This short guide details how to share SharePoint or OneDrive files with people who are not a part of the same organisation as you. This example will be using Windows 11, although these steps are almost identical on Mac, Windows 10 and the web browser versions of OneDrive/SharePoint.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Sharing the files


1. Right click the file/folder and select onedrive-->share


2. Click the Gear highlighted below.


3 a) External Sharing

 Set the link to work for 'specific people'. 

This step is important if you are planning to share with external users!

Whilst on this page, you can also set if the share is for view or edit access. Once these settings are correct, select apply.

b) Internal Sharing

If you are instead sharing to internal members, please select "people in <company name> with the link". This will allow your link to only work for members of your organisation.


4. Next, we can simply add all of the email addresses of people we want to access the file. 

(Not applicable for internal sharing!)

If we wish, we can add a short message that will be sent to all the recipients.

Finally, hit Apply.



Accessing the files


The user will then receive an email with a link to access the files and or folders. When they access the link, it will bring them to a page where they can input their email address, to receive a verification code. This ensures that only the people invited can access the files.


Troubleshooting for external users


I clicked the invite link, but it says I don't have permission to access!


The most common cause of this, is being logged into a Microsoft account when accessing the shared files. When doing this Microsoft will check if your account has privileges, which it doesn't!

There are a few quick and easy fixes for this:


1. Sign out of all Microsoft accounts.

 Access office.com, and select the profiles in the top right and sign out of them.


2. Copy the invite link in your email and past it into an incognito (Google Chrome) or private browsing (Microsoft Edge) session.


3. Clear your browser cache & cookies in Chrome or Edge