Guide for Microsoft 365 and SharePoint External Sharing with Non-Microsoft Users

SharePoint External Sharing is one of the most easy and convenient features for the organization working with the external vendors and users. Users are permitted to share a given file or folder, site, team or group and you will always experience a different user experience from the recipient’s point of view.

we will discuss external sharing but this time it will be focusing on what is shared and who you want to share it with. Brining another interesting fact, Microsoft recently made some updates and changes to how external users authenticate with you organizations.
If we try to understand the standpoint of Microsoft 365, there are 3 types of external sharing in SharePoint

1. Business users with Microsoft 365 Accounts from their respective organizations
2. Business users having an existing Microsoft Accounts (i.e. Outlook.com, Live.com)
3. Non-Microsoft Accounts of external entities (i.e. Gmail.com, Yahoo.com)

Since the first two scenarios are not that tough because both the recipients and sender have the Microsoft account making the whole process an ease.
But let’s talk about the third, rare and challenging case. External sharing with users who do not have a Microsoft account or there are no Microsoft 365 environment followed in their organization.
All the users with email addresses like Gmail.com, Yahoo.com or just any other regular work emails.
As previously mentioned, Microsoft recently changed the way non-Microsoft accounts might access the resources of your business. Previously, you had to create a Microsoft account if you didn't already have one.
This was a somewhat intricate procedure that needed numerous extra steps and drove many people insane. With the modification, those non-Microsoft accounts just need a temporary passcode to access the resources. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this strategy.

Read more: organization’s pain points with external user
Let's talk about external sharing for the following three common use scenarios in order to illustrate the Non-Microsoft Accounts user experience:

Case 1: Using Microsoft Teams to Share a Team Externally
Case 2: Sharing a SharePoint Site Externally 
Case 3: Sharing a file or folder for external use only

Case 1: How to invite External Non-Microsoft Account User to the Microsoft Team

1. Start by clicking three dots next to a Team in Teams
2. Then click on option labelled as “Manage Team”
3. Click Add Member
4. Now start typing in the email address of the external user
5. Click Add
6. You will receive an update notifying about that the user was added

How will the User receive the file invite?

1. The recipient gets an email with the option to click “Open Microsoft Teams”
2. The user then can click on the option to “request the temporary code”
3. A temporary verification number is then sent to the recipient via another email
4. After entering the code, the user clicks Log in
5. The user agrees to the terms and conditions
6. Next, the user gains access to a Microsoft Teams shared team

What takes place in the background?

It’s very important to observe the changes that occurs while the user accepts the invitation to join your team. You've actually added the user's email to your Active Directory!

1. From the Microsoft 365 App Launcher, select Admin
2. Select Users then click on Guests
3. The user will show up on a guest user list

Regaining access to a shared team

The user would have to go to a Teams URL to access the shared Team once more because the receiver does not use Teams (because Microsoft 365 is not present in the company).

1. To access https://teams.microsoft.com/, the user
2. The user inputs a non-Microsoft email address. The user would have to select the "sign-in with a one-time code sent to your email" option because there isn't a formal account with a password here.
3. After that, the user will be able to access Team in Teams once more

Case 2: How to add External Non-Microsoft User to the SharePoint Site

How to share SharePoint site with a Non-Microsoft User

1. To share SharePoint site with a non-Microsoft user, select Gear Icon. The click on Site permissions
2. Click the option “Add Members.” Then select “SharePoint Site Only.” By following this step in the process, you will ensure to invite user only to SharePoint site and not the entire Microsoft 365 group
3. Click Send email after entering the external user's email address and choosing the desired degree of permission

How does it appear to the recipient?

1. Similar to the first case we discussed, the user will receive an email. They have to click on the link shared
2. Provide the required email address and click on the option “Next”
3. The user would have to authenticate with a temporary passcode, much like when sharing a Team
4. User can copy the code received in another email
5. After entering the code, the user hits Sign-in
6. The user must agree to the terms and conditions
7. Lastly, the user is granted access to the website!

Case 3: How to share Files or Folders with Non-Microsoft external users

How to share a file or folder with a Non-Microsoft Account

The user experience of sharing a file or folder externally hasn't changed in a while, but still we will go over it below.

1. To share a file or folder, click the three dots next to it, then select Share
2. Enter the external user's email address in the pop-up window
3. When the system detects that the user is not inside the company, a warning will be displayed. Click "Continue"
4. After that, you can type the optional message, click Send, and choose whether to grant View Only or Edit access to a specific file or folder
5. After that, you receive confirmation that someone has shared a file or folder link

How does it appear to the recipient?

1. An email is sent to the addressee, who selects "Open"
2. Once more, the user must ask for a temporary code
3. A second email with the code is sent to the addressee, who duplicates it
4. After pasting the code, the external user selects Verify. To prevent constantly entering passcodes, the user can click an option that will keep them logged in for a while
5. That's it. The shared file or folder will be made available to the user
6. The user may only be able to see or edit contents, depending on the access role that was granted
7. Only the shared file or folder is accessible to the user on a website

Why to Choose Titan Workspace’s SharePoint External Sharing Portal?

Although we have shared all the steps and guidelines required to share the file, folder or even SharePoint sites with the external user and that too without a non-Microsoft user. But somewhere you may find yourself challenging with the technicalities of SharePoint.
At Titan Workspace we ensure that you focus on generating business and we take over all the technicalities and providing a simplifies SharePoint to you for better adoption. From vendors to contracts we provide customized external sharing portal defining your business goals and needs.

FAQ’s

What is Temporary view in Excel?

Temporary view in Excel allows the users to apply filters and sorts to a shared workbook without affecting other user’s view. When working collaboratively, this feature—known as Sheet View—is especially helpful because it keeps the focus on data without interfering with other people's work.

Can SharePoint forms be shared externally?

Use external sharing to collaborate with licensed users from different subscriptions within your organization. This feature helps ensure secure collaboration within your Microsoft 365 environment.

What is the limit of SharePoint sharing?

There can be no more than 50,000 sub-items in a folder and its sub-folders when it is shared. You can choose which files to share or move some items to a different folder that isn't in the original folder to get around this restriction.

• Dipankar Goswami
• Apr 03, 2025