Use a screen reader to group and filter tasks on a board in Microsoft Planner

This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with 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.

Use Microsoft Planner with your keyboard and a screen reader to group and filter tasks on a board to show only the ones you need. We have tested it with Narrator in Microsoft Edge, but it might work with other screen readers and web browsers as long as they follow common accessibility standards and techniques.

Notes: 

  • 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.

  • To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.

  • When you use Planner, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because Planner runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in a desktop program. For example, you’ll use Ctrl+F6 instead of F6 for jumping in and out of the commands. Also, common shortcuts like F1 (Help) and Ctrl+O (Open) apply to the web browser – not Planner.

In this topic

Group tasks

  1. In Planner, open the plan whose tasks you want to group. The Board tab of the plan is opened.

  2. Press Shift+Tab until you hear "Group by menu," followed by the currently selected grouping option, and then press Enter.

  3. Press the Up and Down arrow keys until you hear the grouping option you want, and then press Enter to select it.

  4. All tasks on the board are grouped according to the selected option. The focus returns to the first group on the board.

Filter tasks

  1. In Planner, open the plan whose tasks you want to filter. The Board tab of the plan is opened.

  2. Press Shift+Tab until you hear "Filters," followed by the number of currently applied filters, and then press Enter. The Filter menu opens and you hear: "Clear all the filters."

  3. To filter tasks:

    • To filter based on a keyword, press the Tab key until you hear "Filter text box," and enter your keyword.

      Note: You will need to enter at least 3 characters in the text box before the filter is applied.

    • To filter based on due date, press the Tab key until you hear "Toggle due date filter section," then press the Tab key until you hear the value you want, and press Enter to select it. You hear: "Checked." You can select multiple due date values in this way.

    • To filter based on label, press the Tab key until you hear "Toggle label filter section," then press the Tab key until you hear the value you want, and press Enter to select it. You hear: "Checked." You can select multiple label values in this way.

    • To filter based on assignment, press the Tab key until you hear "Toggle assignment filter section," then press the Tab key until you hear the user name you want, and press Enter to select it. You hear: "Checked." You can select multiple user names in this way.

    • To filter based on bucket name, press the Tab key until you hear "Toggle bucket filter section," then press the Tab key until you hear the bucket name you want, and press Enter to select it. You hear: "Checked." You can select multiple bucket names in this way.

  4. Press Esc to return to the board.

See also

Use a screen reader to create a plan and add buckets in Microsoft Planner

Use a screen reader to add and update details to tasks in Microsoft Planner

Keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Planner

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Microsoft Planner

Use Microsoft Planner with VoiceOver, the built-in iOS screen reader, to group tasks on a board.

Notes: 

  • 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 iOS screen reader, VoiceOver. To learn more about using VoiceOver, visit Apple accessibility.

Group tasks

  1. In the Planner Hub view, swipe right until you hear the name of the plan you want to work on, then double-tap the screen.

    Note: If you don't find the plan you want in the list, you can change it to show all plans instead of only recently opened plans. Swipe right until you hear "See all plans," and then double-tap the screen.

  2. Swipe right until you hear "Group by," and then double-tap the screen. The Group by pop-up menu opens.

  3. Swipe right until you hear the grouping criteria you want to use, and double-tap the screen to accept it. The focus returns to the task in the Planner Hub view.

See also

Use a screen reader to create a plan and add buckets in Microsoft Planner

Use a screen reader to add and update details to tasks in Microsoft Planner

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Microsoft Planner

Use Microsoft Planner with TalkBack, the built-in Android screen reader, to group tasks on a board.

Notes: 

  • 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 Android screen reader, TalkBack. To learn more about using TalkBack, go to Android accessibility.

Group tasks

  1. In the Planner Hub view, swipe right until you hear the name of the plan you want to work on, then double-tap the screen.

    Note: If you don't find the plan you want in the list, you can change it to show all plans instead of only recently opened plans. Swipe right until you hear "See all plans," and then double-tap the screen.

  2. Swipe right until you hear "Sort by," and then double-tap the screen. The Sort by pop-up menu opens.

  3. Swipe right until you hear the sorting criteria you want to use, and double-tap the screen to accept it. The focus returns to the task in the Planner Hub view.

See also

Use a screen reader to create a plan and add buckets in Microsoft Planner

Use a screen reader to add and update details to tasks in Microsoft Planner

Set up your device to work with accessibility in Microsoft 365

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate Microsoft Planner

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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