TL;DR
You will soon be able to create a shortcut to files stored in other people’s OneDrive and document libraries to find them within your OneDrive or document library. Now due November to mid-January 2024.

Details
You will soon see an Add Shortcut command in the command bar and context menu for OneDrive, SharePoint and Teams files. When you select a file and click Add Shortcut, you will see two options for where to add a shortcut: My files and Other locations.

If you select My files, a .url file will be created within your My files list in OneDrive. If you select Other locations, a file picker will launch for you to choose a location for your file shortcut within your OneDrive as well as the document libraries you have access to.

The default name of the shortcut will be the name of the source file appended with .url. A shortcut to IndividualFileShortcuts.docx will be IndividualFileShortcuts.docx.url and will have an arrow icon overlay.

The file shortcut is simply a pointer to a file. When you rename, move, delete or share a file shortcut, this only impacts the shortcut file and has no impact on the source file. All permissions on the destination file are respected, regardless of where you create the shortcut. If the source file is renamed after the file shortcut was created, the file shortcut will not reflect the new source file name.

File shortcuts you create will appear and can be used in OneDrive Web, SharePoint Web, OneDrive iOS & Android, OneDrive Sync Client and Teams.

Notes

  • You cannot create a file shortcut to non-file content within your OneDrive (e.g., Lists, Whiteboard, PowerBI dashboards, etc.)
    You can create a file shortcut to Loop components within OneDrive
  • You cannot Favourite a file shortcut, favourite the source file instead
  • You cannot preview file shortcuts since the shortcut file itself has no information to preview

Availability
Due early to late November 2023.
Now early November to late December 2023.
Now due November to mid-January 2024.

Source, related links, and references
MC684224.
Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 177873.
Images: Microsoft.

Page originally published
4th November 2023 and kept up to date.

Want to know what else is late, new, and coming soon across M365 and Teams this month? Check out the latest roundup.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR