OneDrive: Accessing/Managing Shared Content

Summary

This article describes how to view, edit, and remove shared content in your OneDrive. The Shared (OneDrive for home) or Shared with me (OneDrive for work or school) view shows you files that others have shared with you. After someone shares a file with you, that file will automatically appear in the Shared or Shared with Me list.

Access Shared Content

What you see differs depending whether you're signed in with a personal account or a work or school account. Select your version of OneDrive from one of the tabs below:

Sign in to OneDrive.com to see files and folders shared with you.

  1. In the navigation pane, under OneDrive, click Shared. Files or folders shared with you appear under the names of the people who shared them. Files or folders that you've shared with others appear under Shared by me.

    OneDrive Shared folders

  2. Click the file or folder to open it, just as you would any other item in OneDrive.

Note: When you open a shared OneDrive file while signed into your Microsoft account, people with permission to edit that file can see that you've opened it. People who can edit will also be able to see your name, email address, and profile picture.

Note that the Shared view is not a separate folder - you cannot move items out of it into your Files view. You can copy the shared file to your Files view, but any changes you make to the saved copy will not be reflected in the original file, so no one else with access to the original file will see your changes.

Also, if the owner of the original file revokes your access or deletes the original file, it will disappear from your Shared view.

What do "Can view" and "Can edit" mean?

People sharing items with you can give you permissions either to view the items or to edit them.

  • Item marked Can view - You have view-only permissions, so you can only open and read the item. You can't move it or change it.

  • Item marked Can edit- You can do more when you have edit permissions. You can move and copy the item within the shared folder, or to your own OneDrive, and share the item with others.

Tip: If you have edit permissions to a folder, adding the folder to your own OneDrive means you can keep the folder alongside your own folders and items in your Files list. It's also easier to move items between folders, and more easily work on items offline. Any updates you make sync with the shared folder, so everyone with access to the folder is up to date. 

Remove items from the Shared list

If you no longer want or need access to a file or folder that's been shared with you, you can remove it.

  1. In the OneDrive website, from the left side navigation, select Shared > Shared with me.

  2. Select the file or files you want to remove from the Shared list, then select Remove from shared list.

    Selected file showing the 'Remove from shared list' option at top

Tip: When you remove an item from your Shared list, you will see the prompt Remove and decline access to this file? - selecting Remove will revoke your permission to access the file.

Change permissions or stop sharing

If you have edit permissions to a shared item, you can change other peoples' permissions to the item, or stop sharing it.

  1. In your Shared list, select the item that you want to change (hover over it and then select the circle).

  2. Select Information Information in the upper-right corner to open the Details pane.

  3. Select Manage access, then do one or more of the following:

    • Select the X next to a link to disable it.

    • Select Can Edit or Can View, and then select Stop Sharing.

    • Select Can Edit or Can View and then select Change to….

    Screenshot of the Sharing section of the Details pane for a shared file.

Notes: 

  • If you don't see Manage access, you have view permissions to the item and you can't change others' permissions. In this case, only Remove from Shared list is available in the bar at the top of the page.

  • If you select Stop sharing, the item no longer appears in that person's Shared list and they can no longer access it.

  • When you remove an item from your Shared list, you still have permissions to it. You can return an item to your Shared list if you use its link again. Ask the item owner for the link if you can't find it.

  • Permissions for individual files inside a shared folder can't be changed. For example, a file in a Can edit folder can't be changed to view-only. To change permissions for items in a folder, either remove them from the folder and re-share them with different permissions, or change the permissions for the entire folder.

View a Shared folder on your computer

When someone shares a folder and gives you edit permissions to it, you can add the shared folder to your own OneDrive to make it easier to edit and work with the folder and its contents. If you sync the folder to your Windows or Mac computers running the OneDrive app, you can work with the folder offline.

Note: Shared folders added to your OneDrive do not use any of your OneDrive storage space. They only count against the folder owner's storage space.

Need Additional Help?

Please fill out the Microsoft 365 Support webform with as much detail as possible, or contact the ET&S Help Desk team on your local campus.

Details

Article ID: 3937
Created
Thu 4/1/21 2:41 PM
Modified
Fri 4/15/22 4:30 PM
Applicable Institution(s):
Granite State College (GSC)
Keene State College (KSC)
Plymouth State University (PSU)
University of New Hampshire (UNH)
USNH System Office