How do I give permission to external users in SharePoint?

NOTE: This should only be done on sites which are within the Collaboration area of our SharePoint Site.

  • Click on the cog symbol at the top right of the screen and select 'Site Settings'. The Site Settings screen will appear: 

  • Click 'Site Permissions' in the first column under 'Users and Permissions'.
  • The site may be inheriting permissions from its parent. If so there will be a yellow notice at the top of the permissions page. 

Editing Existing Permissions

  • Permissions are best kept in groups rather than giving individual people permission to your site.
  • Click on the relevant group to view who is a member of the group 

Add a Person

  • To add a person to the group click New at the top of the list
  • The Share pop-up will appear: 

  • Type the full email address (either Office 365 or Outlook.com) of the person/people you wish to add in the first box
  • Add a personal message if you wish, to explain to the person why you are inviting them to access this site.
  • Click Share to finish.
  • The person/people will receive an email invitation to access the site: 

  • The person will need to click on the link in the email to view the site.
  • Once they have clicked on the link and visited the site for the first time you will see them listed in the permission group. Until they do this their invitation to the site will be 'Pending'. You can access a list of pending invitations to check who has not yet visited the site:
    • Click the Cog
    • Click Site Settings
    • Click 'Access requests and invitations'
    • Look at the 'External User Invitations', which will show any pending or expired invitations. If an invitation has expired you will need to invite the user again. You can see people who have successfully been invited by clicking on History under this list - it will show a list of all the people who have clicked the link in the email and have been successfully added to the site. 

Remove a person

  • To remove a person from the group, tick the box to the left of their name and click Actions at the top of the list
  • Choose 'Remove Users from group' in the drop-down that appears
  • The person will be removed from the group and will lose access to the site.