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How to Give Everyone in an Organization View Access to SharePoint Documents
Question details
Users need to view documents within a SharePoint site's document library through an organization-wide link without having permissions assigned individually.
- Product
- SharePoint
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- An administrator or site owner wants to grant organization-wide read access to a specific document library effectively and silently.
- Observed behavior
- Users can access the SharePoint site via an organization-wide view link, but the site's document library appears empty or restricts their access to view the files.
Ensure you have Site Owner or Full Control permissions on the SharePoint site and document library before modifying access rights.
Grant View Permissions to the 'Everyone except external users' Group
Use this solution to securely grant organization-wide access to your SharePoint site and its inherited libraries without sending individual email notifications.
Sharing a site page link alone does not automatically provide access to separately secured document libraries. By adding the 'Everyone except external users' group to the site's Visitors group, you can grant read-only access to all internal users efficiently.
Click the gear icon (Settings) in the top right corner of your SharePoint site and select 'Site permissions'.
Click on 'Advanced permissions settings' at the bottom of the permissions pane to open the classic permission management page.
Click 'Grant Permissions' on the ribbon. In the 'Invite people' dialog box, type 'Everyone except external users' and select it from the directory search results.
Click 'Show options', select the 'Read' or 'View' permission level (or add them to the site Visitors group), uncheck 'Send an email invitation', and click 'Share'.
Ensure the Document Library Inherits Site Permissions
If the organization group already has site access but cannot see the documents, use this solution to restore permission inheritance on the specific document library.
Edit and Manage Your Documents Easily with WPS Office
While SharePoint helps you manage file permissions and distribution, creating and refining those documents requires a powerful office suite. WPS Office is a free, lightweight, and user-friendly alternative to Microsoft Office, offering seamless compatibility for all your business documentation needs.
- 1. Download the Installer: Visit the official WPS Office website and download the free installer for your operating system.
- 2. Install WPS Office: Run the setup file and follow the quick on-screen instructions to install the suite on your device.
- 3. Open Your Documents: Launch WPS Office and open your downloaded SharePoint documents to begin editing with full format compatibility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can users see the SharePoint site page but not the documents inside the library?
Sharing a specific SharePoint site page does not automatically grant access to the underlying document libraries. If a library has unique permissions (broken inheritance), users will only be able to view the page but will encounter empty or inaccessible libraries until specific view permissions are granted to those libraries.
Will granting access to 'Everyone except external users' send an email to all employees?
No, you can prevent mass email notifications by unchecking the 'Send an email invitation' box under 'Show options' when assigning permissions to the group.
Can I grant view access to the document library without giving access to the entire SharePoint site?
Yes. You can navigate directly to the library settings, click 'Stop Inheriting Permissions', and then use 'Grant Permissions' to assign the 'Everyone except external users' group Read access exclusively to that document library.
