Use a screen reader to open the Classic Exchange admin center in Exchange Online

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The Classic Exchange admin center (Classic EAC) is a web-based app that lets you manage your Exchange Online organization in a web browser. Using a screen reader and keyboard shortcuts, you can open the EAC and perform administrative tasks (based on your permissions).

Note

When you work in the EAC, we recommend that you use Internet Explorer as your web browser. For more information about the keyboard shortcuts you can use to navigate the EAC and about other accessibility features that are available for Exchange Online, see Learn more about Internet Explorer keyboard shortcuts and Accessibility in Exchange Online.

  1. Sign in to your organization's Microsoft 365 or Office 365 account. In the App launcher, move the focus to the Admin app. You hear "Go to the Microsoft 365 admin center, Link." Press Enter.

    Tip

    If you use the My apps page to open your apps, to quickly move to the Admin app (sometimes one of the last apps on the list), move the focus to the Search apps box (one of the first elements on the page). In JAWS, you hear "Leaving menus, My apps, Edit, Type text." In Narrator, you hear "Search apps, Editing." Type admin, and then move the focus to the only search result on the page: Admin app. You hear "Admin link." Press Enter.

  2. As the Microsoft 365 admin center opens, in JAWS, you hear "Office 365, Microsoft admin center, Home." In Narrator, you hear "Office 365, Editing..

  3. To move the focus to the Expand link in the navigation pane, press the Tab key until you hear one of the following two options.

    • "Expand navigation menu button." To expand the navigation pane, press Spacebar.

    • "Collapse navigation menu button." The navigation pane is already expanded, so no action is required.

  4. To move the focus to Admin centers (the last item in the navigation pane), press the Tab key until you hear "Admin centers..

  5. To ensure that the Admin centers list is expanded so that you can access the items in it, press the Tab key. Then, based on the audible feedback you hear, perform one of the following two actions.

    • If you hear "Exchange link, Open Exchange admin center in a new tab," the list is already expanded and you've selected Exchange.

    • If you hear something other than "Exchange link, Open Exchange admin center in a new tab," the list is collapsed. To move the focus back to the Admin centers list, press Shift+Tab. To expand the list, press Enter. In the expanded Admin centers list, to select Exchange, press the Tab key until you hear "Exchange link, Open Exchange admin center in a new tab..

  6. To open the Exchange admin center, press Enter. As the Exchange admin center opens in a new tab in your web browser, in JAWS, you hear "Exchange admin center." In Narrator, you hear "Microsoft Exchange..

  7. To move the focus to Dashboard (the first link), in the navigation pane of the Exchange admin center, press Ctrl+F6 twice. In Narrator, you hear "Dashboard, Primary navigation link..

    Tip

    To move to the rest of the items in the navigation pane, press the Tab key. To open an item, press Enter. After you've opened an item, to move directly to one of its elements in the content area on a page, press Ctrl+F6. To identify the admin role groups to which you've been assigned, which determine the tasks you can perform in the EAC, refer to Use a screen reader to identify your admin role in the Exchange admin center.