---
title: "Accessible navigation guide"
description: "Learn how TinyMCE works with screen readers and how screen readers work with TinyMCE."
canonical_url: "https://www.tiny.cloud/docs/tinymce/latest/tinymce-and-screenreaders/"
md_url: "https://www.tiny.cloud/docs/tinymce/latest/tinymce-and-screenreaders/index.md"
version: "latest"
last_updated: "2026-09-28T23:17:17Z"
tokens: 1295
---
# Accessible navigation guide

TinyMCE is compatible with screen readers such as JAWS and NVDA as it follows the WAI-ARIA specification. Use [NVDA](http://www.nvaccess.org/) together with [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/products/) for the best Accessibility experience.

For the accessibility standards TinyMCE is developed against and the Accessibility Conformance Reports available for download, see [Accessibility conformance](../accessibility-conformance/).

## Keyboard shortcuts

The **Alt+key** and **Option+key** shortcuts that move focus out of the content area, such as **Alt+F9** (or **⌥+F9**), can only be used when the content area of the editor has focus.

The complete list of shortcuts is maintained on the [TinyMCE Keyboard shortcuts](../keyboard-shortcuts/) page:

- [Editor keyboard shortcuts](../keyboard-shortcuts/#editor-keyboard-shortcuts) lists the shortcuts that move focus to the menu bar, the toolbar, the element path, and notifications, along with the shortcuts for applying commonly-used formats.
- [Accessibility keyboard shortcuts](../keyboard-shortcuts/#accessibility-keyboard-shortcuts) lists the shortcuts for moving between menus, toolbar buttons, and dialog controls within the editor user interface.

The sections that follow describe how to use these shortcuts to complete each navigation task.

## User interface navigation order

The **Tab** key moves focus to the next user interface section, and **Shift+Tab** moves focus to the previous section. The sections are reached in the following order:

1. Menu bar
2. Each toolbar group
3. Sidebar
4. Element path, in the status bar
5. Word count toggle button, in the status bar
6. Branding link, in the status bar
7. Editor resize handle, in the status bar

A section that is not present is skipped. Within a section, the arrow keys move between the individual controls and cycle back to the start when the end of the section is reached.

> **Note:** When the status bar has focus and no sidebar is visible, pressing **Shift+Tab** moves focus to the first toolbar group rather than the last.

## How to work with the editor

When navigating to a TinyMCE editor, the keyboard focus (caret) will be in the content area. The up and down arrow keys navigate between the lines of the editor, such as within and between paragraphs, headings and other items such as links.

### Navigating the menu bar

To focus on the editor menu bar, press **Alt+F9** (or **⌥+F9**). The **Left Arrow** and **Right Arrow** keys navigate through the top menu items. The **Enter**, **Return**, **Spacebar**, or **Down Arrow** keys open the highlighted menu and moves focus to the first menu item. To activate or select the highlighted menu item, use the **Enter**, **Return**, or **Spacebar** keys. Press the **Esc** key to collapse the menu. The **Right Arrow** key opens submenus and the **Esc** key collapses submenus. To return focus to the content area from the menu bar, use the **Esc** key.

### Navigating the toolbar

#### General toolbar navigation

To focus on the editor toolbars, press **Alt+F10** (or **⌥+F10**); which moves the keyboard focus to the first toolbar button on the first toolbar. To move between toolbar buttons *within* toolbar groups (visual groups of toolbar buttons), use the **Left Arrow** and **Right Arrow** keys. To move the focus *between* toolbar groups, use the **Tab** or **Shift+Tab** keys. When you reach the end of a toolbar group the **Right Arrow** key will return the focus to the start of the toolbar group. To activate or select the highlighted toolbar button, use the **Enter**, **Return**, or **Spacebar** keys. To return focus to the content area from the toolbar, use the **Esc** key.

#### Navigating toolbar buttons that contain menus or grids

To open submenus or grid selections on toolbar buttons, use the **Enter**, **Return**, **Spacebar**, or **Down Arrow** keys. To close submenus or grids, use the **Esc** key. Some toolbar buttons with menus will present a grid of options rather than a menu, such as the background color selector. These grids can be navigated with the arrow keys and closed using the **Esc** key.

### Navigating the element path

To focus on the element path in the status bar, press **Alt+F11** (or **⌥+F11**). The element path is exposed as a WAI-ARIA `group` with a localized accessible name (`Element Path` in English). Use the **Left Arrow** and **Right Arrow** keys to move between segments. To return focus to the content area, use the **Esc** key.

### Navigating dialogs

Dialogs such as **Insert/Edit Image** are opened from either a menu item or a toolbar button. Some dialogs contain multiple tabs or pages of options. To change tabs or pages, use the arrow keys; the highlighted tab will become active immediately. Use the **Tab** key to navigate between the dialog options on the selected dialog tab. The **Save** dialog button stores the changes, and the **Cancel** dialog button or the **Esc** key discards changes.

### Navigating notifications

To focus on the editor notifications, press **Alt+F12** (or **⌥+F12**); which moves the keyboard focus to the first notification. To move the focus *between* notifications and other focusable elements (e.g. links or buttons) within a notification, use the **Tab** key. Use **Shift+Tab** key to navigate backward. When you reach the end of the elements within a notification using **Tab** key, it will either cycle to the next notification in the list or cycle back to the first one if you’re already on the last. To close the currently focused notification, press the **Esc** key.

## Accessibility options

TinyMCE has accessibility options that can be set when initializing the editor, see: [Accessibility options](../accessibility/).