Sharing in Office 365

How do I share files?

You can share files or folders from a document library linked to a Team or Group.

Before you set up a share link it is important to:

  • Consider the sensitivity of the data that you are about to share and the impact it could have if it was made public or was sent to the wrong person.

  • Ensure when sharing with specific people you check that you have inputted their email address correctly.

  • Encrypt or password protect data that you deem highly confidential or may pose significant risks if it was to get into the wrong hands.

This will help you to apply the appropriate level of security to your data prior to sharing.

Anyone

This gives access to anyone who receives this link, whether they receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else. This may include people outside of your organisation.

People in your organisation

This gives everyone in the University access to the link (staff and students), whether they receive it directly from you or forwarded from someone else.

People with existing access

If you have created an Office 365 Group, this setting will only grant access to group members who click the link.

Specific people

This gives access only to the people you specify, if people forward the sharing invitation, only people who already have access to the item will be able to use the link.

Please note that other people may already have access if you have shared the document in the past or it is hosted in an Office 365 Group.

Where is Office 365 data stored?

Exchange Email, OneDrive, SharePoint and Microsoft Teams data is stored in locations around the UK, for an overview of all Office 365 data locations please consult Microsoft's Where is your data located?

Can I store protected data in Office 365?

You are permitted to store protected data on your University OneDrive if no restrictions have been placed on where that data can be stored by research data providers or similar agencies.  However, you are still responsible for ensuring that data remains protected in compliance with the University’s Data Protection and Information Security Policies.

If you use the OneDrive Sync Client to copy protected data to any device that is not secured and managed by the University, then this could potentially place that data at risk, especially if the device is lost, stolen, or disposed of in a way that would allow unauthorised people to recover the data.

Always use the Selective Sync feature to stop protected data from being stored on a non-secure device.