VBA vs OneDrive: is it possible to use "Copy Link"s to work with files/folders?

Question

VBA Word "Documents.Open" and "Document.SaveAs2" works with local files;

but when OneDrive is present - they can also work with network path, like

https://companyname.sharepoint.com/sites/ap/Shared%20Documents/Some%20Report/tstFo/1.xlsx

Problem: we are dealing with filename-length limitation of 255 chars, and the network paths are not much shorter (if not longer) than the local paths.

There is another way to identify a file or a folder on OneDrive - you can get it's "Copy Link", which looks like this:

https://companyname.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/Testing/ETuWSEOz6UVFnY-mzT5AO0YB_xR8CkLNeuXaCVqzLkGawL

It has the obvious advantage of being short - so the filename-length limitation would go away.

Can it be used to access the files, using VBA?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Thanks for reaching out!

No- OneDrive/SharePoint "Copy Link" URLs cannot be used in VBA. They are sharing links and do not point to the actual file.

What works: Local OneDrive-Synced path, Full Share- file URL (long URL)
Workaround: Sync the SharePoint library using the OneDrive client to get a shorter local path.

Let me know if you need any further help with this. I will be happy to assist.

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