In Office365 files (Word, Excel) uploaded in a SharePoint Online site, can it links/references a file in a shared drive behind vpn?

Question

Let's say you have an excel file or word file in a sharepoint online site. It links/references a file you have on a shared drive (which is behind vpn).

Is there a way to keep this sync/connection active? When someone re-visits or re-opens the files on SharePoint, it says files can't be recognized due to not being on the cloud. Any confirmation will be great

Answer 1

Dear @Edward,

I understand how frustrating it is when your Excel or Word links break after moving files to the cloud. This is a common challenge when transitioning from local environments to SharePoint Online. SharePoint Online cannot maintain a live, active sync to a file stored on a local shared drive behind a VPN. 

This occurs because SharePoint Online is a cloud-based service (using HTTPS protocols), while your shared drive uses a local network path (such as \Server\Folder or a mapped drive like Z:). When a file is opened in a web browser or the Office cloud app, it has no way to "reach back" through your local VPN to find that private network address. 

To resolve this and keep your data connected, I recommend one of the following approaches: 

• Move Both Files to SharePoint: The most reliable way to maintain links is to migrate the source file from the shared drive into the same SharePoint site (or another SharePoint library). Once both files are in the cloud, Excel uses Link Base logic to update the references to URL-based paths that work for all users with permissions. 
• Use the "Open in Desktop App" Feature: If a user is connected to the VPN and opens the SharePoint file using the Desktop App (instead of the browser), the local Excel engine may sometimes resolve the link if the drive is mapped identically on their machine. However, this is prone to breaking and is not considered a stable long-term solution. 
• Manage permissions: Ensure all users who open the document from SharePoint have the appropriate permissions to access the linked files in the cloud. 

This approach aligns with how Microsoft 365 is designed for collaboration, allowing users to access and co-author documents from anywhere without relying on a VPN. 

You can find more detailed information on how to manage these connections in the official documentation:

Overview of external sharing in SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365 - SharePoint in Microsoft … 

Configuration for Microsoft Offices Online or Office Online Server authentication with external use… 

Network location-based access to SharePoint and OneDrive - SharePoint in Microsoft 365 | Microsoft … 

I hope this provides a clear path forward. Please let me know if you have any other questions. 

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Answer 2

No. Office files stored in SharePoint Online or OneDrive are designed to work reliably with content that is also stored in Microsoft 365 locations (SharePoint, OneDrive, or Teams). Links or references from those documents to files on on‑premises shared drives behind a VPN are not supported as a persistent, cloud-aware connection.

When the document is opened from SharePoint/OneDrive (especially in Office for the web), paths that point to local or network drives (for example, \\server\share\file.xlsx or G:\folder\file.docx) cannot be resolved by the cloud service, so the links will fail or show as unrecognized. There is no supported way in Microsoft 365 to keep those links “online-synced” to a VPN-only file share.

To keep links working reliably for all users:

1. Move the source files from the shared drive into SharePoint/OneDrive/Teams libraries.
2. Update the links in the Word/Excel documents to point to the new SharePoint/OneDrive URLs or to files in the same library.
3. Use standard sharing and permissions so everyone who opens the document from SharePoint has access to the linked files.

This aligns with how Microsoft 365 file collaboration is intended to work: documents and their related content are stored in SharePoint/OneDrive so they can be accessed and co-authored from anywhere and from any device without relying on VPN or local paths.

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References:

• Intro to file collaboration in Microsoft 365, powered by SharePoint
• Anywhere-access to Office documents in Microsoft 365
• Open or check out a SharePoint-based file from within an Office app
• Document collaboration and co-authoring