Fix Errors When Opening SharePoint List Item Sharing Links
Question details
Users and administrators are encountering errors when attempting to open list items via copied sharing links from modern or classic SharePoint Online lists.
- Product
- SharePoint Online
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Accessing shared list items via copied URLs.
- Observed behavior
- Sharing links produce errors for site users, administrators, and other recipients instead of opening the intended SharePoint list items.
Verify your own access permissions to the SharePoint site and ensure that the specific list item you are trying to share has not been deleted or moved to a different directory.
Temporarily Disable Content Approval Settings
Adjusting the content approval configuration can help identify if workflow rules are blocking access to the shared list items.
In many cases, a list view web part using a publishing or pages library may restrict access to shared items if content approval is mandated. Disabling this temporarily will help isolate the root cause.
Open your SharePoint site, navigate to the affected list or pages library, and click on the gear icon to open 'List Settings' or 'Library Settings'.
Under the General Settings column, click on 'Versioning settings'.
Locate the 'Require content approval for submitted items' option, select 'No', and click 'OK' to save your changes.
Generate a new sharing link for the list item and have a recipient try opening it to see if the error is resolved.
Isolate the Issue and Contact Microsoft Support
Since the error affects multiple users across both list experiences, gathering diagnostic details for Microsoft Support is necessary for a back-end investigation.
Manage and Share Documents Easily with WPS Office
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why do SharePoint sharing links sometimes display 'Access Denied'?
This typically occurs if the recipient's account does not have the required permissions, the sharing link has expired, or the specific item requires content approval that has not yet been granted.
Does this sharing link error only affect the modern SharePoint view?
No, this specific issue is known to affect both modern and classic SharePoint Online list experiences. Testing the link in both views can help determine if it is a UI-specific bug or a deeper backend configuration issue.
Can list versioning settings block file sharing links?
Yes. If a list or pages library has 'Require content approval for submitted items' enabled, items that are in a pending state may be restricted, causing errors when users try to access them via standard sharing links.
