How do I share files and folders?

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Sharing within your department/school

Colleagues within your department/school should already have access to the Departmental SharePoint site. By default, all site members can access the Departmental and Shared document libraries. If they do not, please refer them to the site owners to request access.

To direct a colleague to a specific file or folder on SharePoint you may find it useful to create a sharing link.

1. Right click on the file/folder you wish to share.
2. Select Share.
3. Select People you specify can view to open the link settings.
4. Choose the option People with existing access.
5. Select Apply.
6. Press Copy link to generate the link. The link will be copied to your clipboard.

You can now paste this link via email or Microsoft Teams chat to direct colleagues within your department/school to specific files stored on your SharePoint. Usually you can do this by right clicking in a text area and selecting Paste.

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Sharing outside of your department

If you’re sharing files and folders to University colleagues outside of your department/school, it is recommended that you first move them to the Shared document library. This allows your site owners to easily audit which files and folders are currently being shared outside of your department/school.

For information about moving files and folders please see the FAQ ‘How do I move items in SharePoint?’.

1. Right click on the file/folder you wish to share.
2. Select Share.

When sharing files or folders you’ll need to set the link sharing settings to the appropriate option:

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Sharing externally outside of the University

Please note: By default, external sharing is disabled for Departmental SharePoint sites. Site owners must request external sharing to be enabled at the site-level via the IT Service Desk. Once enabled, all site members will have the ability to share items externally.

When this is enabled, site owners may wish to create a folder or request a document library specifically for storing files that are shared externally. This can facilitate easier auditing of sharing permissions.

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Managing Access

To amend or delete a sharing link you’ll need to first navigate to the location the item is stored in.

1. Right click on the item.
2. Select Manage Access.

You’ll then see a list of sharing links that are active for the selected item.

For more information, please see the FAQ ‘How do I remove or change sharing links in SharePoint?’.

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