

2. You should hear a beep, and the dictate button will change to include a red recording light. It's now listening for your dictation. 

3. Speak clearly, and Word should transcribe everything you say in the current document. Speak punctuation aloud as you go. You can also say "New line," which has the same effect as pressing the Enter or Return key on the keyboard. 

4. When you're done dictating, click "Dictate" a second time or turn it off using your voice by saying, "Turn the dictate feature off."

You can still type with the keyboard while Dictate is on, but if you click outside of Word or switch to another program, Dictate will turn itself off.  

Want to change languages? You can click the downward arrow on the Dictate button to choose which of nine or so languages you want to speak. You might also see additional "Preview Languages," which are still in beta and may have lower accuracy.

Speech-to-text alternatives

You're not limited to using the Dictate feature built into Word. While not as popular as they once were, there are several commercial speech-to-text apps available which you can use with Word. 

The most popular of these, Dragon Home , performs the same kind of voice recognition as Word's Dictate, but it also lets you control Word, format text, and make edits to your text using your voice. It works with nearly any program, not just Word.

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to use speech-to-text on a windows computer to quickly dictate text without typing, you can use text-to-speech in the kindle app on an ipad using an accessibility feature— here's how to turn it on, how to use text-to-speech on discord, and have the desktop app read your messages aloud, how to use google text-to-speech on your android phone to hear text instead of reading it, 2 ways to lock a windows computer from your keyboard and quickly secure your data.

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How To Use Speech To Text In Microsoft Word?

Users are often required to write a long document by typing words into the software which takes a lot of time. Instead of that, users can use the Speech Recognition feature of Microsoft Word that enables typing with voice in Microsoft Word. Let us try to learn and review some easy steps for how to use speech-to-text in MS Word .

Note: Requirements for Microsoft’s speech-to-text software Valid  Microsoft 365  subscription Stable Internet Connection

If you have both, then you are ready to Use Speech To Text Feature in Microsoft Word! Let’s Come to the steps.

Steps To Use Speech-To-Text Microsoft Word

Step 1: At first, open the Control Panel in the machine. Now, click on Speech Recognition.

Step 2: Then click on Start Speech Recognition to convert the speech to the word in the Microsoft Document. It will open a new window.

Step 3: Click on Next to move ahead in the process of how to voice type in MS Word .

Step 4: In the next window, click on the Headset Microphone and click the Next button to move ahead in the process.

Step 5: Now, in the next window, find a line written to read it loudly. It will help to mark the voice on the device. After reading the line loudly, click on the Next button present there.

Step 6: In the next window, click on the Enable Document Review option. It will help in typing words by listening to the speech & reviewing paragraphs the document if necessary. After that, click on the Next button.

Step 7: Now click on the Manual Activation method. In this case, you should start the Speech Commanding operation on your own. It will reduce issues while writing documents. After that, click on the Next button.

Step 8: At the end of the process, a tutorial is available to understand the process. If needed, it can be viewed. In this case, click on Skip Tutorial . And the window will be closed.

Step 9: At the end, find a button that is now available on the screen. Click on the Mic symbol to enable the speech commanding operation. When it is ready to use, it will say Listening . Now, you can say anything & it will be written down in Microsoft Word.

Hence, we have successfully converted the speech to text in Microsoft Word. Now you can use the speech-to-text feature of Microsoft Word that enables typing with voice for typing long paragraphs time-saving . We hope you this time saving guide and helped you, teaches you something useful that you can apply and increase your speed by saving time.

FAQs To Use Speech Text Feature in Microsoft Word

1. What’s the shortcut for speech-to-text on Windows?

Press Win + H to start speaking. It opens speech recognition for typing.

2. Can I use speech-to-text in any application or window?

Yes, you can use speech-to-text in any application or window that takes text input. For example Notepad , , word processing apps etc.

3. Can I use speech recognition in multiple languages?

Yes, Windows supports various languages for speech recognition. You can switch between languages and dictate in the language you’re comfortable with.

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Use a screen reader to zoom in or out in Outlook for Mac

This article is for people with visual or cognitive impairments who use a screen reader program such as Microsoft's Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with the 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 home or Fixes or workarounds for recent office issues .

Use Outlook for Mac with your keyboard and VoiceOver, the built-in macOS screen reader, to zoom in, or enlarge, the text of an email and make it easier to read. You'll also learn how to zoom out and return to the original text size.

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

Zoom in on an email in its own window, zoom in or out when composing an email, use the zoom feature.

In the message list, navigate to and open the email you want. The email opens in its own window.

Do one of the following:

To increase the font size of the email, press Command+Plus sign (+).

To decrease the font size of the email, press Command+Minus sign (-).

You can make the text larger or smaller when composing your outgoing email message. This is a temporary setting, and the text size returns to its default once you've sent the message.

Place the cursor in the body of the email message you're composing.

Press Control+Command+Z. You hear: "Zoom dialog."

In the Zoom dialog box, do one of the following:

Press the Down arrow key until you hear the zoom value you want.

To use a custom zoom value, press the Tab key until you hear: "Percent, edit text." Type the value you want.

Press Return to confirm and apply the value. The focus returns to your email.

With the Zoom feature of your Mac, you can use keyboard shortcuts to enlarge the content in any area of Outlook.

To move the focus to the menu bar, press Control+Option+M. You hear: "Menu bar, Apple."

To open the  System Preferences dialog box, press Control+Option+Spacebar, press the Down arrow key until you hear "System preferences, ellipses," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar.

In the  System Preferences  dialog box, press the Tab key until you hear "Accessibility, button," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar. The Accessibility menu opens.

Press the Tab key. You hear: "Entering accessibility features table, Overview, selected." To open the Zoom feature menu, press the Down arrow key until you hear: "Zoom."

To use keyboard shortcuts to zoom content, press the Tab key until you hear "Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom, unchecked, checkbox," and then press Control+Option+Spacebar to select. You hear: "Checked, Use keyboard shortcuts to zoom, checkbox."

To close the  System Preferences  dialog box, press Command+W.

In Outlook, you can now do the following:

To magnify the view of your emails or calendars (zoom in), press Option+Command+Equal sign (=).

To shrink the view (zoom out), press Option+Command+Minus sign (-).

To toggle the zoom on and off, press Option+Command+8.

Use a screen reader to format text in your email in Outlook

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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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