Most people using SharePoint online are in a doubt that what are the best ways to access documents in SharePoint online?
You are aware of the fact that the SharePoint interface is extremely different from file explorer or any network drive. The files you store on the SharePoint site are different and they might have unique permission depending on people.
You can decide what file should be visible to whom.
Here we will discuss a few ways to access “Documents” in SharePoint online.
5 Best Ways To Access Documents In SharePoint Online
Let us jump into some of the ways to access documents in SharePoint online in detail.
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1. SharePoint Site
The very simple and basic option to access documents is by going directly to the SharePoint site using a web interface. You can use this option if you have an Intranet built with navigation that allows you access and navigates around all the sites created in your environment.
You can use this method when you want to filter the documents or start workflows from the SharePoint sites.
2. Microsoft Teams
If you very much use the collaboration platform Microsoft Teams, then you might not go to the site directly at all.
Instead, you can access the document library via Teams > Your Teams > Files Tab in a Microsoft Teams channel.
If you do have other important libraries on a site, you can link them up as tabs from Team channels as well.
This is best when you often use teams for communication and you don’t have too many libraries to access.
3. OneDrive Sync
You can access documents just by synchronizing them to your computer via OneDrive sync. Click on that button and this will allow you to access your documents in a browser-like interface.
Using sync you can work a lot with documents by easily navigating and reorganize them via a browser interface and access documents offline without an internet connection.
4. OneDrive for Business
You can also access all the documents stored on SharePoint sites using your OneDrive for Business web interface. While OneDrive is mainly used as a personal file storage space in the cloud, it also has the option to connect to Shared Libraries.
5. Mobile
If you are mostly working from the field, then you might need mobile applications to access files and folders. In this case, OneDrive and SharePoint application can help you access all types of documents.
This option is best when you work outside and require access via mobile applications and devices.
Conclusion
Finally, it does not matter which method you choose – whether you access files from the computer or MS Teams or OneDrive or Mobile, the result is the same that the original copy of the file resides in a SharePoint site.