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How do I manage access to my OneDrive for Business files?

Published: 14 July 2021 Last updated: 23 July 2024

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Sharing links

When you share an item in your OneDrive for Business account a sharing link is generated based on the sharing settings you have selected.

It’s often useful to change these sharing permissions rather than generate new sharing links. For example, if you have provided View only access and your colleague has asked for you to update this to Edit access you can easily update the sharing link to the type of access that’s required.

Additionally, if you need to provide the same access to another colleague you can add them to the existing sharing link.


Manage access

Via the website

  1. Right click on the item within the OneDrive for Business website.
  2. Select Manage access from the context menu.

You’ll be presented with the Manage access settings.

Via the desktop app

  1. Right click on the item in your OneDrive for Business sync folder within File Explorer / Finder.
  2. Select Share.
  3. Choose the three dotsin the top right of the Share link box.
  4. Select Manage Access.

Auditing sharing links

It’s important to regularly audit your sharing permissions and remove access to items that no longer need to be shared. Auditing your sharing permissions is easy when you know where to look.

  1. Select Shared from the navigation menu.
  1. At the top, select the Shared by you tab to see a full list of the items in your OneDrive that are currently being shared.
  1. Right click on the items in this list, then choose Manage Access.

Links giving access

The sharing links you’ve generated will be listed under Links giving access.

Each link you’ve generated will state the link type underneath the URL.

You can copy the URL for your sharing links from this window by pressing Copy next to the link you want to copy to the clipboard.

Edit links giving access

To edit a sharing link, select the three dots next to the link you want to make changes to.

This is useful for adding or removing users, changing the link access type, changing the password on a public sharing link or changing a links expiry date.

Direct access

Direct access can be given to files an folders however we recommend that you use sharing links instead.


Editing a sharing link

Depending on the type of link you’re editing you will see different options.

Anyone with the link

Can view/Can edit

Once you have generated this type of sharing link, you cannot change whether it is set to Can view or Can edit. You will need to share it again with the correct permissions in this instance.

Expires

The expiry date for this link type can be changed. Click on the expiry date to open the calendar view. Select a new date to change it then press Save.

Password

Select the password to change it then press Save. Please note that you cannot remove the password.

Delete the link

Select the X next to the URL to delete the link. You’ll be prompted to confirm that you are sure.


People in University of Worcester with the link

Can view/Can edit

Once you have generated this type of sharing link, you cannot change whether it is set to Can view or Can edit. You will need to share it again with the correct permissions in this instance.

Delete the link

Select the X next to the URL to delete the link. You’ll be prompted to confirm that you are sure.


Specific people

Can view/Can edit

Select the drop down menu to change the Link settings. You can select either Can view or Can edit from the drop down menu. Press Save to confirm the changes.

Add a user

Type a name into the ‘Specify people for this link’ field. Choose the correct person from the search results.

Remove a user

Select the X next to the person you want to remove from the sharing link. You’ll be prompted to confirm that you’re sure you want to remove access for this user.

Delete the link

Select the X next to the URL to delete the link. You’ll be prompted to confirm that you are sure.


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