Forum Discussion
Files shared with Anyone sometimes prompt users to request acccess to the file
I have a personal One Drive account I sometimes upload files I want to share with others to. I will direct the system to allow users to view files only. This is a consistent behavior I evoke. What I have found is that other end users which have a Microsoft 365 account constantly have this issue when attempting to access the links I send them. What I discovered, and I am greatly surprised MS has NOT corrected this yet, is the browser used by the end user has loaded into cookies or cache the USERS status as a MS 365 user, and then immediately directs the browser to request credentials. What I also discovered is that IF the end user invokes the link using a browser which has NOT had the opportunity to save cookies or the critical date into cache, the problem does not happen. I personally have discovered if I clear cookies and cache data from my default browser, the problem does not appear. Clearly one user below has discovered that MS first looks at the user access status condition, BEFORE looking at the link access status requirements (which would be totally open).
I would have holed that MS would have corrected this since it's been an issue since at least 2017. I HAVE NOT verified if the MS EDGE browser exhibits this behavior. The situation may be corrected in that software since it's under MS control.
Bill_Hawkins wrote Sept 19, 2022:
What I also discovered is that IF the end user invokes the link using a browser which has NOT had the opportunity to save cookies or the critical date into cache, the problem does not happen. I personally have discovered if I clear cookies and cache data from my default browser, the problem does not appear.
For the reasons you give, using an Incognito/Private window to open the link also works around the problem.
tom_tulinsky We send newsletters to 2,000 people, most of whom wouldn't have a clue what an incognito window is, so that wouldn't work for us.
We send newsletters to 2,000 people, most of whom wouldn't have a clue what an incognito window is, so that wouldn't work for us.
I agree requiring a private window is not an acceptable solution, even for me sharing with 5 friends. I've started using Google Drive to share. Unbelievable MS has not fixed this problem for years.
- I've given up with this problem and password protected the files instead. Given that we were only using OneDrive because of its ability have passwords on folders, we will probably drop it altogether for something more robust, even though it is included with our 365 subscription.
