Screen Readers in Slack and Teams: Navigation, Messages and Shortcuts

Both Slack and Teams publish detailed screen reader guidance, and both behave more like applications than documents, which changes how a screen reader should approach them. The navigation models differ, and so do the shortcuts. Here is what each help page says.

Miles Crawford

5 min read

An app window with sidebar panels and message rows, sound waves flowing from it toward headphones, with keyboard keys below — This image was generated with AI

The quick version

Slack recommends that NVDA and JAWS users navigate primarily in Focus or Forms mode rather than Browse mode, and that everyone use the desktop app instead of a browser where possible. Move between top-level sections with F6 on Windows, and press Cmd+/ or Ctrl+/ for the shortcut list. In Teams, which documents Windows Narrator, JAWS and NVDA setups, press Ctrl+Period for shortcuts and Ctrl+E to reach the Search box, which also runs slash commands.

Slack: how the app is put together

Slack's main window is made of top-level sections: the History and Search toolbar, the tablist, the workspaces tablist if you belong to several workspaces, a navigation area, the primary view, an optional secondary view for things like threads and profiles, and the control strip with the user menu. On Windows you move between sections with F6 and within a section with Tab and the arrow keys; in a browser, use Ctrl+F6 and Ctrl+Shift+F6. Tabs have number shortcuts, like Ctrl+Shift+2 for Home and Ctrl+Shift+4 for Activity on Windows, but the numbers follow your own tab order, and the More tab collects tabs that do not fit at your zoom level. Slack also defines its vocabulary up front: workspaces, channels, direct messages, conversations, threads, mentions and reactions.

Slack: reading and replying

Opening a channel puts your focus in the message composer; press the up arrow to move into the message list, starting from the most recent message. Jump to the first unread message with Cmd+J on Mac or Ctrl+J on Windows, move between messages with the arrow keys, Page Up and Page Down, or Home and End, and hop between days with Shift+Page Up and Shift+Page Down. You can replay up to 10 recent messages aloud with Cmd+Option or Alt plus a number. On Windows, Slack notes the virtual cursor toggles off in the composer; press Tab from a message to read its content with the virtual cursor, then Shift+Tab back. In the Activity tab, E clears a notification and R marks it read. To jump anywhere, press Cmd+K or Ctrl+K and type a channel, person or page name.

Teams: chats, channels and messages

Microsoft's basic tasks article covers the desktop app with a keyboard and screen reader. Ctrl+2 opens the Chat view, though Microsoft notes the number reflects the tab's position in your own app bar. In the chat or channel list, arrow down to a conversation, press Enter to land in the compose area, or press Spacebar to jump straight to the oldest unread message; Esc returns you to the list. Ctrl+N starts a new message. To act on a message, press Enter on it to open the reactions and message actions toolbar, then arrow to Edit, or to More options for Delete this message, and Esc returns focus to the list. By default Teams shows chats and channels in one combined list view.

Teams: search, filters and the Mentions view

Ctrl+E moves to the Search box. Typing a forward slash lists commands such as /files, and commands like /goto, /chat and /call jump straight to views or actions. Search results are grouped into sections like People, Messages and Files, and you Tab between sections and arrow within them. The chat and channel lists have filters: Ctrl+Alt+U for unread, Ctrl+Alt+Q for unmuted, Ctrl+Alt+C for chats, Ctrl+Alt+A for channels, and Ctrl+Alt+Z clears all filters; Microsoft notes filters stay active after you leave the list. You can also build custom sections and move conversations into them with Move to. The Mentions view collects your @mentions from channels, chats and meeting chats in one list.

Which one for what?

Our read: learn five commands per app first. In Slack: F6, Ctrl+K, the up arrow into the message list, Ctrl+J for first unread, and E or R in Activity. In Teams: Ctrl+E, Ctrl+2, Spacebar for oldest unread, Enter for the message toolbar, and Ctrl+Alt+Z to clear filters. Both pages link full shortcut references, which are worth keeping open while the muscle memory builds. For the wider shortcut lists, see our keyboard shortcuts guide.

What to be careful about

Browse mode works poorly in Slack. Slack tells NVDA and JAWS users to stay in Focus or Forms mode, and prefers the desktop app over the browser.
Tab numbers are personal. Slack's tab shortcuts follow your tab order, and Teams' Ctrl+2 style shortcuts follow your app bar arrangement.
The virtual cursor needs managing in Slack on Windows. The composer toggles it off, and reading message content takes a Tab, per Slack's steps.
Teams filters persist. Microsoft says an active filter stays on after you leave the list, which can make conversations seem missing.
Zoom changes the layout. Slack moves overflowing tabs into a More tab when the window is short or zoom is above 100 percent.

Sources

Checked October 23, 2026. Steps and shortcuts follow each product's own help articles. The five-command starter list is our suggestion.