File Sharing Problems

How to Create OneDrive or SharePoint Shortcuts for Everyone in a Company

Maira Mehtab Sep 28, 2026 869 views

Question details

A company needs to provide reliable, organization-wide access to shared OneDrive or SharePoint folders because traditional mapped drives or personal desktop shortcuts are proving unreliable.

Product: OneDrive and SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Distributing access to a centralized shared folder across an entire organization without relying on local network mapped drives.
Observed behavior: Administrators are looking for a reliable, built-in way for all employees to access shared company folders, as deploying local desktop shortcuts manually is inefficient.

Before you start

Ensure you have administrative or owner permissions for the SharePoint document library and verify your organization's security policies regarding file sharing before distributing links.

Solution 1Recommended

Use SharePoint Links and the Add Shortcut Feature

Use a centralized SharePoint document library to grant group access and instruct users to add the shortcut directly to their own OneDrive files.

While pushing a local desktop shortcut to everyone automatically isn't natively supported, leveraging SharePoint's document library is the most reliable workaround. By sharing a secure link, users can integrate the shared folder directly into their own OneDrive environment.

Create or use a SharePoint library

Navigate to the required SharePoint document library where the company-wide folders are stored.

Grant organizational permissions

Assign access rights to the entire organization or a specific Microsoft 365 security group. Do not use 'Anyone' links to maintain company security.

Copy and distribute the link

Generate a secure link to the specific folder and share it with employees via email or an internal communication platform.

Add shortcut to My files

Instruct employees to open the shared link in their web browser and click the 'Add shortcut to My files' button located in the top menu bar.

Tenant Policies: The availability of the 'Add shortcut to My files' feature depends on your organization's tenant policies and sharing restrictions set by the IT administrator.

Solution 2

Submit Feedback for Centralized Management

If the manual process is too cumbersome for a large organization, provide feedback to Microsoft to request better centralized shortcut management.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why is the 'Add shortcut to My files' option missing for my users?

This option might be disabled by your organization's IT admin through SharePoint tenant policies, or the users may not have the appropriate edit/view permissions for the shared folder.

Can I force a OneDrive shortcut onto all users' desktops automatically?

Microsoft currently does not provide a native administrative tool to push a local desktop shortcut to all users via OneDrive; users must manually click 'Add shortcut to My files' from a shared web link.

Are 'Anyone with the link' shortcuts secure for company data?

No, 'Anyone' links bypass user authentication and can be accessed by people outside your organization. Always grant access explicitly to the organization or specific internal security groups.

Document & File Issues