At the moment I’m taking a stroll through the Admin Centers in #Office365. We forget that not all our users have access here, and not understanding what the possibilities and configurations are can be frustrating for them. Please take the time to inform your users of what happens in the background and why these settings are important. These configurations are important for your governance plan as well and decisions should be made considering all the stakeholders.

 

Go to Office.com and click on Admin:

 

 

In the Admin Center, go to Admin Centers > OneDrive:

Under Sharing you’ll see all the options that can be configured:

For those who don’t have access to the admin center I’ve added the list below for you to copy, highlight and send to your administrators and add to your governance plan:

Links

Choose the kind of link that’s selected by default when users share items:

Default link type:

  • Shareable:  Anyone with the link
  • Internal:  Only People in your Organization
  • Direct:  Specific People

Advanced Settings for Shareable Links:

  • Links must expire withing this number of days: xx

Files: 

  • View, edit and upload or
  • View

Folders:

  • View, edit and upload or
  • View

External Sharing:

Users can share with (set slider from least to most permissive)

SharePoint:

  • Anyone
  • New and existing external users
  • Existing external users
  • Only people in your organization

OneDrive:

  • Anyone
  • New and existing external users
  • Existing external users
  • Only people in your organization

Advanced settings for external sharing:

  • Allow or block sharing with people on specific domains (need to specify domain)
  • External users must accept sharing invitations using the same account that the invitations were sent to
  • Let external users share items they don’t own

Other Settings:

  • Display to owners the names of people who viewed their files

Being informed will help you make better decisions 🙂

Notes:

  • Some sharing settings exist in multiple admin centers. When you change them in one place, the other admin centers will reflect the change. If you have multiple admins in your organization, make sure you communicate the changes you’re making.

More information:

If you want to:

 Select option: For this result:
Let users create links that don’t require sign-in (previously referred to as “anonymous access links”) Anyone Users can create links that can be freely shared. They can also select to require sign-in when they share items.
Require external users to prove who they are by entering a verification code or by signing in with a Microsoft account or a work or school account before they can access shared files. New and existing external users Users can send invitations to anyone (unless you choose to restrict domains). Invitations to access files can be redeemed only once. After they’ve been redeemed, they can’t be used by others to gain access. New external users will be added to Azure Active Directory when they sign in to view the shared item.
Allow sharing only for external users who are already in Azure Active Directory. Existing external users Users can send sharing invitations to any external user who has been added to Azure Active Directory. Invitations to access files can be redeemed only once. After they’ve been redeemed, they can’t be used by others to gain access.
Turn off external sharing. Only people in your organization External sharing is not allowed.

Purpose of this blog challenge:  I will write 365 blogs in 365 days around Microsoft 365. I did a similar challenge with Office 365, blogs can be found  https://tracyvanderschyff.com/microsoft-365/ . I won’t just be talking about the new Microsoft 365 subscription model. I will be sharing any news, tips and tricks around Office / Office 365 / Windows / Mobility and Security. And let’s not forget all the great new Apps & services available.  A lot of what I’ll share on Office and SharePoint will also be applicable to none “Office 365” versions.

“You can also find me contributing to REgarding 365. I’m a member of a group of enthusiasts, sharing their stories, thoughts and opinions about Microsoft 365. Catch us at https://regarding365.com | @regarding365 on Twitter and regarding365 on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/regarding365 ”

Disclaimer:  I create content about Office / Microsoft 365. Content is accurate at time of publication, however updates and new additions happen daily which could change the accuracy or relevance. Please keep this in mind when using my blogs as guidelines.