SharePoint Hero Links simplify file sharing
Hero Links give SharePoint and OneDrive files one primary sharing link that users can keep using as permissions change.
Key insights
- The primary Hero Link can keep working when a recipient's view or edit permission changes.
- The demonstrated default audience is “Only people added to the file have access.”
- Users can still create separate sharing links with their own permissions, expiration dates, and passwords.
- “Reset link” and “Remove access” do different things in the demonstrated OneDrive experience.
- Sharing with people outside a SharePoint site's existing groups can create unique permissions and break inheritance.
SharePoint and OneDrive Hero Links give each file or folder a primary sharing link that users can continue using as permissions change. The change matters to people who share files and to administrators managing access, external collaboration, and site permissions. Nick Ross [MVP] (T-Minus365) demonstrates the updated sharing experience and its permission controls in a YouTube video.
What’s new
Traditional file sharing could leave users with several URLs for the same file: one for a particular audience, another with different permissions, and perhaps another for external sharing. If a recipient needed edit access after initially receiving view access, the sender might have had to create and distribute a new link. Hero Links make one primary link the usual starting point and let the sender update access associated with it.
In the demonstrated experience, a sender can change a person’s permission from view to edit and have that change take effect while the recipient continues using the link already received. The sender can also remove that person’s access. The key change is link management, not a replacement for SharePoint’s underlying permissions model: site membership, groups, and file permissions still affect who can open an item.
Hero Links do not remove the option to create other links. A sender can make a separate link when a distinct sharing scenario calls for its own audience or settings, including an expiration date or password for an anyone link. These additional links appear separately from the primary link in the sharing interface.
Who it is for and what you need
The experience is relevant to SharePoint and OneDrive users who share files with colleagues or external collaborators, and to administrators responsible for their organization’s sharing policies. The demonstration covers both a OneDrive document and files in a SharePoint site, where inherited site permissions can also appear in the access view.
The rollout is being delivered progressively across Microsoft 365 environments, so users may see different sharing experiences while it reaches their tenant. The new dialog also works within the organization’s existing sharing controls: tenant and site settings determine which audiences and link types users can select. Administrators can review those controls in the SharePoint Admin Center under Policies > Sharing.
In the experience shown, the primary link defaults to “Only people added to the file have access.” A sender can select another audience where organizational settings allow it. When sharing with an external person, the interface displays an external-user indicator and a confirmation prompt.
How it works
Open the file’s sharing dialog to add people, select their permissions, and manage access. The updated interface brings people and sharing links together, so a sender can review recipients and make common permission changes without first creating a replacement link.
- Choose a file or folder and open its Share dialog.
- Choose the audience for the primary link, such as “Only people added to the file have access,” and add the recipients.
- Set the recipient’s permission, such as view or edit, then send or copy the link.
- To change access later, return to the sharing controls and update the person’s permission. The recipient can keep using the existing link.
- For a separate sharing scenario, create another link and set its available permissions and options, such as expiration or a password for an anyone link.
The settings menu includes controls that affect sharing behavior. “People with edit access can reshare” governs whether editors can add people or adjust sharing settings. In the OneDrive example, “Reset link” resets the primary link to “Only people added to the file have access” and invalidates anyone links associated with that link. “Remove access” removes people other than the file owners in the demonstrated experience; it is not the same action as resetting the link.
For files inside a shared folder, the “Apply folder access changes to this item” setting controls whether folder access changes apply to that file. Turning it off can keep a particular file from inheriting access granted to the containing folder. That can help when collaborators should see one document in a folder but not another.
Limitations and alternatives
A primary link does not mean every access route to a file is managed by that link. SharePoint site or group membership and direct permissions remain relevant, and separate sharing links can still exist. Resetting a link should therefore not be treated as a complete review of everyone who can access the item.
SharePoint’s permission inheritance also needs attention. Sharing an item with someone outside its existing site groups can create unique permissions and break inheritance from the parent. Removing that person later does not necessarily restore inheritance automatically. Site members added through the site’s normal membership controls may retain access, while users added through other permission routes may not.
Before relying on a sharing choice, check the audience selected in the dialog and whether the item inherits access from a folder or site. Administrators should also review tenant and site sharing policies, since the available link options are subject to those controls. Where a separate audience or expiration is needed, creating an additional link remains an alternative to changing the primary link.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Can I change a SharePoint sharing permission without sending a new link?
Yes. With the primary Hero Link, you can change a recipient’s permission, such as from view to edit, while the recipient continues to use the existing link.
Can users still create separate SharePoint sharing links?
Yes. The sharing experience still allows additional links with separate permissions and settings, including expiration dates and passwords for anyone links.
What is the difference between Reset link and Remove access?
In the demonstrated OneDrive experience, Reset link returns the primary link to “Only people added to the file have access” and invalidates associated anyone links. Remove access removes people other than the file owners.
Can sharing a SharePoint file break permission inheritance?
Yes. Sharing with someone outside the site’s existing groups can create unique permissions and break inheritance from the parent. Removing that person later does not necessarily restore inheritance.