When sharing files on OneDrive from the desktop, a blank window appears. It works normally on the OneDrive web.

Question

When I click "Share File" on OneDrive, only a blank white window appears.

It works normally on OneDrive Web.

Same symptoms even after resetting OneDrive.

The same symptoms persist even after deleting and reinstalling OneDrive.

Answer 1

Hi @Harris Chloe

Since OneDrive Web works normally, while the Share File option in the OneDrive desktop client opens only a blank white window, and you have already reset and reinstalled OneDrive, I would like to narrow down the scope of the issue first.

Could you please confirm the following?

• What is your OneDrive build? You can check this from the OneDrive icon in the notification area > Gear icon > Settings > About.
• Did this issue start after a OneDrive or Windows update?
• Does the same issue occur for other users in your organization?

As an additional troubleshooting step, you could also try disconnecting the Work or School account from Windows and then reconnecting it: Settings > Accounts > Access work or school > select the work/school account > Disconnect

Please make sure you understand the impact before disconnecting the account, as this may affect access to organizational resources or require you to sign in again. If this is a managed work device, I recommend checking with your IT administrator before doing this.

I have seen reports of similar OneDrive sharing issues where the behavior is inconsistent between users within the same organization, and affected organizations have raised support tickets to investigate the issue further.

If you find that other users in your organization are experiencing the same issue, I recommend contacting your IT administrator and asking them to raise a support ticket with Microsoft. This will allow the issue to be investigated at the organizational or service level rather than continuing with client-side troubleshooting that you have already performed.

If you're unsure who your IT administrator is, please refer to How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support 

As a workaround, you can continue using OneDrive Web to share files, since that path is working correctly.

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Answer 2

Since sharing works on OneDrive on the web, use that as the immediate workaround: open OneDrive on the web, select the file or folder, choose Share, then create or copy the link there.

For the desktop blank Share window, the supported checks are:

1. Make sure the correct OneDrive desktop app is running.
   If OneDrive is not running, or the desktop app is not installed, sharing from File Explorer will not work. In Windows, start the OneDrive app with the folder icon from the Start menu, then try Share again.
2. Check whether the desktop Share option is being restricted by organization policy.
   If the Share option is greyed out or missing from the right-click menu, admins may have restricted the feature. For work or school accounts, organizations can also disable some web sharing options such as Anyone with the link, while still allowing organization-only sharing.
3. Check whether OneDrive itself is being blocked from starting by policy.
   If OneDrive does not start correctly, an administrator may have configured Group Policy to prevent onedrive.exe from starting. The documented check is the DisableFileSyncNGSC registry value under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\OneDrive. Changing registry or policy settings is risky and should be handled by the organization administrator because policy can reapply after restart or sign-in.
4. Clear old OneDrive sign-in state on the device.
   Expired credentials can cause OneDrive sign-in issues. On Windows, open Run and go to %localappdata%\Microsoft\OneDrive\settings, then delete PreSignInSettingsConfig.json, and start OneDrive again.
5. Re-add OneDrive as a service if a Microsoft 365 app is signed in with an account that does not have permission to upload to OneDrive.
   This is a documented fix for blocked upload/sign-in state.
6. If the issue started after Office installation or update, manually start OneDrive from the Start menu and restart Windows.
   A documented known issue is that OneDrive may not restart automatically after Office 2016 installation.
7. If the file is in Personal Vault, move it out before sharing.
   Items in Personal Vault cannot be shared.

If desktop sharing continues to show a blank window after these checks, continue sharing from OneDrive on the web and have the Microsoft 365 administrator review OneDrive startup policy and sharing restrictions on the device and tenant.

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References:

• Unable to share OneDrive files
• Fix problems uploading files on the OneDrive website
• How to change the User Account Control policies to allow OneDrive context menus
• OneDrive won't start
• OneDrive stops syncing libraries after you install Office 2016
• Having problem to create a share link in Onedrive - Microsoft Q&A