Share files with my team members

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Sometimes you may want to share a file you've been working on with members of your team or even somebody outside your company. OneDrive makes it easy to share and collaborate, while controlling who can access or edit your files.

What will I learn?

How to use OneDrive to store and share files.

What do I need?

Microsoft OneDrive
5 minutes

Go to the OneDrive website and sign in with your your work account.
Pick the file or folder you want to share
Select Share at the top of the page.
Select Copy Link to copy the link and share it however you want, like in an email, document, or Teams message.

Or, add who you want to share with and type a message. Select Send and they'll receive an email with a link to the file.

To change the link permissions, select Link Settings:

Note
If a sharing option has been greyed out, your business admins may have restricted them. For example, they may choose to disable the Anyone option to prevent usable links being forwarded to others outside your organization.
- Anyone gives access to anyone who receives this link, whether they receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else. This may include people outside of your organization.
- People in <Your Organization> with the link gives anyone in your organization who has the link access to the file, whether they receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else.
- People with existing access can be used by people who already have access to the document or folder. It does not change any permissions. Use this if you just want to send a link to somebody who already has access.
- Specific people gives access only to the people you specify, although other people may already have access. If people forward the sharing invitation, only people who already have access to the item will be able to use the link.
  
  Note
  To track access and ensure security, you can only share with someone who is in your organization or has a Microsoft Account.
Under Other settings, you can set any of the following options:
- Allow editing lets people edit the files or folders they have access to. If you're sharing a folder, people with Edit permissions can copy, move, edit, rename, share, and delete anything in the folder they have access to. Unchecking this box means that people can view, copy, or download your items without signing in. They can also forward the link to other people. However, they cannot make changes to the version on your OneDrive.
  Notes
  - Allow editing is turned on by default.
  - You can also set editing permissions on the previous screen by selecting the pencil icon to the right of the names you're sharing the file with.
- Block download prevents people from downloading the file or folders they have access to. Unchecking this box means that people can download the files onto their devices.
- Set expiration date lets you set a date for the link to expire. After the date you set, the link won't work anymore and you will need to create a new link for users requiring access to your file or folder.
- Set password letsyou set a password to access the file. When a user clicks the link, they will be prompted to enter a password before they can access the file. You'll need to provide this password separately to anyone you want to share the file with.
- Open in review mode only limits people to leaving comments and making suggestions on the file.
  Notes
  - Only Word documents / files have this permission option.
  - If someone already has editing permissions for the document, selecting Open in review mode only will not prevent them from making edits. For them, the document will open in edit mode.
Once you have set all your link settings and permissions, select Apply.
Now you're ready to share your file or copy the link.

If you already have a file open in a Microsoft 365 app such as Word or PowerPoint, you can easily share without closing the file or leaving the app.

Select Share from the top right corner of the app.
If you want a link you can paste into an email, text message, or other location select Copy link. Otherwise select Share again.
On the Share dialog confirm the permissions you want the other person to have, enter their name or email address, and a short message explaining what the file is and why you're sharing it with them.
Select Send.

Tip

Adding a message explaining what the file is and why you're sharing it helps the other person have context as to what you expect them to do with the file and makes it less likely they'll think the file is phishing or malware.