Forum Discussion
External users can't open documents in desktop application
Hi all,
This behavior is expected (external users not getting the "Open in Office" option) whenever the external user is authenticating via the new one time passcode (OTP) method. You can see a better overview here: Documentation
There are two states an external user can be in today: If they are authenticating via OTP, then they do not have a real AAD account and thus cannot open in clients. This occurs when you share a file or folder with an external user who is not in your directory (i.e. they have never been shared to before).
Inviting a user to a site or a group or using the Azure B2B platform will create an account in AAD for the guest user. These users must have an MSA or AAD account to sign-in with to accept the invitation. They can use Office apps.
This is definitely something we're looking to improve and I definitely suggest you check out the "What's new in External Sharing & Collaboration with OneDrive & SharePoint" talk at Ignite next week ;)
Thanks StephenRice . Unfortunately, we're still seeing the problem originally raised below. We've shared a folder in a modern SharePoint site with an external user using the Share > 'Specific people' option and they do not see the option to open in the Desktop app. I've also tried using the 'Grant access' option under 'Manage access' and the result is exactly the same. We've used their business email address and their Office license is 'Microsoft Office 365 ProPlus - subscription product'. Are you able to provide any guidance please?
Try upgrading them from an 'external user' to a 'guest' I was able to do this by adding them to a group and then they can be treated more like an internal user and be able to use the desktop apps. Just watch what other folders they may gain permissions too.
-let me know if it works!