JAWS – Navigating Microsoft Office ribbon menu

JAWS – Navigating Microsoft Office ribbon menu

Problem

A JAWS/ZoomText/Fusiono user who uses the keyboard to navigate encounters difficulties navigating the Microsoft Office ribbon menu system  employed in Office 2010 and later.

 

Applies to

  1. JAWS

Resolution

JAWS 13.0 has support enablled for the Microsoft Office ribbon from Office 2010 onwards and this is enabled by default.  Below are instructions shoudl one need to re-enable this support in the event it has been disabled.  Some notes on how best to navigate the Office ribbon are supplied to enable faster navigation. 
 

Enable virtual ribbon support in JAWS

This feature should be enabled by default but if the ribbon is not working as expected use the steps below to ensure this support is enabled:

  1.  Press JAWSKEY+V to open the “Quick settings” dialogue.
  2. Type the word “Ribbon” into the search edit area and press down arrow to locate “Virtual ribbon support”.
  3. Press SPACEBAR to toggle the “Virtual ribbon support” on.
  4. Then press TAB to reach the “OK” button and press SPACEBAR on it to close the dialogue.

 

Virtual ribbon menu navigation principle

Below are some navigational tips for using the Microsoft Office Ribbon with the relevant JAWS support enabled.

  1.  Press ALT to enter the ribbon menu in an application.
  2. Press ENTER to access the lower ribbon level.
  3. Press UP or DOWN ARROW keys to move between ribbon groups.
  4. Press ENTER to navigate into a ribbon group.
  5. Within a ribbon group press UP or DOWN ARROW keys to navigate through controls inside that ribbon group or press LEFT ARROW or ESCAPE to go back a ribbon group level at a time.

    • Related Articles

    • JAWS - Virtual ribbon menu is blank

      Problem We have become aware of a problem introduced by the JAWS June 2023.2306 update that causes the loss of speech in the Microsoft Office virttual rubbon menu. Freedom Scientific are aware of the issue as of 13/07/2023. Resolution Please use ...

    • JAWS – Microsoft office ribbon accelerator keys do not always work

      Problem A JAWS customer using Microsoft Office applications find that sometimes when they use the Microsoft Office ribbon accelerator keystrokes, they do not always work or function as expected. Applies to JAWS Fusion Resolution The Microsoft Office ...

    • Freedom Scientific – Remote Access (JAWS/Fusion)

      About Freedom Scientific offer the a Remote Access feature on their JAWS and Fusion license products. This add-on license option provides the capability to access and control a another computer from their own workstation over common remote access ...

    • Microsoft – Outlook ribbon missing features

      Problem When using Outlook the ribbon is missing features or buttons are in a different layout than expected, an example of the problem is shown below: Applies to Microsoft Outlook Resolution On some installation of Microsoft Outlook a simplified ...

    • JAWS – Windows Start menu no longer speaks when navigating

      Problem The Windows Start menu no longer speaks when opened. Using arrow keys or TAB elicits no speech feedback from JAWS. Applies to JAWS with Windows 10/11 Resolution This problem has been identified in Windows 10 and Windows with JAWS version 2025 ...