Share and Collaborate

OneDrive can be used to Share files and folders within your OneDrive account. This is also a helpful tool for collaboration with data entry into files such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint, with the ability for multiple participants to edit documents at the same time.

Getting Started

Sign into  https://portal.office.com/

Select the OneDrive application from the list of available applications, either through the App Launcher (the 3x3 grid of dots in upper left corner of the window) or the Apps shortcut along the left side of the window.

Select the File or Folder

  • Select “My Files” from the left column if the file(s) belong(s) to you.
  • If the file is stored locally on your device, you will need to add it to OneDrive with the "Add new" button.
  • Select the file or folder you want to share by putting a checkbox to the left of the item. A menu will show up above your files.
  • Select the Share button. You can also select the Share button that shows up when you hover over the file/folder, or right-click the file/folder, and select "Share".

Choose Your Sharing Option

You have two options:  "Specific people" OR  "Copy link".

Choose "Specific people" to share with a specific list of people.

  1. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to share with
  2. Set their permissions (Can edit, Can view, Can review, Can’t download) as needed. 
    1. The default permission is set to Can view.
    2. By default, links shared with Anyone will expire after 180 days. The default expiry date cann be decreased and links can be password protected. .
    3. Users will automatically receive an email when a file is shared with them. 

Choose "COPY LINK" to share items with lots of people you might not even know personally.

You can use this option to share a link to a file in an email. For each of the 3 options below, you can set permissions such as Can Edit, Can View, or Can’t Download:

  • Anyone
  • People in The Universi...stern Ontario
  • People you choose 

Select "COPY LINK" to copy the sharing link to your clipboard. You can then paste this link wherever you want to send it.

By default, links shared with "Anyone" will expire after 180 days. The default expiry date cann be decreased and links can be password protected. Links shared to "People in The Universi...stern Ontario" or "People you choose" do not have an expiry date.

 

Manage Access

If the selected file or folder is already shared with someone, right-click or select the the 3 dots that appear beside the file name, then select "Manage Access".

Each image represents either the profile photo of an individual or the initials of a group that the file has been shared with.

To edit the access level for an individual or group, select the photo or group initials to open “Manage Access”

Remember that sharing links through the OneDrive desktop app is also possible. Just right-click the file or folder in your OneDrive folder on your computer and select “Share”. 

You can remove a shared link at any time to remove access to anyone who is using the link. You can do this by going to "Manage Access", select "Links", and selecting the Trash icon beside the link.

You can stop sharing at any time by selecting "Stop Sharing" in "Manage Access".

Managing your Shared Files and Folders

Below your "My Files" in the left column, there is a "Shared" secton. From here, you will be brought to the "With You" section, where you can see all of the files/folders that have been shared with you.

If you select "By You", you can find all of the files/folders that you have shared with others. This is a quick way for you to see what you are sharing, and manage access accordingly.

Published on  and maintained in Cascade.