Linking to files in Microsoft Teams

I love the fact that Microsoft Teams lets me manage all my content in one place — files, conversations, and more. One way to even further simplify my collaboration with my peers is by including links to files directly within my conversations.

When you select the Get link option for a file, a dialog presents you with two options — Microsoft Teams (which is the default), and SharePoint, which create distinct URL’s.

The Microsoft Teams URL includes information about the tenant, link to the SharePoint file (in bold), Office 365 group, and conversation thread.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/file/AFFB1AB5-5086-4E9F-8725-CDF293C41BCA?tenantId=00000000-d567-4d67-8727-000000000000&fileType=pdf&objectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fyour_tenant.sharepoint.com%2Fsites%2FPROCanadaECMTeam%2FShared%20Documents%2FGeneral%2FMicrosoft%20Business%20Applications%20Summit%20Report.pdf&baseUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fyour_tenant.sharepoint.com%2Fsites%2FPROCanadaECMTeam&serviceName=teams&threadId=19:0000000000504e38a7401c0b762ef9a3@thread.skype&groupId=00000000-bddc-4431-bc07-04a20ed85f3d

All special characters are encoded. When you try to open this link in a browser, it will attempt to open it in the Microsoft Teams browser version and prompt you to open the app.

When you select the SharePoint link, you get a clean link that will open the file directly in SharePoint Online.

https://your_tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/PROCanadaECMTeam/Shared%20Documents/General/Microsoft%20Business%20Applications%20Summit%20Report.pdf

Why is this important? It matters if you want to share links to documents with users who don’t have access to a Team but can access the SharePoint Team site.