Complete guide to enabling “Open With Explorer”: SharePoint

For years, the Explorer view on old SharePoint sites has been a popular way for users to avoid really dealing with SharePoint libraries. In certain circumstances, this is for good cause, such as being able to effortlessly upload many files in previous versions of SharePoint or having a familiar nested folder structure to navigate. When hopping between storage sites, File Explorer gives a simpler, more convenient, and generally more pleasant experience. And, fortunately for us (and many for many other SharePoint users), we can also access our SharePoint material using File Explorer. Follow through for more information on how to do this.

  1. How to use the “Open with explorer” option.
  2. Create a network drive for your library.
  3. Use File Explorer to view SharePoint files.

After some extensive research, we compiled a list of different points to help you get a full understanding of the working mechanics used to generate the “Open with Explorer” option in SharePoint. Follow through for the full guide to all the points and much more in this blog as we get to grips with all there is to SharePoint “Open With Explorer”.

How to use the “Open with explorer” option

  • First sign in to Office 365.
  • Use the app launcher and navigate to “SharePoint”, and click on it.
  • In SharePoint go to the Site where your files are located.
  • In the menu bar click on “Documents”.
  • Now on the right side, there is an option called “All Documents”, click on it.
  • Now click on “View in File Explorer”.
  • A security prompt will show, here click on “Allow”.

Once the documents have been successfully verified, you can now open them with Explorer. Ensure you have the correct permissions enabled, such as a shared document may have restrictive permissions that prevent them from being opened on any external or modified sources. However, this is the process if you need to open with explorer.

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“Open with Explorer” – classic iteration

On the classic iteration, the process is slightly different, as there is a ribbon that consists of the same options however instead of it being in the main menu it’s nestled within another option. Follow through for more information on how you can open SharePoint documents with Explorer in classic mode.

  • Select the document library you want to work with, then select “Library” in the top navigation under “Library Tools.”
  • Select “Open with Explorer” from the right-hand side of the ribbon.
  • You may utilise the library as you would any other folder on your computer after it has opened in an Explorer window.

You’ll be able to drag and drop files and folders, create new folders with a right-click, and so on.

Create a network drive for your library

Version history, metadata, rights, co-authoring, alarms, and the like are all fantastic features of SharePoint over utilising your hard drive, a shared drive, or a flash drive to store files, but I’ll be the first to confess that I prefer simple access to my files using File Explorer.

When hopping between storage sites, File Explorer gives a simpler, more convenient, and generally more pleasant experience. And, fortunately for me (and many others with whom I’ve worked), we can also access our SharePoint material using File Explorer.

We get the best of both worlds by utilising SharePoint to store our data and File Explorer to access it more conveniently. The setup procedure has a minor stumbling block, but it’s well worth it. Here’s how to do it.

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Step by step process – Create a network drive for your library

To map the drive, you’ll require at least Visitor/read access to the library, if that wasn’t clear earlier. Here are the actions to take once you’ve arrived at that stage. Relates back to my earlier points of having the correct permissions enabled especially on a shared document or network where you cant easily get access to change these settings. I tried with permissions settings lover than this however it didn’t allow me to create the network drive.

  • Browse to the SharePoint library you wish to map as a drive-in Internet Explorer or Edge. In Chrome or Firefox, this technique will not work.
  • Click the Library tab > Open with Explorer on the Ribbon.
  • At the top of the Explorer window, hover your mouse over the folder path. Toggle your mouse over the library’s name to the right. The route is transformed into a web URL, which is highlighted. Copy the URL with a right-click.
  • Click the Home tab > Easy access > Map as a drive-in File Explorer’s Ribbon.
  • Choose an available drive letter (your preference) in the Map Network Drive pop-up, paste the URL you copied in step 3, and leave the other settings as indicated below.
  • Finish by clicking the Finish button. In File Explorer, the SharePoint library is now visible as a drive.

Summary

Unfortunately, Windows assigns a default name to the disc, but you may change it to anything you choose. Simply right-click the drive’s name, select Rename, and change the name to anything you want.

Troubleshooting

This technique is prone to mistakes, the most common of which I’ve observed is as follows:

  • Because of the following error, the mapped network disc could not be created: Access is restricted. Before you may open files from this address, you must first add the website to your trusted sites list, then navigate to it and choose the option to login automatically.
  • To guarantee that the connection is correct, you must check a few things. If none of the related options works, you’ll need to seek troubleshooting assistance from your IT staff. Sorry for the inconvenience; it can be tricky, and local settings can occasionally affect whether or not this works.

Use File Explorer to view SharePoint files

The command View in File Explorer opens a temporary folder in File Explorer. That folder exists just until you shut it and save the content to SharePoint. As a result, using View in File Explorer to browse the SharePoint library via your desktop folders offers you one-time access.

Sync makes advantage of the OneDrive sync programme to make a more permanent folder that you may access on a regular basis. All content you add to, modify, or remove from the online SharePoint library or the desktop folder is automatically synced with the other. You may save immediately from Word or Excel to the desktop folder after syncing a library, and everything is automatically posted to the SharePoint library. If you save something to the desktop folder while offline, Sync will automatically update the SharePoint library when you return online.

In-depth – step by step process – How to use the “Open with explorer” option

Step by step breakdown:

Use your account details or if you have a current Skype account with the Office account in question, you can use this.

  • Use the app launcher and navigate to “SharePoint”, and click on it.

You can access the SharePoint application however this is for individuals who only have a SharePoint plan, A larger group of individuals have SharePoint in Office 365.

  • In SharePoint go to the Site where your files are located.
  • In the menu bar click on “Documents”.

A document library is a safe storage location for files that you and your coworkers can quickly locate, collaborate on, and access from any device at any time. For example, a document library on a SharePoint site can be used to hold all materials relevant to a given project or customer.

  • Now on the right side, there is an option called “All Documents”, click on it.
  • Now click on “View in File Explorer”.
  • A security prompt will show, here click on “Allow”.

That’s it for this Blog thank you for taking time out to read our content, please feel free to email our team about how it went if you followed the steps or if you need more help with the questions we answered in this Blog.

Saajid Gangat

Saajid Gangat has been a researcher and content writer at Business Tech Planet since 2021. Saajid is a tech-savvy writer with expertise in web and graphic design and has extensive knowledge of Microsoft 365, Adobe, Shopify, WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and more! You can connect with Saajid on Linkedin.

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