This post will outline the authentication process and configuration necessary to access an Office 365 SharePoint Library via a mapped drive in Windows Explorer.
This information was originally posted on Spiceworks.com at http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/show/4133-office-365-sharepoint-map-network-drive
| 1. |
Login to the Portal http://portal.microsoftonline.comSign in to the SharePoint Online site by using your Office 365 credentials. Make sure that you click to select the Keep me signed in check box. This is important because you need to be (and stay) authenticated via the web portal to access the SharePoint document library via a mapped drive. |
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| 2. |
Click Start, Right-click Computer, and then click Map Network Drive
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| 3. |
Click the “Connect to a Web site that you can store your documents and pictures” link, and then click Next two times.
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| 4. |
Type the site URL, click Next, and then follow the instructions in the wizard.Depending on your permissions level you may need to map to a document library level |
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| 5. |
Remove the tick from “automatically detect settings” in your proxy settings page (found in the connections tab in Internet options).This Really makes a big difference to folder traversal in explorer. |
Troubleshooting
If you encounter issues with the mapped drive disconnecting follow these steps
Make sure that you are authenticated to Office 365. To do this, follow these steps:
1. Sign in to the SharePoint Online site by using your Office 365 credentials, and make sure that you click to select the Keep me signed in check box.
2. Open a document library in Explorer View.
3. Try to access the mapped network drive.
If you are authenticated to Office 365 and the issue persists, make sure that the entries for SharePoint are added to the Trusted sites zone in Windows Internet Explorer. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the Tools menu In Internet Explorer, click Internet options.
2. Click the Security tab, click the Trusted sites zone, and then click Sites.
3. Verify that the following entries are listed in the Websites list:
https://*.outlook.com
https://*.sharepoint.com
https://*.microsoftonline.com
https://*.lync.com
If these entries are not present, add them to the Trusted sites list of websites.
Make sure that the entries for SharePoint are added to the Local Intranet Zone in Windows Internet Explorer. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the Tools menu In Internet Explorer, click Internet options.
2. Click the Security tab.
3. Click the Local intranet zone, click Sites, and then click Advanced.
4. Verify that the following entries are listed in the Websites list:
*.microsoftonline.com
*.sharepoint.com
*.outlook.com
*.lync.com
If the above entries are not present, add them to the Local intranet zone list of websites.
You should now be able to map a drive to a SharePoint Library
You may also use the Open with Explorer feature in SharePoint while you have a Library open by clicking the Library tab and selecting the Open with Explorer button located in the Connect and Export section:
