How to Stop SharePoint from Changing URLs and Breaking Hyperlinks?

Question

How to Stop SharePoint from Changing URLs and Breaking Hyperlinks?

Mary Whitten 45

Hello, I have been designing our company resource library in SharePoint Online but have continued to run into the same problem- after uploading a document to the document library, I hyperlink it to a main page but after a few days, that hyperlink somehow changes in the document library, breaking the initial hyperlink. I have not found a reason as to why some document URLs are impacted and others are not (sometimes can even be within the same document folder in the library). When the URL changes, I do not receive a notification or anything indicating is has changed but rather the company employees will click on the hyperlink and receive the following image: User's image

I am the website owner and no one else has access to edit or change any components of these documents. What is causing the change of documents URLs and how can I make it stop so the website becomes functional and is not constantly breaking links? I appreciate any insight on this. Thank you!

41844108 306 Reputation points

2023-04-14T14:47:22.19+00:00

At our institution we just don't use Sharepoint. A) it's basically impossible to control how people view content and no visual layout tools. B) its super buggy and frustrating. C) people don't even go to it or if they do they click away immediately -- between the extra layer of 2FA, the lack of information design and people's assumption that it's probably just corporate saying something about "leadership" and probably uses the word "hyperlink" in it -- it's just not something we can expect anyone to use.
Mary Whitten 45 Reputation points

2023-04-15T00:32:33.9333333+00:00

To clarify, this is an example of what the URL would starts as and initially works: https://terrastaffing.sharepoint.com/:p:/r/Documents/Human%20Resources/Random%20Document%20Location/2025/Random%20Document%20April%202025.pptx?d=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&csf=1&web=1&e=sQ3xIL But at some point it changes and would become: httpsterrastaffing.sharepoint.comprDocumentsHuman%20ResourcesRandom%20Document%20Location2025Random%20Document%20April%202025.pptxd=yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy&csf=1&web=1&e=OOOOkO
Emily Du-MSFT 51,836 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-04-17T01:59:02.5533333+00:00

Thank you for your question.

We are currently looking into this issue and will give you an update as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and support.
Gavin Lazaro 10 Reputation points

2023-07-24T12:40:48.9533333+00:00

I've found a similar problem with some of my documents. They were referenced and hyperlinked on an Excel sheet and were owned by me. A few weeks later, when I try and access those documents on the spreadsheet, I can't open them and get a 404 file not found error. How can I stop this from happening in the future?

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41844108 306 Reputation points

2023-04-14T14:47:22.19+00:00

At our institution we just don't use Sharepoint. A) it's basically impossible to control how people view content and no visual layout tools. B) its super buggy and frustrating. C) people don't even go to it or if they do they click away immediately -- between the extra layer of 2FA, the lack of information design and people's assumption that it's probably just corporate saying something about "leadership" and probably uses the word "hyperlink" in it -- it's just not something we can expect anyone to use.
Mary Whitten 45 Reputation points

2023-04-15T00:32:33.9333333+00:00

To clarify, this is an example of what the URL would starts as and initially works: https://terrastaffing.sharepoint.com/:p:/r/Documents/Human%20Resources/Random%20Document%20Location/2025/Random%20Document%20April%202025.pptx?d=xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx&csf=1&web=1&e=sQ3xIL But at some point it changes and would become: httpsterrastaffing.sharepoint.comprDocumentsHuman%20ResourcesRandom%20Document%20Location2025Random%20Document%20April%202025.pptxd=yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy&csf=1&web=1&e=OOOOkO
Emily Du-MSFT 51,836 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-04-17T01:59:02.5533333+00:00

Thank you for your question.

We are currently looking into this issue and will give you an update as soon as possible.

Thank you for your understanding and support.
Gavin Lazaro 10 Reputation points

2023-07-24T12:40:48.9533333+00:00

I've found a similar problem with some of my documents. They were referenced and hyperlinked on an Excel sheet and were owned by me. A few weeks later, when I try and access those documents on the spreadsheet, I can't open them and get a 404 file not found error. How can I stop this from happening in the future?

Answer 1

Emily Du-MSFT 51,836 Microsoft External Staff

According to the URL you provided, the URL is a sharing link of document. This URL contains sharing permissions, so some employees cannot open it, and the URL will become invalid after a while.

To copy the specified URL of the document, click the document -> Details -> Copy the path.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Mary Whitten 45 Reputation points

2023-04-17T22:05:44.0933333+00:00

Hi Emily, Thank you! Is there a way to make the URL's stop becoming invalid without using the path? OR how can I link the document so it opens in the web view instead of automatically downloading when I do it via the path?
Emily Du-MSFT 51,836 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-04-18T08:50:24.74+00:00

1.To copy the document URL that won't expire, click the document -> Details -> Copy the path. URL looks like https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/emilytestnew/Shared%20Documents/testdoc.docx

2.To open file in browser, please add "?web=1" at the end URL. URL looks like https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/emilytestnew/Shared%20Documents/testdoc.docx?web=1

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How to Stop SharePoint from Changing URLs and Breaking Hyperlinks?

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