Tag Archives: Google Drive

Sharing files with people external to the UW

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There are times when we want to share Files/Folders with people who are not associated with the UW and who do not have a UW NetID. Here are your options and some limitations.

OneDrive

  • You can only share files in your personal UW OneDrive for Business with people that have a UW NetID.
  • Workarounds include:
    • Sponsoring a UW NetID for the external collaborator(s) and then provisioning the UW Office 365 service for them.
    • Creating a Shared UW NetID, provisioning the UW Office 365 service for it, and then sharing the credentials for this NetID with all the external collaborators. Of course, this negates any security and auditing and you risk the credentials for the Shared NetID getting passed around.

SharePoint

  • You are able to share Files and Folders and Sites in SharePoint Online with anyone that has a Microsoft Account.
    • Note this can be ANY Microsoft Account (Hotmail, Outlook.com, etc.) and does not need to be a Microsoft 365 Account.
    • Any email address can be a Microsoft Account so collaborators don’t have to sign up for anything new.
  • You can also share anything in SharePoint Online anonymously meaning no login required.
  • If HIPAA or FERPA compatibility is a concern, this is your only option.

Google Drive

  • You are able to share Files and Folders in both your personal UW Google Drive and in a UW Shared Google Drive (formerly known as a Team Drive) with ANY Google Account.
    • Note any email address can be a Google Account so collaborators don’t have to sign up for anything new.
  • You can also share anything in any Google Drive anonymously meaning no login required.
  • If HIPAA or FERPA compatibility is a concern, Google Drive is not an option.