Sharing is caring, but let’s not share everthing — especially files. Luckily, Microsoft 365 has updates on how you can securely share your documents. 

With OneDrive, users can share files with colleagues. All it takes is the click of a button, and you can send your items to certain people or groups, and allow them to view, edit, or even prohibit downloads.

When users click the share icon a box will appear. In the righthand corner, there will be a gear; click on that and you will have access to even more sharing settings. Here are some options you can see when sharing from OneDrive:

• “People in UAB,” meaning anyone in the university may see your content. Keep in mind that if you see the words “people in your organization,” that means anyone at UAB — not just people in your department or team.
• “People with existing access,” which is just resharing with those who already have accessed the file previously.
• “People you choose” — share with people you choose from inside or outside the university by name, group, or email.

Sharing doesn’t stop in OneDrive; users can share from within Teams as well. You can find the same link sharing options in the app, with the addition of “Share with group.” Files that are shared within Teams, or attached in Outlook, will appear in your OneDrive under the shared tab which is located on the lefthand side of the page.

To ensure your files are safe, we suggest using the “People you choose” option. This allows whatever information being sent to be seen by a select few and not the whole organization. Users can reference UAB’s Data Classification guidelines to see if their files fall into a category, and be proactive about storing data.