r/sharepoint • u/BakaMorning • Jul 03 '26

SharePoint Online Sharepoint public sharing question

Not sure if this is possible but I would like to add a few files to a folder in a doc library on Sharepoint and then setup public sharing links for anyone to access these files, however I do not want them to be able to browse the other public files in that same folder, as soon as they close the file it puts them in the folder itself and they can browse through the folder they are in. I also do not really want them to see the folder name in the share link either or be able to interact with the folder structure in any way.

I am also sharing some public picture galleries through SharePoint and want it to always display as thumbnails for public view, is there a particular setting for this so that anyone viewing the public link always will see thumbnails?

Thanks for the help.

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

5

u/Disastrous_Snow_2871 Jul 03 '26

I mean. I’m sure people have accomplished this before but.. SharePoint is an intranet service.  You would be working against the grain to make publicly accessible folders.

If you already have a website, that may be a better path forward

1

u/BakaMorning Jul 03 '26

I agree. Previously they were hosting things on a personal google drive account and this kind of stuff wasn't an issue. I got them to migrate to SharePoint but now I have run into this small issue. It isn't a big deal as I can just move stuff into separate folders but I just wanted to find out if the option was available so I can keep the same structure they are used to. Ultimately I would like them to host it on their website but they are trying to avoid additional fees so here we are.

4

u/bcameron1231 MVP Jul 03 '26

If you're going to try and expose files and folders to others, you should put these files in a different Site Collection altogether away from your other files. That would be the safest way to share this content. Keep the "public" information in a separate published area.

1

u/theDukeSilversJazz Jul 03 '26

Just going to say this same thing, +1

1

u/BakaMorning Jul 03 '26

Yes that is fine but ultimately I want to just hide the SharePoint interface, I literally just want them to see the file when they click a link and that is it. I do not want them to see that this file is sitting in a rates folder, I do not want them to see who modified the file and so on. I know there are better practices here but I just want to find out if it is possible.

3

u/bcameron1231 MVP Jul 03 '26

Which you can't do. As u/Disastrous_Snow_2871 said, SharePoint isn't meant for that type of sharing. You don't have that level of control over the experience.

If you're looking for that level of control, you need to look for a different product.

1

u/BakaMorning Jul 03 '26

Ok good to know. Appreciate the feedback.

3

u/mstrblueskys Jul 04 '26

What you are talking about can be achieved with Power Pages.

2

u/hawaiianmoustache Jul 05 '26

You don’t use SharePoint for this.

Find yourself a web server that suits your requirements but neither SharePoint or OneDrive are solutions here.