How to Share a SharePoint Online Site | How to share a sharepoint site with external users

Do you know how to share a SharePoint Site, check out this tutorial, here I have explained how to Share a SharePoint Online Site with both internal and external users. First, we will see, how to share a sharepoint site with internal users and then I will explain, how to share a sharepoint site with external users.

Share a SharePoint site with internal users

We can give other people access to a site by adding them as Owners, Members, or Visitors by sharing a specific site.

The Site owner can share a SharePoint site for those who don’t have access to a site inside the organization and also we can share a SharePoint site with external users.

Share a SharePoint Site who don’t have access to a site

• A site owner can control site members to share a site by Site Sharing settings, like:
  • Site owners and members can share site
  • Only site owners can share a site

Now we will see how to Share a SharePoint site with organization members:

• Open the SharePoint Online site.
• For the SharePoint Communication site, click on the Share icon on the top navigation menu

OR

• For the SharePoint Team site, click on the Settings icon -> Select Site permissions -> expand Add Members -> Click on the Share site only

• Now provide the user’s name or email to provide access to the site.

• Expand the user name, here we can restrict the user by providing permission to a site like:
  1. Edit
  2. Read
  3. Full control

• Send Email: Here provide the message that the user can access to this SharePoint site.
• Then click on the Add button.

Now the added member will receive an email regarding that they can access to a SharePoint site as shown below:

This is how to share a sharepoint site with internal users, specially with users who don’t have access to a site.

How to share a SharePoint site with external users

Now we will see how to share a SharePoint site with an external user.

• The site owner can share a SharePoint site with external users and also they can set permissions to their particular site.
• We can also set the limit from 30 to 730 days for guest users to lose access to the site.
• By default, external sharing is enabled at SharePoint but also you need to enable it in:
  1. Enable External Sharing at the Tenant Level
  2. Enable External Sharing at the SharePoint Site Level

Note:

To Enable External Sharing at the Tenant Level you must be a SharePoint Administrator or Global Administrator to change the sharing setting of a SharePoint site whereas Site owner is not allow to change the sharing setting.

Enable External Sharing at the SharePoint Tenant Level

Let’s find out how to Enable External Sharing at the Tenant Level in SharePoint Online.

• Open the SharePoint admin center.

Example: https://<tenant-name>-admin.sharepoint.com/

• In SharePoint admin center window, select Sharing under Policies.

• In Sharing page, under External sharing slide up the SharePoint to Most permissive (Anyone) as shown below:

Expand More external sharing settings, it asked to allow different permission as listed below:

1. Limit External sharing by domain: The site owner can limit the sharing by providing the domain name. only site owner Example: If you are sharing a site with your clients, they will be having their own domain name, then you can provide their name and share it here.
   • Click on the Add domains -> a dialogue box appears where you can choose between:
     • Allow only specific domains:- Provide the specific domain name where you need to share the site.
     • Block specific domains:- Provide the specific domain name, which you need to block it.

2: Allow only users in specific security groups to share externally

3: Guests must sign in using the same account to which sharing invitations are sent

4: Allow guests to share items they don’t own

5: Guest access to a site or Onedrive will expire automatically after this many days: Here the site owners can set how many days the external users can access a site from 30 – 730 days.

6: People who use a verification code must authenticate after this many days

1. File and folder links: It has three sections
   • Choose the type of link that’s selected by default when users share files and folders in SharePoint and OneDrive: Select Anyone with the link.
   • Choose the permission that’s selected by default for sharing links: View
   • Choose expiration and permissions options for Anyone links: Select the checkbox of [These links must expire within this many days (30)] -> Provide how many days the link should get expire.
   • These links can give these permissions: Here for both files and folders, the site owner can choose between View and View and edit, as per my requirement I will choose View.

• Other settings:
  • By default, all the options of checkboxes will be selected under other settings.
• Click on the Save button.

This is how we can Enable External Sharing at the Tenant Level in SharePoint online.

Enable External Sharing at the SharePoint Site Level

Let’s find out how to enable external sharing at the SharePoint site level.

• Open the SharePoint admin center -> Expand Sites -> select Active sites

• Select your Site from Active sites -> click on Sharing on the top menu.

• A Sharing dialogue box will appear, Here we have to select with whom we want to share the Site content. For example, I have selected the option Anyone with options mentioned
  • Anyone (Users can share files and folders using links that don’t require sign-in)
  • New and existing guests (Guests must sign in or provide a verification code)
  • Existing guests only (Only guests already in your organization’s directory)

• Expand Advanced settings for external sharing -> Here, I have not selected the option as I don’t want to share through a domain.
  • Expiration of guest access: Here rather you can select the check box Same as organization-level-setting for 60days or we can set it as
    • Guest access doesn’t expire automatically.
    • Guest access expires automatically after this many days (if you select this check box) -> Provide how many days the link should get expire.

• Default sharing link type: Here rather you can select the check box Same as organization-level-setting for specific people or we can set it as Anyone with the link from the below options
  • people with existing access
  • specific people ( only the people the user specifies)
  • only people in your organization
  • Anyone with the link
• Expand Advanced settings for Anyone links -> it gives Expiration of Anyone links, here you can select Same as organization-level-setting () or we can set it as
  • These links never expire
  • These links must expire within this many days -> Provide how many days the link should get expire from 1 to 730 days.

• Default link permission: here you can select the Same as organization-level-setting (View) or we can set it as
  • Edit: Select Edit, if we want to give edit permission to the external user.
  • View: Select View, if we want to give only read permission to the external user.
• Click on Save.

This is how we enabled external sharing at the Tenant level and Site level, but now we will see how to share a SharePoint site with external users.

1. Follow the same procedure to share a SharePoint site as mentioned above, but provide the external user name to provide access to the site as shown below:

2. Send Email: Here provide the message that the user can access this SharePoint site.

3. Then click on the Add button.

Now the added external user will receive an email regarding that they can access to a SharePoint site as shown below:

This is how we can Share a SharePoint Site with an External user.

Conclusion

I hope this tutorial helps you out with how to Share a SharePoint Online Site with people who don’t have access to the site inside an organization.

Also, I have explained how to enable external sharing at the Tenant level and Site level where the site owner can share the SharePoint site with external users.

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