SharePoint Sharing & Permissions: Complete Guide
Every sharing decision in SharePoint and OneDrive — from external sharing to permission audits — explained in plain English. The 30-topic system that turns sharing from a daily anxiety into a confident, controlled process. Especially urgent if Copilot is coming, because Copilot reads every permission you’ve set.
Sharing Files
How to share files with the right controls
Share a File Externally
Share files outside your organisation without losing control. Specific people, expiry dates, view-only.
Share a File with View-Only Access
Share read-only. Recipients can read but not edit, comment, or change. Perfect for reference content.
Share a File with Designated People
Share with named people only. The safest sharing option — forwarded links don’t work for anyone else.
Block the Download of a File
Stop people from downloading shared files. What this protects, what it can’t prevent.
Password-Protect a File
Add a password to a sharing link. When it’s worth it, and when ‘Specific people’ is better instead.
Create a Reusable File Link
Create one link you can reuse with multiple recipients. The right pattern, the governance traps.
Share a Folder with a Team
Share a whole folder with a team. When this scales, when it backfires, and the inheritance trap.
Share Your File with Everyone
Sharing with ‘Everyone’ or ‘Anyone with the link’ — when it’s safe, when it’s reckless, the alternatives.
Share a File Anonymously
Anonymous sharing — the easiest option and the riskiest. When to use it, when to never use it.
How to Share Large Files
Share videos, datasets, design files too big for email. SharePoint limits and the right pattern.
Managing Access
Check, change, and revoke access
Revoke Someone’s File Access
Remove someone’s access to a file in under 60 seconds. No notification sent, instant revocation.
See Who Has Access to a File
Check exactly who has access to any file. The Manage Access pane, plus the access paths you forgot existed.
Change Permissions on a File
Upgrade or downgrade permissions on any file. View, Edit, Full Control explained in plain English.
Share a File with an Expiry Date
Set expiry dates on shared links. The single setting that prevents forgotten 2024 links surviving until 2027.
Give Temporary Access to a File
Time-bound access for contractors and reviewers. Automation that revokes itself when work ends.
Share a File with a Group
Share with a Microsoft 365 group rather than individuals. Scales with membership, no per-person admin.
Request Access to a File
Request access to a file you can’t open. What to write, how to follow up, when to escalate.
Approve or Deny Access Requests
Approve or deny incoming access requests. Where they appear, how to route, what level to grant.
Auditing & Governance
See what’s exposed before Copilot finds it
See All My Shared Files
See every file you’ve shared. The quarterly audit every employee should run.
See Files Shared with Me
Find files others have shared with you. Where to look, how to organise, how to spot surprises.
Stop Sharing Files with Everyone
Stop sharing a file with ‘Anyone’ or ‘Everyone’. The first step of any Copilot readiness audit.
Audit Access to a File
Full access audit on any file or library. The Copilot-readiness check every organisation needs.
Lock Down Parts of a File
Lock specific sections, cells, or ranges in Office files. Document protection, restricted editing.
Share a File for Approval
Share for formal approval — review comments, sign-off, audit trail. Three patterns explained.
Permissions & Architecture
How SharePoint permissions actually work
Understand File Permissions in SharePoint
How SharePoint permissions actually work. Edit, Contribute, Read, Full Control, inheritance, groups.
Remove File Inheritance
Break permission inheritance — when to, when not to, how to undo it without losing access.
Where to Save — OneDrive vs SharePoint
Where to save each file: OneDrive or SharePoint? The decision rule that makes it obvious.
Teams Sharing
Chat, channel, and email sharing
Share a File in a Teams Chat
Share files in a Teams chat — where they actually go, who can access, the OneDrive trap.
Share a File in a Teams Channel
Share files in a Teams channel — proper team ownership, no orphaned files when chats archive.
Share a File via an Email Link
Email a SharePoint link, not an attachment. Why links beat attachments, how to track recipients.
The Sharing Handbook gives you the Traffic Light System for every SharePoint sharing decision. Real screenshots of the Link Settings dialog, end-user focused, no admin access required. Plus a printable poster, the Pre-send Checklist, and a Sharing Standard template you can give to your team today.
Get the Sharing Handbook — $27 →