OneDrive - Sharing Files & Folders

Owned by Gareth Pullen (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Apr 28, 2021
5 min read

Introduction

This page provides instructions on sharing Files, and sharing Folders using OneDrive - both via the Desktop Client and the Web Interface. It also provides instructions on how to manage access to shared files & folders.

Requirements

You must have a OneDrive account setup & configured, and know the email address of the person (or people) you want to share access with. For the Desktop Client instructions, it assumes you have already signed in to OneDrive on the desktop (if you have not please see our page OneDrive - Set up and Copying your data to OneDrive for instructions on signing in).

Sharing Files & Folders

 Using the Desktop Client
  1. Open Windows Explorer and go to your OneDrive folder - you can quickly get there by clicking on the OneDrive icon, and then clicking on "Open Folder" at the bottom of the popup:
  2. Right-click on the folder you want to share, and then in the menu that pops up click on "Share" with the OneDrive icon beside it:
  3. A new window will pop up - this is where you can decide who to share it with, and whether they should be able to Edit & upload items as well as view them:
    1. Clicking on the "People you specify can view" will then allow you to "Allow editing", and also choose if you want to allow access to the folder for anyone with a University of Cambridge account (not recommended!):

      Once you have ticked the "Allow editing" box (if desired) click "Apply" to return to the previous window.
    2. Enter the name or CRSID of the person you want to grant access to - this box will search the Cambridge University Office 365 for the person - once you have found the right person, click on their name to add them, and they will be added to the list and the search box will return:
  4. (Optionally) Click on the "Message..." text to enter a message to be sent - you do not have to enter anything here, if it is left blank they wil receive an email saying "Here's a OneDrive link to <The Folder Name>"
  5. Click "Send" to send the link to them. Alternatively you can click "Copy" to copy the link to the clipboard - e.g. for sharing via Teams - or click on the "Outlook" button to open a new message to the person/people you selected to give access to.
 Using the Web Interface
  1. Go to the OneDrive website and sign in: https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-in/signin/
  2. Browse to the folder (or file) you want to share, hover over it and then click in the circle on the left to select it:
  3. With the folder selected you can either click on the arrow to the right of the name, or click on "Share" at the top of the window:
  4. This will then pop-out a small window, click on "People you specify can view" at the top (A in the image below) to change the permissions:
    1. To grant permission to edit & upload files click on the "People you specify can view" and then tick "Allow Editing" and click Apply:
  5. To choose who to share the link with, click in the box labelled with B above, and start entering the name or CRSID of the person you want to share it with - this will search the University of Cambridge Office 365 for the user. Once you have found them click on their name to add them to the list, and repeat for any others you want to add:
  6. You can optionally add a Message by clicking in the "Message" box beneath the name search.
  7. Click "Send" to send a link and the message to the people you have specified.


Managing Access

 Using the Desktop Client
  1. Right-click on the file or folder you are sharing.
  2. In the menu that appears click on "Share" with the OneDrive icon beside it:
  3. In the window that pops up, click on the "..." in the top-right corner, and then click on "Manage Access" in the menu that pops down:
  4. You will then see a list of who has access to View and access to Edit the file / folder. Click the down-arrow beside their initials to see their name:
  5. Once you have clicked the down-arrow you will see their name, and a cross beside it - click that to remove their access:
 Using the Web Interface
  1. Go to the OneDrive website and sign in: https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-in/signin/
  2. Browse to the file or folder you want to manage access for, hover over it with your mouse and then click the line of 3 dots to the right of the name to pop up a menu, and click on "Manage Access":
  3. A window will pop out from the side showing who has access to View and who has access to Edit the file / folder. Click the down-arrow beneath each option to view the names and edit the permission:
  4. This will then expand the list, and you can click the cross beside each name to remove their access:

What the icons mean:

You may notice different icons in the OneDrive folder on your computer - the image below explains what they mean:

You may see the "Sync Pending" icon if a subfolder or file within a subfolder is pending synchronisation.