How to grant external user access to a folder in sharepoint

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How to grant external user access to a folder in sharepoint

Nicola Stock 20

I'd like to create a new folder on an existing sharepoint site and share that folder only with a user outside my organisation. Ideally I would like them to have edit permissions, but view only would be okay.

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Answer 1

Hi @Nicola Stock,

Based on your inquiry, this can be possible, as long as external sharing is allowed by your organization’s SharePoint settings and the specific SharePoint site also permits external sharing.

You can try the following steps:

Go to the SharePoint document library where you want the external user to access content.
Create a new folder and place only the files that external user should access in that folder.
Select the folder, then choose Share.
In Link settings, choose Specific people or People you choose so the link only works for the external user you specify.
Enter the external user’s email address, then choose Can edit if you want them to update files or Can view if you only want read-only access.
Select Send.

Here are a few quick notes to keep in mind:

If your guest only needs this specific folder, avoid adding them as a full site member to keep things focused.
If you find sharing options are greyed out, your Microsoft 365 or SharePoint admin might have restricted external sharing for this site. In this case, your admin may refer to the article Turn external sharing on or off for individual sites (site collections) | Microsoft Support to turn it on.
You don’t need to worry if your guest doesn't have a Microsoft account, depending on your organization's setup, they can verify their access with a one-time passcode.
You can later review or remove the user’s access by selecting the folder, opening Details or Manage access, and changing or removing the permission.

If this is for sensitive content, it is best to use Specific people sharing rather than an anonymous or broadly shareable link.

I hope this helps. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

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Nicola Stock 20 Reputation points

2026-06-24T16:59:34+00:00

@Ian-Ng Thank you so much for the fast and clear response, I can now see exactly how this should work, but unfortunately sharing externally has been disabled by my organisation :( But it looks like I might be able to get around it by doing the equivalent thing from my OneDrive so hopefully we have a solution! Thanks again for the help :)
Ian-Ng 14,130 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-24T22:36:59.77+00:00

Hi @Nicola Stock,

Thank you for the update. I’m glad the previous information helped clarify how the folder-level sharing should work.

As you mentioned, using OneDrive may work if your organization allows external sharing there. However, I recommend confirming with your IT admin first, especially if the folder contains business or sensitive information.

If OneDrive sharing is permitted, use Specific people, enter only the external user’s email address, and choose Can edit or Can view as needed. After finishing, you can remove the access later from Manage access on the shared folder.

Thank again for your understanding.