Forum Discussion
The "Reference a file" feature not working as documented
In Word, and based on the help documentation, I'm supposed to see the "Your computer" and "Online" tabs but I don't see them when I choose "Reference a file". I also see this in Outlook. I see only three Excel files and nothing else. These seem to be the last three Excel worksheets I accessed since the installation of Copilot. I tried to save an online Word document in OneDrive but wasn't able to see this file when I clicked on "Reference a file". What might be the issue?
- Hi mjudi,
Copilot can only use files which are stored "in scope of the platform". For example SharePoint Online (and OneDrive). Depending on the application from which you start the prompt it will show the last 3 or 10 accessed items.
To use another file you need to paste the full path after the "/".
- Hi mjudi,
Copilot can only use files which are stored "in scope of the platform". For example SharePoint Online (and OneDrive). Depending on the application from which you start the prompt it will show the last 3 or 10 accessed items.
To use another file you need to paste the full path after the "/".- Thank you, @Michel for your response. Very helpful!
We are also experience this issue on multiple customer tenants.
Even files, that are synced are not being found.
MichelvanVliet I've tried it also by posting the full path copied from sharepoint but also that way it doesn't work. I get the answer "I'm sorry, but I am unable to access or provide information about the SharePoint link you provided. Is there anything else I can help you with?"- Based on my experience, it can take several minutes or even up to an hour for a newly created file to become available to Copilot.
Andre_Caron Working with referenced files is not the most straightforward feature in Copilot. It took me a lot of time and experimentation to get it right. To get a file in your OneDrive, type / and start to type the file name. It will prompt you to select that file.
I also found that copying and pasting the file name doesn't work all the time. The file does not have to be in the root of your personal OneDrive. You can find a file inside a folder too.
To reference a document (Word and PPT only) in SharePoint, you need to Sync the documents to your OneDrive in order to reference them. The shortcut doesn't work even if you make it offline.
These are my observations. I hope they are helpful.
mjudi I also cannot get this to work. Is it an "Enterprise" feature? I am using 365 Personal and Copilot Pro. It doesn't seem to recognise any documents when I type /
paulskully you don't even get a list of three documents? As far as I'm aware, CoPilot is only available on the Enterprise edition if I'm not mistaken.
- I’ve faced the same, and I’m convinced it’s not working as it’s designed. When you use World Online you have the ability to browse the cloud and select a specific file on your OneDrive or SharePoint. Why this functionality isn’t available in the desktop version of the app, I have no idea.
Following CoPilot's instructions, I cut/paste the filenames of a recent OneDrive file and and older OneDrive file. In both instances I received the following reply:
The files I am trying to access have the same permission settings as the 3 (unhelpful) files CoPilot suggests I open when I just press /
Am I missing a step?
Hi JLoODC ,
In the copilot prompt, I type the /[filename] where [filename] is the complete name of the file including the extension, no path, no square brackets like /yourdocument.pdf. Even if it doesn't show up, Copilot will retrieve the file from OneDrive. Of course, the file must be saved in your OneDrive or SharePoint.
I hope this helps, kind regards,
Andre_Caron - thank you! Curious that CoPilot gives different instructions. Add that to the bug list, I guess.
I am also an "affected person" (Microsoft 365 Family + Copilot Pro). It would be a great pity if this feature was only available later or not at all. That would be one of the main reasons to cancel Copilot Pro.
Today I made the following observations:
In PowerPoint (and ONLY in PowerPoint) the "/Start typing to search" is displayed. However, nothing can be entered or an error message is displayed.
Are there any news?
Best Regards
Andreas
mjudi
I can add to this discussion that Microsoft training refers to this interface as the Most Recently Used (MRU).
The recommended way (according to Microsoft guidance) to use this is to open the file that you want to reference and then use the / command to open the MRU interface.
I don't have the exact location of where i learned this, but I believe it was somewhere on Learn in one of the Copilot cources.This procedure does not work for me.
It only works if the effective path is copied (Share>Copy link) and pasted after the "/".
- Yes, this is one of the most frustrating shortcomings of the Copilot in Word at the moment (as of 26 June 2024). According to the MS support the ability to reference files other than the 3 files from Most Recently Used (MRU) list (which by they way also doesn't work too well) is only available in Word Online but not in the full Word client (and of course you have to be licensed accordingly, which I'm).
My situation is still the same as it was on May 21. Word Online appears as follows:
No file can be selected.
With the iPad app, the selection is available:
But nothing can be selected. Even if the direct path is entered, it does not work.
I (unfortunately) can't use the desktop app because I'm on vacation.
I do get an option to browse files from the cloud when using Word for the web:
It allows me to search for files in the company's sites.
- A mi no me funciona pese a tener una cuenta Microsoft 365 y usar correctamente los URLs de los archivos en SharePoint o Onedrive. Lo raro es que si funciona en TEAMS y en la version online
