Sharepoint – View-only link allows editing

Question

Hello,

I am uploading some links to our Sharepoint, and don't want users to have editing access to the linked files (docs, excels). I am copying the links on view-only:

• Right-click
• Share
• 'Who would you like this link to work for?' = 'People in [name of my org] with the link'
• 'Other settings' = 'Can view. Cannot make changes'
• Paste that link into the Sharepoint site

However, when going on the site and clicking on the link, the files are on editor mode. How can I work around this?

Thank you.

Answer 1

I have a related problem, where I share a file on a Teams site with a link specifying that people in my organisation can view. However, I then get lots of "I'd like to access" requests from people that seem to be default set to requesting "edit" rights when I check in the advanced options. They cannot simply view it. This is a recent problem, since when I did the same in November it worked as intended. The request all seem to be from people using their correct organisational accounts.

Answer 2

Hi Tin,

Thanks for your reply. That situation you describe is exactly right.

So, if I understand correctly, the edition rights that I am still seeing as I click on the links, are simply because I am the creator of these sharepoints/links, and anyone else in the organization that is not me will get the permissions granted by the link, in this case, read-only. Is that correct?

Is there any way I can check the functioning of the site for others? If I log out of my account, I cannot access the sharepoint, as it is private to the organization.

On another note, even though the 'Open in new tab' checkbox is ticked on these links, on many of them the link opens in the same tab. Is that something that will only happen to me as the owner and editor?

Thank you. Best,

Answer 3

Dear RaymondMarcus1,

Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to help you.

According to your description, we understand that you could still edit the file by clicking the link after setting the permission of sharing file to view only. I want to know if I understand correctly.Please feel free to correct me if my understanding is incorrect.

First of all, I would like to confirm whether you have switched accounts to view this link.

In my tests, there is no similar situation：

 

If you still open this link as the owner of the file, then you can indeed edit the file, but if you open the link as the account of the person being shared, it will show that you cannot edit.

 

You can check the current permissions of this file first:

Go to Document Library, select file and right click file, click Details:

Make sure the file permissions are correct. If they are incorrect, you can also modify them here.

Hope the above information can help you.

Sincerely,

Tin | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 4

Hi RaymondMarcus1,

We haven't heard from you for several weeks. May I know if Tin's information is helpful for you to understand the scenario?

If so, can you share you feedback by the vote button below his reply?

If you need more information, feel free to let us know.

Sincerely,

Ryan | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 5

Dear RaymondMarcus1,

Good day！Thank you for your reply and sorry for my late reply.

Your description is correct. Because you are the owner of the file, you have the highest permission on the file.

You can contact the shared user and ask them to take a screenshot to see if they can only edit these files.

On another note, even though the 'Open in new tab' checkbox is ticked on these links, on many of them the link opens in the same tab. Is that something that will only happen to me as the owner and editor?

I don't seem to see this option in the Share option：

When I copy the link into Teams, right-click the link and select Open the link in a new Tab,this seemed to work when I copied the link into Teams, right-click the link and select Open the link in a new Tab：

Hope the above information can help you.

Sincerely,

Tin | Microsoft Community Moderator