Using SharePoint Online with a Microsoft 365 Business Premium license.
I know how to do two separate things:
1) Generate a link to a SharePoint folder that anyone can access without authentication (and my tenant and site are properly configured for this, as I've confirmed through multiple tests in non-credentialed, "clean" browsers).
2) Create a link to a SharePoint folder that resolves by displaying that folder's contents with a particular view applied (for example, filtered on a certain column for certain values).
What I can't figure out how to do is combine the two.
My requirements/what I'm ultimately trying to do
We have a collection of client-facing copies of handouts and other supporting materials. These pertain to our training program, which is broken out into modules. Certain handouts pertain to certain modules (some to more than one).
I've stored our client-facing supporting materials in a single folder, managed by metadata (instead of broken out into subfolders). My problem with having a subfolder for each module, combined with the fact that some handouts pertain to more than one module, is that results in multiple copies of certain handouts, all of which have to be updated anytime there's a change to the master (I know, great use case for single-source publishing).
What I'd like to do is simply be able to link clients to this directory (without requiring them to sign in) in a way that shows them only the handouts they need for their particular module.
It's entirely possible there's a better way to do what I want, and I just haven't thought of it.
Here's one solution I've tried that hasn't worked:
(1) Generate a view-specific link to the target folder (internal access only): <https://companyname.sharepoint.com/sites/Coaching/Public/Forms/By%20module.aspx?&id=%2Fsites%2FCoach...>
(2) Isolate the viewid attribute:
&viewid=959417b4%2D757f%2D43a5%2Db42d%2D97cc4d8c5c72
(3) Generate a link to the target folder that anyone can access without authentication:
<https://companyname.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/Coaching/Ehzp7IoM69tCoT-CxPDfPEoBSZjlb1NhUGIu-bpk4GMsPg?e=T...>
(4) Append the viewid attribute to the anyone-can-access link:
<https://companyname.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/Coaching/Ehzp7IoM69tCoT-CxPDfPEoBSZjlb1NhUGIu-bpk4GMsPg?e=T...>
(5) Attempt to resolve the link in a non-authenticated "private" browser session (after clearing cookies and cache)
Result: failure. Link resolves to target folder, but without specified view applied (or, more specifically, with the default view for the doclib/folder applied).
Another thing I don't think will work: Sure, I could cause any anonymous access link to a particular folder to resolve to a particular view, if I set that view as the default for that folder or doclib — however, I have multiple views set up on the same folder, and I'd like to create distinct links for each of them (for example, a view that shows all the supporting materials for Module 1, another for Module 2, etc.).
The question
Any ideas on how to generate an anyone-can-access link to a folder that resolves to an assigned view? Or, probably better yet, any ideas for a simpler solution to do what I ultimately want to accomplish? I'm scratching my head.
Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this!
Nathan in Southern California
P.S. Though I'll consider any solution, even if it involves PowerShell or API, I really don't want to go those particular routes :grinning_face_with_sweat:
