Aug 19 2018 06:18 PM
Hello,
When I click on "get a link" on a document, the URL looks like this:
https://orgname.sharepoint.com/:f:/r/sites/[Path to document]
What is the purpose of "/:f:/r" in that URL? Most of the time it doesn't make any difference whether I keep it in the URL or not, and sometimes users get "url not found" because of that.
Aug 19 2018 08:04 PM
SolutionAug 19 2018 11:14 PM
Jan 03 2019 01:13 PM
We're experiencing this same issue. When created with 'Company Name.Sharepoint.com/:X/r/sites.... we have certain people in our organization (Internal) that cannot access. When the links is created with 'Company Name.Sharepoint.com/:x:/s/.... then they can access. I wanted to understand how the first link with the r was created so we can prevent creating links that way!
Jan 03 2019 01:19 PM
I should note the link with the 's' is much shorter than the link with the 'r'.
Jan 03 2019 01:42 PM
We had a problem with these links late last year (2018), users would click on them and it would take them to a log on screen every time. Very frustrating for everyone and many saw SharePoint as the problem.
It turned out that the problem was that users with new Windows 10 machines had a problem with their account on those machines. Even though it had their name in the account, that account was not connecting to the logged on person with the same credentials, so any time they clicked on one of those links it didn't recognise them and asked them to log on. The fix was to disconnect the existing account and re-connect it via the same 'Manage your account' - 'Work or school account' settings. I have had to fix at least 200 of these and I know that there are many more (we have 9000 staff).
Feb 04 2019 12:02 PM
Just a reply on what the letter stands for:
/:f - designates a folder
:/r - indicates a read-only link
:/e - edit link
Apr 02 2019 02:51 PM
@Fred Y You seem to know stuff - what does :x: mean in my SharePoint url it comes right after the company name in the url like this: .sharepoint.com/:x:/r/sites/
Apr 03 2019 07:38 AM
Jun 23 2019 09:32 PM
Nov 20 2019 05:48 AM
Has anybody found a comprehensive list or dictionary of the :?: file types?
I'm specifically after what an :o: refers in decoding a potential phishing url - kinda tricky when not a direct Sharepoint user tho...
Nov 20 2019 07:42 AM
@JonnyiPhonenot really. This page from Microsoft talks about what R: means, which means Private. https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/SharePoint/What-is-f-r-in-shared-URLs/m-p/234125#M20735
My impression is the O: means Outlook.
Jun 22 2020 09:11 AM
Are there downsides to removing these characters from the url before sharing it? I saw this user voice requesting these be removed from links, so I'm wondering what the value is they provide?
May 21 2021 09:24 AM
@Murphybp79 There is no business benefit to users or customers for these various URL paths. It's for Microsoft's internal benefit to mine data. The different URLs allows Microsoft to to identify which linking method is more popular. This can assist with aligning internal development resources with customer usage patterns.
Aug 19 2018 08:04 PM
Solution