MS Teams File and Folder Access via File Explorer

Question

MS Teams File and Folder Access via File Explorer

Mullen, Brendan 5

I am trying to determine best way to present an MS Teams based file and folder structure in File Explorer. This is an organized nested folder structure that will be moved from SMB share to MS Teams. My goal is to make the files accessible so that NON-MS apps have easy access to them also.

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Answer 1

Austin-H 2,955 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Mullen, Brendan

Thank you for reaching out Q & A Forum!

We understand that you are trying to transfer files and folders from MS Teams to File Explorer and make files accessible for NON-MS apps can access.

Based on our test, we found that in order to sync files and folders from a MS Teams channel to File Explorer, the process involves opening the corresponding SharePoint site and initiating the sync via the OneDrive. This means that the sync process is inherently tied to Microsoft services.

To better assist you, could you please clarify what you mean by “NON-MS Apps”? Is there any third-party tools related to? Which specific non-Microsoft apps are you referring to?

Understanding your use case in more detail will help us recommend the most efficient and compatible solution.

We appreciate your response and look forward to assisting you further.

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

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Mullen, Brendan 5 Reputation points

2025-06-10T21:12:46.2933333+00:00

Initially looking at PDFs and other Adobe formats.

Apps would be Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign, PhotoShop

BlueBeam is also heavily used for PDF markup in Engineering design use case

But further down the road we are looking at a range of less common file formats that are common to the Engineering design workflow. The common denominator is that I want the files to be accessible thru File - Open dialog in the application OR file browse thru File explorer NOT thru Browse file structure in Teams and view in Teams.
Austin-H 2,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-11T04:06:57.3166667+00:00

Dear @Mullen, Brendan

Based on our testing, setting default applications for specific file types can be done manually on each device by navigating to:

Settings > Apps > Default Apps, then selecting the desired application and assigning it to the appropriate file type (e.g., .pdf).

However, please note that this method is limited, just apply for individual devices and does not support deployment across multiple devices.

If you want to set up the default for all devices or users, based on our research that Microsoft currently does not provide official step-by-step documentation for configuring default apps across all devices via Intune or other management tools. For your reference, you may visit the following links:

Need a Script or Policy to Automatically Set Installed Adobe (Reader or Acrobat) as Default App for .PDF Files Based on Available ProgID - Microsoft Q&A

Configure apps using Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn

If there’s any misunderstanding from my side, please don’t hesitate to let us know so we can better assist you.
Mullen, Brendan 5 Reputation points

2025-06-11T14:34:46.13+00:00

I do not require help setting the Default App for file types. My question is specifically about how can I present and make available MS Teams/ SharePoint based files thru File Explorer so that non MS Apps can access those files thru the File - Open and File - Save As dialogs.
Austin-H 2,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-12T03:53:14.5166667+00:00
Dear @Mullen, Brendan

Thank you for clarifying respond to help us for assist you better.

Please try the following step to that can sync folders and files from a specific Teams channel to your File Explorer:

Open Microsoft Teams > select Team that contains the files you want to sync.

Select the specific channel

Click “Files” at the top of the channel.

Find … Then choose “Open in SharePoint”

5. A browser window will open the SharePoint site >on toolbar click “Sync”.

If prompted, allow the site to open OneDrive. This will start syncing the folder to your File Explorer. Once completed, the folder will appear in your File Explorer under the section labeled “Your Organization.”

Please note: These files are synced. If you delete any files or folders from your File Exploder, it will delete on the web version. Deleted files can be found in the recycle bin located in the SharePoint.
Mullen, Brendan 5 Reputation points

2025-06-12T12:45:53.7566667+00:00

Above is per channel, per user. Is there nothing more Enterprise/ global?
Jack-Bu 2,220 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-13T07:55:57.2633333+00:00

Dear @Mullen, Brendan

Based on our testing at Teams level scope, we’ve observed that when channels within a Teams are set to public only, their folders and files can be successfully synced to File Explorer using the standard SharePoint sync functionality. This allows users to access shared content directly from their local file system.

On the other hand, we refer you another reference if it aligns your needs. This link is about view SharePoint files in File Exploder by add shortcut to OneDrive: View SharePoint files in File Explorer - Microsoft Support

We hope this clarification will helps you.

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.
Austin-H 2,955 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-16T00:27:23.1033333+00:00

Hi @Mullen, Brendan,

It has been a while and I am writing to see how things are going with this issue.

Have you had a chance to check the replies provided?

Any update would be appreciated.
Lily-T 240 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2025-06-18T08:53:05.2433333+00:00

Hi @Mullen, Brendan,

Just checking in to see if the above information was helpful.

If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to post back.

If you think my reply is helpful to you, please remember to mark it as an answer. Warm thanks.

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MS Teams File and Folder Access via File Explorer

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