By Veronique LengelleIn today’s blog post, we’ll discuss a SharePoint setting that will prevent users from sharing files even if they’re part of the Members group. Furthermore, the experience is also different if the Access Requests feature is turned on or not!
This setting is to be used wisely if you don’t want to create frustration amongst your users 😅
Permissions
Whether you manage a SharePoint site associated with a Microsoft Teams Team, or a standalone site (with M365 group or not), there will be a default _Members_ group . Meaning the users in that SPO/M365 group will be able to share documents and the site itself.
In the below screenshot, John Smith was added to the Members group, and therefore would have no problem sharing a file, and assign whatever permissions is available, to the recipient(s).
Site Sharing Settings
If you are a Site Owner, then navigate to the gear icon (top right), and click on Site Permissions. The first button at the top might say “Add members” if your site is connected to a Microsoft 365 group. If it’s not (like my demo site), then it will say “Share site”.
Regardless, the setting we’re interested in is under Site Sharing (right underneath). Here, click on Change how members can share.
The default is set to the first option, but to really limit the sharing to Site owners, select the 3rd option and click Save. For now, leave the settings for Access Requests turned on with requests going to the Owners. They will be important later.
👉 People in the Members group will not see the Site Sharing options. Only Owners will.
Impact on Members & Visitors groups
While people in the “Visitors” group were never able to share files like they wanted in the first place, the “Members” group also has a different experience now.
If we go back to John Smith’s account and try to share a file…
In that case, the request will go to the option we’ve chosen in the Access Requests section. And currently, it’s going to the Site Owners.
HOWEVER, if a person shares a file with another person who already has access to the file, then NO access request will be sent to the owners. There’s no need for that.
👉 For basic sharing of files and folders, refer to the official documentation.
Access Requests Turned Off
So what would happen if the Access Requests were turned off? Well, users would have even less sharing possibilities.
Here, John Smith would like to share a file with somebody else, but again we’ve got another experience!
Conclusion
While this setting might be useful in specific cases because it allows for extra control in bulk, it might also be getting very tiring (and frustratring!) for owners if they have to approve/decline every sharing request. Not to mention the spamming galore!
As always, it’s not because you can that you should 😉 Instead, you should be wondering if the documents are at the right place, or if the right people have access to the site…
Thanks for reading! 🙂