Shared with External users report - how to get the actual links

Question

Shared with External users report - how to get the actual links

Answer 1

Dear Sal,

I hope you’re doing well.

To include the actual URLs in your “Shared with External Users” report, you can try one of these approaches:

1. Use the SharePoint admin center export
   • In the SharePoint admin center, go to Reports → Sharing → Shared with external users.
   • Click Export—the downloaded CSV should include a Direct Link column with the full URL for each item.
2. Enhance the CSV via PnP PowerShell
   1. Install and connect PnP PowerShell: Install-Module PnP.PowerShell Connect-PnPOnline -Url https://<your-tenant>-admin.sharepoint.com -Interactive
   2. Import your exported report and append the web URLs:

            $report = Import-Csv -Path "C:\Reports\SharedWithExternalUsers.csv"
            $enhanced = foreach ($row in $report) {
              # Connect to the site where the file lives
              Connect-PnPOnline -Url $row.SiteUrl -Interactive
              # Retrieve the file to get its FileRef (web URL)
              $fileItem = Get-PnPFile -Url $row.'Site Relative URL' -AsListItem
              [PSCustomObject]@{
                SiteUrl   = $row.SiteUrl
                FileName  = $row.'File Name'
                DirectLink= "https://<your-tenant>.sharepoint.com" + $fileItem.FieldValues.FileRef
              }
            }
            $enhanced | Export-Csv -Path "C:\Reports\SharedWithExternalUsersWithLinks.csv" -NoTypeInformation
      

   3. The new CSV will have a DirectLink column containing each item’s actual URL.
3. Query the audit log for sharing events
   1. In the Security & Compliance Center, run a PowerShell search:

            Search-UnifiedAuditLog -StartDate (Get-Date).AddDays(-30) `
                                 -EndDate (Get-Date) `
                                 -Operations SharingSet `
                                 -ResultSize 5000 |
              ForEach-Object {
                $data = ($_ | ConvertFrom-Json -PropertyName AuditData).AuditData
                [PSCustomObject]@{
                  User     = $data.UserId
                  FileUrl  = $data.ObjectId
                  SharedWith = $data.TargetUserOrGroupName
                }
              } |
              Export-Csv -Path "C:\Reports\ExternalSharingAudit.csv" -NoTypeInformation
      

   2. The FileUrl field in the output is the full link to the shared item.

Please let me know if you need any help running these commands or if there’s another scenario—happy to assist further.

Kind regards,

Finn Dang