ODFB Sharing

[Mark Uvanni]

I had previously posted a question regaring sharing and sending a link, etc. (see: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/OneDrive-for-Business/Confusing-Sharing/m-p/59768#M1631)

While everyone that replied was correct and it was helpful I still don't understand why the options can't be accomplished in one dialog box? If I understand it properly, after all the person sharing is sending a hyper-link in either case correct? What happens with that hyper-link (read-only, edit, etc.) and the user(s) it goes to are the crux of the options that can changed. Why can't this be done on one dialog box either named 'Share' or "Get Link"? Why do we need both? After reading all the replies I still don't understand the difference, meaning I still don't understand what Microsoft had (has) in mind?

[#2]

Hi Mark.

Surely it can be done with only one dialog, and indeed it was so before... I guess the point here is to give more flexibility to the user.

For example, I personally never use the Share dialog, because I want to be totally in control of the permissions, so I add the right permissions in advance and use all the the times the Get link - Direct option.

In any case, the three link type choices for each of the two dialogs, as I tried to explain in the other thread, have in general different effects: for example the Direct link used with the Get Link dialog gives you a "pure" link that can be used only from already permissioned people, while sending the very same type of link in the Share dialog contextually breaks inheritance and add permissions for the receiver.

But probably I am not clear enough, so I add @Stephen Rice for a more official explanation. ;)

[#3]

Thanks Sal. I walked through both again and I think it now actually made sense to me, or at least I see the difference. However, it does seem like 'Get Link' is the "better" option and again, it does seem like this could be consolidated to one dialog box. Regardless, OD4B has gotten much better and now rivals (in my book) Drop Box in many ways. Thanks again!

Mark

[#4]

We consider that high praise Mark, thanks! :) 

To give you another way of thinking about the "Share" and "Get a link" commands: When users share, they have three things we want them to think about it. 

1) Who should be able to access the content? 

This encompasses not only who the user is going to be sharing with but also who the user is comfortable with accessing it (for example, should the recipient be able to forward it?). This is all decided when the user picks the type of link (anonymous access, internal, or direct).

2) What should the recipient(s) be able to do?

This is what the recipient can do with the link? Can they edit? How long do they have access for? Pretty straightforward.

3) How will the recipient get the link?

This is the reason we have "Share" vs. "Copy link". Every person has a preferred way for communicating with their coworkers. To name a few: Outlook (Exchange), Outlook (Consumer), Gmail, Slack, Teams, SMS, Whatsapp, Skype for Business, Skype (consumer), IRC, morse code (okay, probably not). For some of these products (i.e. the Microsoft ones), we can do some cool integrations with OneDrive and SharePoint to make sharing seamless (try pasting a link into the Outlook web app and see what happens). But for all those cases where we can't do cool stuff, we give users the "Get a link" option so they can send with their preferred method. Other times, we know users don't care ("I just need Mark to get this document") so we give them the "Share" command as a fast way to send e-mail (the most universal method of communicating in business). 

Now, the fact that all of our options are kind of separated into different dialogues is a quirk of our current UI experience. And that's something that's going to be changing very soon... In fact, keep an eye on message center today and tomorrow ;)