Using Microsoft OneDrive for Shared Documents

Microsoft’s Office365 OneDrive for Business application, available through our campus license, is a useful tool for sharing collaborative documents in a classroom or workspace. This can be Word documents for student group notebooks or assignments, PowerPoints for group presentations, or Excel spreadsheets for a department.

Documents stored in OneDrive can be accessed and edited many different ways, including 1) via a web browser, 2) through an application from your desktop (Mac or PC), or 3) using mobile devices. The power of the OneDrive platform is that all editing and changes are synced up to the cloud, so you can access your files from anywhere you have an internet connection.

Installing OneDrive

To get started, you will need to install the OneDrive application on your computer. Go to https://portal.office.com and login with your trincoll credentials using your username@trincoll.edu email address. After you have logged in, click on the cloud OneDrive icon shown in the list of applications on the left. You can also access the OneDrive window either through the grid at the top left, or the All Apps icon at the bottom.

You should then see a screen similar to the one below, though you might not have any files showing. In the bottom left, click on ‘Get the OneDrive apps’ to install the OneDrive application for your desktop. OneDrive will automatically show you the latest version for your operating system. Also note that your list of files that are stored in OneDrive shows the sharing status and the last modification date by user, as shown in the image below.

Download the OneDrive application for your operating system, and then install it by following the instructions. After you have installed the OneDrive application, open it by double-clicking it in the Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (PC) window. You might be prompted to login again with your username@trincoll.edu credentials, and/or grant access to the OneDrive folder, depending upon how your desktop is configured. After you have logged in, if you open a Finder or File Explorer window you will now see a location in the navigation bar entitled ‘OneDrive – Trinity College.’

This OneDrive folder is stored and synced automatically to Microsoft’s cloud servers, and you can either create a new document by clicking on the blue +New button at the top of your OneDrive window in your browser, or by dragging and dropping existing files into the OneDrive folder. Your OneDrive folder is available using any device you are logged into, and the folders and files will always be in sync. To access your OneDrive folder using a mobile device, download the OneDrive for Business app, and make sure to login with your username@trincoll.edu credentials.

Sharing Documents

You can share individual documents or folders with other Trinity users either through OneDrive in a web browser, or using Finder or File Explorer on your desktop.

To share a document online, upload the document to the OneDrive folder, and then click on the share icon to the right of the file name. You can also click on the ellipsis (three dots) also to the right of the document name, and select Share from the menu. You will then see a box where you can add the name(s) of the Trinity user you want to share the document with, and you can choose whether they have edit or view access (see image at right). You can also add an optional message to the recipient. After you have entered in the names of your collaborators, click Send to generate an email notification. Once the recipients open the shared document, an email will be sent to you letting you know that they have accessed the document. Alternately, you can select ‘Copy link’ at the bottom, and email that link to anyone that will be editing the document with you.

If you need to share a document with a much larger group, select the arrow next to ‘People you specify can edit’ to pull up a menu of the link settings. This allows the document link to be shared with the entire Trinity community, if desired. However, if you want to make sure that the document is shared with only a few people, make sure that only ‘Specific people’ is checked. Note that if your document is accidentally deleted by one of the people that you shared it with, it can be found in your Recycle Bin in your OneDrive folder online and easily restored.

You can also share a document from your desktop. Open up the OneDrive folder in either Finder or File Explorer and then right-click the file name as shown on the left. From the drop-down menu, select ‘Share’ under Quick Actions near the bottom of the menu. This will pull up a menu box similar to the one shown above. On this menu, you can also make sure that the file is always available on your desktop, plus open it to view it online.

Viewing and Editing Documents

Once you have shared a file with someone else, they will then see that file in their OneDrive folder, though they may have to refresh their browser to see the new file listed. To easily view files that have been shared with you, click on Shared in the left menu of OneDrive online, and then select the ‘Shared with you’ tab at the top (see image below). This will give a list of folders and documents that have been shared with you.

When you open a document online that has been shared with you, a pop-up box will appear listing the collaborators that have made recent changes. You can click on ‘Catch up’ in the upper right to see what changes have been made to the document since you last opened it. If you would like to have more detailed tracking of the changes made by your collaborators, turn on Track Changes under the Review tab.

If you would like to make sure that a folder that is shared with you through OneDrive is always available on your desktop, and therefore always available to edit offline, click on ‘Sync’ at the top of the folder tab from a OneDrive browser window. This will create a folder called ‘Trinity College – owner name’ that will show in your Finder or File Explorer window. You can edit the documents that are in this folder in your desktop, and the changes will be saved up to the cloud version of the document in the OneDrive folder the next time you have internet access. However, for most situations we recommend accessing shared OneDrive documents through a web browser.

When editing a document, be aware that the functionality of the online versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., will differ from the functionality available in the desktop application. If you find there is functionality that you need that is missing from the online app, then click on Editing at the top, and then select ‘Open in desktop app.’ The changes that you make in the desktop application will automatically be synced with the online version.

Revoking Sharing Privileges

To revoke sharing privileges, go to your OneDrive folder online and click on the ellipsis to the right of the file or folder name, and select ‘Manage Access.’ This will pull up a pop-up box on the right that will show the sharing link, type of sharing, and a list of your collaborators. To remove the sharing access for one individual, click the down-arrow next to the person’s name in the list, and then select ‘Stop Sharing’ (see image to right).

If you would like to remove access for everyone, click on the ellipsis to the right of the sharing link (denoted by arrow in the image on the right), and then click on the ‘X’ next to the link name. This will remove all sharing options for the file or folder, and it will now show as Private in your OneDrive list of files and folders.

If someone has shared a file or folder with you, and you would like to not see it listed in your shared folders anymore, go to the list of documents that have been shared with you. Click on the ellipsis next to the file name, and then select ‘Remove from shared list.’ After you refresh your browser, you will not see the file or folder in your OneDrive list.

For additional help, view OneDrive training resources available from Microsoft.