How to Share Files with External Users in SharePoint

Updated on:

May 12, 2026

By:

Use this interactive demo to learn how to securely share SharePoint files with people outside your organization.

Quick summary

Sharing files with external users in SharePoint lets you grant controlled access to people outside your organization using a secure, expiring link. You can restrict access to specific recipients, set link expiration dates, and copy the link to send directly — all without changing file ownership.

Steps

Go to the left-side panel and click the site library that contains the files you want to share with external users.
Hover your mouse cursor over the file and click the Share icon.
Tap the Link Settings icon to open sharing configuration options.
Select People You Choose from the list of access options.
Go to the More Settings section and configure your preferred access coverage and link expiration date.
Tap Apply to save your link settings.
Add the email addresses of the intended recipients, then click Copy Link.
Send the copied link to recipients — they can now access your SharePoint file securely.

📌 Why this matters

Sharing files with external users in SharePoint is a critical workflow for organizations that collaborate with vendors, clients, or partners outside their Microsoft 365 tenant. SharePoint's built-in external sharing controls — including recipient-specific links and expiration dates — ensure that sensitive files are only accessible to the right people for the right amount of time. Without a clear process, teams risk sharing files too broadly or using insecure workarounds like email attachments. This demo shows the fastest, most secure way to generate and send a controlled external sharing link directly from a SharePoint document library.

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