I would first like to state that I am very familiar with using Microsoft 365 apps on Windows 11, but I would also like to run the suite on my Mac (MacOS 26.x). With that being said so far I have really only had luck with Outlook and One Note. I personally feel that Outlook on Mac is further developed than the new Outlook on Windows. My biggest issues are in Word and Excel. I have used the documentation that Microsoft supplies, and while it has useful content it doesn't provide the tips and tricks that an everyday user might be able to provide.
I understand the basics that Command+N starts a new document, and that command+S saves said document. I want to know the tips and tricks to make the user experience smoother. I hope my request makes sense.
Thanks in advance.
Jim
By Jim Weiss, 8 March, 2026
Forum
macOS and Mac Apps
Comments
Not So Much Pleasant Experience
My experience on the Mac has not been particularly pleasant, especially when working with Microsoft Office through VoiceOver. It may be more worthwhile to invest that time in learning Apple Numbers instead. Microsoft Office on macOS often feels impractical in day-to-day use: navigation is inconsistent, focus frequently jumps unexpectedly, keyboard interaction requires too many steps, and accessibility support—particularly in spreadsheets—remains noticeably less efficient than on Windows. In applications such as Word and Excel, even routine tasks can become unnecessarily slow because interface elements are not always exposed clearly to VoiceOver, making the workflow far less fluid than it should be. I could list countless issues that continue to affect productivity.
Here's an actual answer to the question being asked.
Hey do you know who *does* have training resources?
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-a-screen-reader-with-microsoft-365-apps-4aba5a56-f80c-4a6b-a584-d0f415471617
For example:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/basic-tasks-using-a-screen-reader-with-word-3e47346a-7876-450e-bcbf-0a4fe6576981#PickTab=macOS&picktab=macos
Amazingly, and I know this is hard to believe sometimes, there are more useful resources out there than(insert my laundry list of complaints here).
I am impressed
that they actual have a support article with Word and VO on mac. Though it seems more political than anything.
Look at this.
To read the next or previous word, press the Right or Left arrow key.
What? This is for character! Assuming they meant with the vo modifier, which wouldn't always be true as focus is effectively shaky, this error is obvious that they didn't test or human review this.
Oh and they have a broken link somewhere there pointing to a page not found apple support voiceover user guide page on mac...
Food for your thoughts.
Excel is IMO the least bad with VO. Forget powerpoint, word is usable kinda to read / write occasional documents.
The real boring but very real answer is that if you want to use microsoft office apps as a screen reader user, use windows period. You won't get very far on the mac.
Not opinion, just facts.
Or if you can, use iWork which is pretty decent with voiceover and actually usable.
Keyboard shortcuts
Microsoft's WEb site also documents the keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft 365 for Mac applications.