A new OneDrive and SharePoint Sharing Experience is rolling out in August/September, 2017. This applies only to ODFB and SharePoint on-line, not OneDrive consumer. This sharing change is available both on the web and from within Windows Explorer.
Now, you can right-click on a file and select ‘Share’ (it has a blue cloud beside it). Then this box (below) opens and here’s where you select settings for sharing.
NEW ONEDRIVE SHARING EXPERIENCE
This new sharing experience will send a link by default via email. You will select what type of link to send (detailed explanation on types of links at the end of the article). Then you can enter in an email addresses and click send.
You also have an option to get a link and send it via email (this looks to be available only when the ‘anyone’ selection is chosen.
**When the Fall Creator’s Update comes out, everyone will have another option and that is to set an expiration date for your link. That’s nice because lots of us forget what we’ve shared and people may not need to have availability to your document for an unspecified time.
OneDrive and SharePoint On-line vs. Desktop Experience | What to Expect
The OneDrive team tries to make both the on-line and desktop user experience to be the same, but there are a few differences.
Desktop OneDrive & SharePoint experience
Can’t select multiple files and share all at once-just 1 at a time
Can NOT share a folder from desktop
Online OneDrive & SharePoint experience
Can share a folder on-line
Can NOT select multiple files and initiate a share
Can share an entire library or site
How do I know what I’ve Shared in my OneDrive or SharePoint?
Knowing what you’ve shared by looking in Windows Explorer will be a reality when the Creator’s Update comes out in the next month or so. Currently, we can’t tell when looking in Windows Explorer.
Check out the images below – the left shows a little people icon for the files and folders I’ve shared. This is coming in the Fall Creator’s update. The image on the right is what we see now – just the green checkmark that the file/folder is in sync. Good things are coming!
For now, to know what is shared – log into either OneDrive consumer or ODFB online and there is a ‘Shared With Me’ button over on the left side.
OneDrive & SharePoint Link types
From the Microsoft article, here is the detail on what the different sharing settings mean…
Users can change settings on sharing links to one of three possible permission levels:
- Anyone with this link:A shareable link that can be sent to others. It behaves like email. You can forward it to others or add people to the thread and it will work. This option does not require recipients to sign-in and hence is the most convenient for recipients. Use this for sharing content that can be freely shared with others, including people outside your tenant.
- Only people in [tenant]: Users who open the link must sign-in or be signed-in to a non-guest account in the tenant. It behaves like email with restrictions on it. You can forward it to others or add people to the thread, as long as the people added are inside your tenant. If any external user gets a hold of the link, they will not be able to use it. Use this for sharing internal-only content.
- Specific people: Grant permission only to the people you list. The link will only work for those people (and others who already have access to the item). If recipients want to send this link to anyone else, they need to ensure those recipients have been granted permission to the resource, otherwise the link won’t work. This option produces behavior similar to the “Invite people” tab in the old sharing UI.
It will be really great when we get the Fall Creator’s Update with these enhanced OneDrive features.