Objective
Create a report of items in a SharePoint site that have been shared with others so that you can reshare those items if necessary.
Note: This will only identify links to items that have been shared with others using the Share function and not links that have been created using the Copy Link function.
Audience
SharePoint site owners.
Before You Begin
Procedure for Generating the Sharing Report
1. Click the Settings icon and choose Site Contents.
2. Click Site Usage.
3. Scroll down to the "Shared with external users" section and click Run report.
4. Choose a location to save your report on your SharePoint site and click Save.
5. The report will take a few minutes to be generated. You will receive an email when it is available.
6. Click Open in the email or navigate to where you chose to save the file and open it.
Using the Generated Report
1. Open the report. You will see the following columns:
- Resource Path - Lists the path to the item that was shared.
- Item Type - List the type of item that was shared.
- Permission - Shows the permission level for the User/Group.
- User Name - If an item has an entry for "Sharing Link", the users that have access or were given access to that item are listed.
- User Email - Shows the email address of the User(s) an item was shared with.
- User or Group Type - Lists the type of group or user the item was shared with.
- Link Type - Lists either Organizational (shared with entire organization), Specific People (only shared with the specific people listed below the Sharing Link) or Anyone (anyone with the link can access it).
2. It is suggested to focus on the items that have a SharingLink listed. To find these items:
- Click anywhere in Column D and press Ctrl+F on your keyboard.
- Enter "SharingLink" and click Find Next.
- You will be taken to the next occurrence of that text.
3. Locate an item that has a SharingLink and look for the following:
- If the SharingLink is for Specific People (shown in yellow in the screen shot above), the name listed below show who it was shared with (in green above).
- The users/groups shown above the SharingLink entry show who has access to the item based on their security within the site.
4. If the SharingLink is Organization, then it was shared with an entire organization so no specific people are listed.
5. Review the items that have previously been shared and determine if the person(s) still need access. If so, reshare the item.
Q: How do I re-share links to content after the SharePoint site has been migrated?
A: This article gives more information on the best way to share links from SharePoint.
Q: What permissions are available when sharing a link from SharePoint and which one should I choose?
A: The following permissions are available when sharing a link:
- People in the University of Nebraska - Grants access to anyone in the nebraska.edu tenant (all UNK, UNL, UNO, and UNOP faculty, staff and students). Use this sparingly.
- Only people with existing access - Doesn't really grant access since everyone would already have permission to access it. Use this to share a link with others without granting any permissions.
- People you choose - Grants access to those that you have specified on the previous step.
Q: What is the difference between Copy Link and Sharing a link?
A: Copy link - When you right-click on an item or click the ellipses and choose Copy link, you are just copying a link to that item that people with existing access to that item can use (unless you click Settings and choose specific permissions).
Share - When you right-click on an item, or click the ellipses and choose Share, you are granting permission for people to access the item along with giving them the location to the item.
Q: What is the difference between OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams and what content should go where?
A: Use the graphic below to help you decided where your content should go.
For Additional Help
If you need additional help, here are some options:
- Call the ITS Help Center:
- HuskerTech: (402) 472-3970
- LoperTech: (308) 865-8363
- MavTech: (402) 554-4357
- Email nusupport@nebraska.edu