{"id":4657,"date":"2020-05-19T10:18:43","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T04:48:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/?p=4657"},"modified":"2025-02-26T15:46:35","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:16:35","slug":"how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities","title":{"rendered":"How SharePoint Online Features can Help You to Manage External Sharing Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_72 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities\/#Understanding_External_Sharing\" title=\"Understanding External Sharing:\">Understanding External Sharing:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities\/#Various_Options_Available_to_Share_Content_Using_SharePoint_Online\" title=\"Various Options Available to Share Content Using SharePoint Online\">Various Options Available to Share Content Using SharePoint Online<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities\/#New_and_Existing_Guests\" title=\"New and Existing Guests:\">New and Existing Guests:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities\/#Anyone\" title=\"Anyone:\">Anyone:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities\/#Only_People_in_Your_Organization\" title=\"Only People in Your Organization:\">Only People in Your Organization:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities\/#Configure_External_Sharing_Setting\" title=\"Configure External Sharing Setting:\">Configure External Sharing Setting:<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/how-sharepoint-online-features-can-help-you-to-manage-external-sharing-activities\/#Existing_Guests\" title=\"Existing Guests:\">Existing Guests:<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Every organization whether big or small has various documents that they need to share with the end user, partners, clients and staffs in remote areas who are not present in the office location. External sharing of documents is very important as the external users also contribute a lot to the organization\u2019s growth. But at times external sharing allows access to some content which you might not want to share with people outside organization as it increases the security risks.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Understanding_External_Sharing\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 18pt; color: #008000;\"><strong>Understanding External Sharing:<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">External sharing means sharing of documents, files and any other important content with people outside the organization. Sharing the content externally requires proper planning and also a structured hierarchy of permissions, else the organization will be at risk. The external sharing is a feature, which is offered by SharePoint Online.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Various_Options_Available_to_Share_Content_Using_SharePoint_Online\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #008000;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\">Various Options Available to Share Content Using SharePoint Online<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">With <span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/sharepoint-development\/\">SharePoint online development<\/a><\/span> you can configure your external sharing settings that are provided. You can choose any one based on your business needs:<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"New_and_Existing_Guests\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #003366;\">New and Existing Guests:<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This allows organizations to share the content easily with the existing external users and you can also share it with the new users. But the users need to sign in and provide a verification code in order to access the document. They will receive an e-mail invitation containing the link, which they need to sign in, when you share any content with them. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">They will be added to your organization\u2019s Azure Active Directory as a guest. In case they don\u2019t have any work account, then they will have to enter the verification code every time and they are not added to the Azure AD.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Anyone\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Anyone:<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">It is with this option that you can share your content by using anonymous links and this doesn\u2019t need to sign in. Anyone having the link can have access to the content and they can view, share and even edit the documents. It is not recommended to be used for sharing any sensitive data or information with any unknown users as you won\u2019t be able to track who is accessing which document.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"box-shadow: 0 0 16px #cccccc; padding: 10px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Also Read: <\/strong><a href=\"\/blog\/setting-up-internal-communications-using-sharepoint\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Setting Up Internal Communications Using SharePoint<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Only_People_in_Your_Organization\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Only People in Your Organization:<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This option in SharePoint online development will not allow any sharing of content with external users. If the users already have the access, then they might lose access to it. Only people who are within the organization will have access to the data and this option can be preferred if you want to prevent external sharing completely.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Configure_External_Sharing_Setting\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Configure External Sharing Setting:<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">This option can be used to share content with outsiders in SharePoint Online and also One Drive for business. All you need to do is to choose one option from the above list and together with that you will need to configure some external sharing setting so that the content is secured. The levels include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Organization level<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">File, folder or item level<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">Individual site level<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Existing_Guests\"><\/span><span style=\"font-size: 16pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #003366;\">Existing Guests:<\/span> <\/strong><\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/dedicated-sharepoint-developer\/\">SharePoint developers<\/a><\/span> can use this option and let you share the content with only your existing guests and sharing content with new users is now allowed here. The existing users who are already in your Azure AD can access the content by accepting the sharing invitations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\">In order to keep a good track of your external users and also their varied activities, you will need some great third party security manager tools so that you can have a better tracking of your website documents, lists and libraries, files, folders and etc. It is suggested to create appropriate governance policies so that your external sharing of documents is efficient and without any loss.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"box-shadow: 0 0 16px #cccccc; padding: 10px;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Also Read: <\/strong><a href=\"\/blog\/important-social-media-features-you-need-to-consider-for-sharepoint-intranet\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Important Social Media Features You Need to Consider for SharePoint Intranet<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every organization whether big or small has various documents that they need to share with the end user, partners, clients and staffs in remote areas who are not present in the office location. External sharing of documents is very important&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4671,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,643],"tags":[876,279,278],"class_list":["post-4657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-sharepoint","tag-sharepoint-cms-development","tag-sharepoint-developers","tag-sharepoint-development"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4657"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4657\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11135,"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4657\/revisions\/11135"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idslogic.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}