Sharing files safely from OneDrive and SharePoint

Sharing a link from OneDrive or SharePoint is much safer than emailing attachments. Everyone works on the same copy, you can see who has access, and you can take access back at any time. The one thing to get right is the type of link.

Sharing a file

In OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams or File Explorer, right-click the file or folder and choose Share. Type the names or email addresses of the people you want to share with, choose whether they can edit or only view, add a short message and send. They receive an email with a link.

Choosing the right link

Click the settings icon in the share window to see the link options. Specific people works only for the people you name, who must sign in or confirm their email address. This is the right choice for almost everything. People in your organization works for anyone in your business, and suits internal documents everyone should see. Anyone with the link works for whoever has the link, including anyone it is forwarded to. Avoid it for anything confidential. Depending on your settings, we may have switched this option off or set links of this kind to expire automatically.

View or edit

Give edit access only to people who need to change the document. For contracts, price lists or anything you send to customers, sharing as view-only, or blocking downloads where that option is available, keeps the original under your control.

Sharing with people outside the business

You can share with customers, suppliers and your accountant in the same way. Choose Specific people, use their business email address, and set an expiry date if the option is there. When the work is finished, remove their access.

Seeing and stopping sharing

Select the file and choose Manage access to see everyone who can open it. From there you can remove a person, change edit to view or delete a link. It is worth checking your most important folders this way once in a while.

Shared a file by mistake?

Remove the access straight away, then let us know at hello@bitnode.tech. If the file contained personal or financial information, we can check whether it was opened and help you decide whether anyone needs to be told.