Use a screen reader to create a new document in a document library in SharePoint Online
Applies ToSharePoint in Microsoft 365

This article is for people who use a screen reader program such as Windows Narrator, JAWS, or NVDA with Windows tools or features and Microsoft 365 products. This article is part of the Accessibility help & learning content set where you can find more accessibility information on our apps. For general help, visit Microsoft Support.

Use SharePoint in Microsoft 365 with your keyboard and a screen reader to create new documents in a document library, where you can easily share documents with your team. We have tested it with Narrator and JAWS, but it might work with other screen readers 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 SharePoint in Microsoft 365, we recommend that you use Microsoft Edge as your web browser. Because SharePoint in Microsoft 365 runs in your web browser, the keyboard shortcuts are different from those in the 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 SharePoint in Microsoft 365.

Create a new document

  1. Sign in to your organization’s Microsoft 365 account, start the SharePoint app, and then open your document library.

    Tip: Document libraries in SharePoint Online have two different views: classic and SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience. For most people, SharePoint in Microsoft 365 is the default. However, if you hear “Check it out button” when navigating your document library, you’re using the classic experience. To view SharePoint in Microsoft 365 document libraries, when you hear “Check it out button,” press Enter. After the view of your document library changes to the SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience and the focus moves from the Check it out button to the New link, you hear the name of your document library, followed by “New.”

  2. When you open a library in the SharePoint in Microsoft 365 experience, the focus is on the New button. You hear “New, Create a new folder or Office document in this location, Use the Left or Right Arrow keys to navigate and the Enter key to activate, Submenu, To move through the items, press Up or Down Arrow.” (In Narrator, you hear “Menu item, Status.”)

    Tip: If the focus is not on the New button, press the Tab key until you hear the library name and either “Leaving Menus” or “Menu, New, Create a new folder or Office document in this location, Use the Left or Right Arrow keys to navigate and the Enter key to activate, Submenu, To move through the items, press Up or Down Arrow.” (In Narrator, you hear “Menu item, Status.”)

  3. To open the menu, press Enter.

  4. Press the Down Arrow key until you hear the name of the Office application, and then press Enter.

  5. A new document opens. You hear “New, Create a new folder or Office document in this location, Use the Left or Right Arrow keys to navigate and the Enter key to activate, Submenu.” (In Narrator, you hear “Menu item, Status”)

  6. Create a document. Your Office document is automatically saved. The name of the document is Document number.

  7. To exit, press Alt+F and then press the Down Arrow key until you hear “Exit.” Press Enter. If you’re using JAWS, the window closes.

  8. If you’re using Narrator, the Do you want to close all tabs or the current tab? dialog box opens.

  9. Press the Right Arrow key. You hear “Close current tab.”

  10. Press Enter. Your document is closed, and the focus returns to the library.

See also

Use a screen reader to check out or check in files in a document library in SharePoint Online

Use a screen reader to edit a document in a document library in SharePoint Online

Keyboard shortcuts in SharePoint Online

Basic tasks using a screen reader with SharePoint Online

Use a screen reader to explore and navigate SharePoint Online

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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