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 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:
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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.
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To learn more about screen readers, go to How screen readers work with Microsoft 365.
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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
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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.”
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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.”)
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To open the menu, press Enter.
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Press the Down Arrow key until you hear the name of the Office application, and then press Enter.
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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”)
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Create a document. Your Office document is automatically saved. The name of the document is Document number.
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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.
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If you’re using Narrator, the Do you want to close all tabs or the current tab? dialog box opens.
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Press the Right Arrow key. You hear “Close current tab.”
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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
Use SharePoint in Microsoft 365 with your keyboard and a screen reader to create new a document 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. You'll also learn how to rename a document.
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.
In this topic
Create a new document
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Open the SharePoint in Microsoft 365 document library where you want to create the new document.
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Press the Tab key until you hear "Command bar," followed by the item currently in focus.
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Press the Left arrow key until you hear "New, menu item," and press Enter.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear the type of the document you want to create, for example, "Word document." Press Enter to select.
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An empty document opens in the selected Office for the web app. For example, if you're creating a Word document, Word for the web opens in the editing mode.
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Create the document content in the Office for the web app. The document is automatically saved with a default name, for example, Document.docx.
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Once you're happy with the document content, press Ctrl+W to close the current Microsoft Edge tab where you're creating the document. The Office for the web app and the document are closed.
The new document appears in the documents list of the document library.
Rename a document
You can rename a document, for example, to change the default name of a newly created document to a more descriptive one.
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Navigate to the document that you want to rename.
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Once on the document, press Shift+F10 to open the context menu.
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Press the Down arrow key until you hear "Rename," and press Enter. The Rename dialog box opens. The focus is in the document name field.
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Type a new name for the document, and press Enter.
The dialog box closes, and the focus returns to the document with the updated name.
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.
