List Access

Question

Is there a way to setup List access to folders. We have external users that we don't want to be able to see all Subfolders in a folder. We just want them to see what we give them access to. We also don't want to have to send them a link for each folder that they need access to.

Answer 1

Hi @Chasity Joffrion, 

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A forum.  

Thank you for reaching out and sharing your question. We appreciate your goal of allowing external users to access only specific folders without exposing all subfolders and without sending individual links for each folder. 

Microsoft 365 (SharePoint/OneDrive) uses a hierarchical permission model. When a user has access to a parent folder, they can see all subfolders. It is possible to break permission inheritance and grant access to individual subfolders; however, the parent folder will remain visible, and other folders will display “Access Denied” if selected. 

Currently, Microsoft 365 does not provide a built-in feature to completely hide sibling folders while showing only selected ones without restructuring content or creating separate libraries. 

However, below are some recommended approaches that can help achieve your objective: 

Option 1/ Begin by using the “Shared with me” view as your primary discovery path, rather than relying on per-folder links in emails. 

• Open the document library in SharePoint, go to the specific subfolder, select Manage access (or Share). 
• Stop inheriting permissions on that subfolder (if needed), then Grant access to the external user (View/Read or the exact level you require). You can choose not to send a notification. 
• Instruct the external user to go to OneDrive on the web → Shared → Shared with me. All folders you grant direct access to will appear there, so they can find future subfolders you add for them without new unique links. 
• Ask them to Add shortcut to My files for any shared subfolder. This pins the folder in their OneDrive for quick access going forward. 

Option 2/ Then, break permission inheritance to allow custom access settings for the site or folder. 

• Navigate to the subfolder, select “Manage Access,” stop inheriting permissions, and grant access only to the external user. This prevents access to other subfolders but does not completely hide the parent folder. 

Option 3/ Next, create separate document libraries or dedicated sites to organize content effectively.  

• For complete isolation, create a dedicated document library or SharePoint site for external users. This is considered best practice for external collaboration. 

Option 4/ Finally, leverage Microsoft Teams to facilitate secure external sharing and collaboration.  

• Create a team or channel for external users and store only the folders they need in that space. 

Please understand that our initial response does not always resolve the issue immediately. However, with your help and more detailed information, we can work together to find a solution.   

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If you have any updates regarding the issue, please feel free to share them with me. 

Thank you for your patience and your understanding. If you have any questions or need further assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you. 

I look forward to continuing the conversation. 

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Answer 2

To set up access to folders in SharePoint for external users without allowing them to see all subfolders, you can use the following approach:

1. Create Specific Permissions: Instead of granting access to the parent folder, create specific permissions for each folder that you want the external users to access. This way, they will only see the folders you explicitly grant them access to.
2. Use Shareable Links: You can create shareable links for each folder that you want to share with external users. This allows you to control which folders they can access without needing to send them a link for every subfolder individually.
3. Manage Permissions at the Folder Level: In SharePoint, you can break inheritance from the parent folder and set unique permissions for each subfolder. This means that external users will only see the folders they have been granted access to.
4. Data Loss Prevention: If you have sensitive information, consider using data loss prevention policies to restrict access further based on the content of the folders.

By implementing these strategies, you can effectively manage folder access for external users while minimizing the need to send multiple links.

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References:

• Plan sharing and collaboration options in SharePoint and OneDrive
• Manage list item and file permissions with Power Automate flows