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I work on a company that started using Sharepoint as the main network for collaboration. We manage to use the Sync button on our Sharepoint Library , on the browser, so it will have all the files available on our computers and be able to open the files directly on the Windows File Explorer.

Sharepoint Sync Button

However, this sync folder is stored on my C drive under my username: "C:\Users[[My Username]][[Our Company Name]][[Our LibraryName]]" - and that's not ideal when I would like to share a folder path with a colleague because the path will be different for them (it will have their usernames instead of mine, and they would have to change it by hand before pasting and accessing).

Library synced path on computer

What I am looking for is a way to share a path to a folder exactly like the Windows network works, just copying a folder path from this synced Sharepoint Library in my computer, from the top of my File Explorer and pasting it on a chat or email with a colleague so they will be able to copy it in to their File Explorer without the need to change anything or use the browser to access it. Is there any way to do that on this system we have?

Thank you.

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  • Which version of SharePoint are you using? Are you using the latest version of OneDrive for Business on your machine?
    – Callum Crowley
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 15:02
  • Sorry, I forgot about it. It's SharePoint in Microsoft 365, online. Syncing to he computer with OneDrive version 2022 (Build 22.022.0130.0001) 64 bits
    – Kinosei
    Commented Feb 23, 2022 at 16:22

2 Answers 2

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To share a file with a colleague, you'll want to share the web URL of the file rather than the local address of the copy synced to your machine (since they don't have access to your local files directly anyway).

You can do this by right clicking on the file in File Explorer and choosing "Share". This will open a OneDrive dialog with the option to share by sending a link to a recipient or by choosing "Copy link" and then choosing who will need access to your file.

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  • And this link will be open on the browser by my colleague, not on their synced folder on their computer, right?
    – Kinosei
    Commented Feb 24, 2022 at 15:35
  • Correct, your files are actually stored in your OneDrive so they're essentially accessing it, like they would any other file on SharePoint.
    – Callum Crowley
    Commented Feb 24, 2022 at 16:45
  • The best answer so far. And additionally, your colleague can also click on the Sync button and have your files sync on their computer too. But again, your name (not username) will be set as the top-level sync folder too in their Windows Explorer.
    – Radityo Ardi
    Commented Feb 26, 2022 at 19:36
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Looking further about this, there is an extension that allows you to change the link generated when copying.

The extension is called Path Copy Copy (https://pathcopycopy.github.io/) and there it's possible to setup a command that will find your username and change it to %USERNAME%, which will be changed to my colleague's username when they use the link on their computer. The only requirement is that every one using this type of link will have the same setup for the shared network. In our case, C:\Users\%USERNAME%\Network, so it will match the the address with the other usernames as well.

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  • To clarify, SharePoint Online/OneDrive for Business is not the same as a network drive. Users using these apps should use the share link or web address of the file they are attempting to share to share the file with colleagues.
    – Callum Crowley
    Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 10:26
  • But that's not practical and will open the file on the browser, while all the users already have the file on their computer. The idea is to quickly guide the other user through their sync on the computer.
    – Kinosei
    Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 18:08
  • Files are stored in the SharePoint library, they are only synced to machines if users specifically instruct OneDrive to do so. The answer I have suggested is the Microsoft recommended way of sharing links to files.
    – Callum Crowley
    Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 18:29
  • Yes, I understand. And what I asked is a quick and practical way of sharing the way we want. If Microsoft doesn't have an official way of making our life easier the way we want, we rather use a third party. Your answer is good enough to understand that there's no good answer for exactly we wan on an oficial way. And I appreciate that.
    – Kinosei
    Commented Mar 26, 2022 at 14:47

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