Add a Shortcut to a Teams Channel or Shared Folder in OneDrive

Questions

• How do I open Teams channel files in File Explorer or Finder without syncing?
• What does Add shortcut to OneDrive do?
• How do I add a shortcut to a folder someone shared with me?
• Where do shortcuts appear on my computer?
• How do I make a shortcut's files available offline?
• How do I remove a shortcut, and does that delete the files?
• Why don't I see the Add shortcut to OneDrive option?

Environment

This article applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff on Windows 11 or macOS who want a Microsoft Teams channel folder, a SharePoint folder, or a folder a colleague shared with them to appear in File Explorer or Finder.

• OneDrive must be installed and signed in with your Bowdoin account. See Set Up the OneDrive Sync Client in the Related Articles section.
• Shortcuts work on folders, not on individual files.
• In some versions of Teams, a channel's Shared tab is labeled Files. They are the same place.
• After you choose Add shortcut to OneDrive, you are asked where to put it: Shortcuts or My files. Some older versions add it straight to My files without asking, and label the command itself Add shortcut to My files.
• If you have not yet decided between a shortcut and syncing, see Choose How Teams and Shared Files Appear on Your Computer in the Related Articles section. For most people a shortcut is the better choice.

Resolution

What a shortcut does

Adding a shortcut places a link to a shared folder inside your own OneDrive. The files are not copied and nothing is duplicated — you are looking at the same folder everyone else is looking at, through your own OneDrive.

Because the shortcut lives in your OneDrive account rather than on one machine, it appears anywhere you are signed in: File Explorer or Finder on any computer, OneDrive on the web, and the OneDrive mobile app. Shared content does not count against your own OneDrive storage.

Choose where the shortcut goes

When you add a shortcut, OneDrive asks where to put it. Both options are inside your own OneDrive:

• Shortcuts — a folder OneDrive keeps for exactly this purpose. Everything you connect this way collects in one place.
• My files — the top level of your OneDrive, mixed in with your own documents and folders.

Add a shortcut from a Teams channel

1. In Teams, open the channel and select the Shared tab near the top. In some versions this tab is called Files.
2. Open the specific folder you want, rather than staying at the top of the channel.
3. Select Add shortcut to OneDrive in the toolbar. If you do not see it, select the ... menu.
4. Choose Shortcuts as the destination, rather than My files.
5. A confirmation appears. The folder is now in your OneDrive.

If the command is not in the toolbar or the ... menu, use this route instead:

1. In the channel's Shared or Files tab, select Open in SharePoint. Your browser opens the underlying SharePoint library.
2. Navigate to the folder you want.
3. Select the folder's circle or checkbox, then choose Add shortcut to OneDrive from the toolbar above the file list.
4. Choose Shortcuts as the destination.

Add a shortcut to a folder someone shared with you

Use this when a colleague has shared a folder with you directly, rather than through a Team.

1. Go to https://office365.bowdoin.edu and sign in with your Bowdoin account, then open OneDrive.
2. Select Shared in the left navigation, then Shared with me.
3. Find the folder. Shortcuts work on folders only, so if you were sent a single file you will not see the option.
4. Select the circle or checkbox on the folder, then choose Add shortcut to OneDrive in the toolbar. You can also right-click the folder and choose it from the menu.
5. Choose Shortcuts as the destination.

Find the shortcut on your computer

Because a shortcut lives in your own OneDrive, it appears inside your personal OneDrive folder: OneDrive - Bowdoin College in the File Explorer or Finder sidebar. If you chose the Shortcuts folder, the path is OneDrive - Bowdoin College > Shortcuts.

Shortcut folders carry a small link or chain badge on the folder icon, which distinguishes them from your own folders.

The shortcut also appears in OneDrive on the web and in the OneDrive mobile app. On a second computer, give it a few minutes to arrive after you sign in.

Work with files in a shortcut folder

A shortcut folder is a live, shared location. What you do inside it happens for everyone on that Team or in that shared folder:

• Files you add, edit, or rename inside the folder change for everyone.
• Deleting a file inside the folder sends it to the SharePoint recycle bin. It can be recovered for a limited time, but it disappears from everyone else's view immediately.
• Version history is kept automatically, so you do not need to save copies named "final" or "v2".
• Reorganize the folder's contents in Teams or SharePoint on the web rather than by dragging folders around in File Explorer or Finder.

Make files available offline

By default, files stay in the cloud and download when you open them, so a shortcut uses almost no disk space until you need something.

1. In File Explorer or Finder, right-click the file or folder inside the shortcut.
2. Choose Always keep on this device.

To reclaim the space later, right-click and choose Free up space. This setting applies to the computer you set it on, not to all of them.

Remove a shortcut

1. Go to https://office365.bowdoin.edu, sign in, and open OneDrive.
2. Select My files in the left navigation, then open the Shortcuts folder if that is where you put it.
3. Right-click the shortcut folder — the one with the link badge — and choose Remove shortcut.

The folder disappears from File Explorer and Finder on all of your computers within a few minutes. You may also be able to right-click the folder in File Explorer or Finder and remove the shortcut from there, depending on your OneDrive version.

Troubleshoot

The Add shortcut to OneDrive option is missing.

• You may have selected a file rather than a folder. Shortcuts work on folders only.
• You may have read-only access to the folder, or you may not be a member of that Team yet. Check with a Team owner.
• You may already have a shortcut to that folder. Check My files and the Shortcuts folder in OneDrive on the web.
• Try the Open in SharePoint route described above.

The shortcut is not appearing on my computer.

• Confirm OneDrive is running and signed in with your Bowdoin account.
• Look inside OneDrive - Bowdoin College in the sidebar, not under the separate Bowdoin College entry — that one is for synced libraries.
• Wait a few minutes, then restart OneDrive.
• See Troubleshoot Microsoft OneDrive Sync Errors in the Related Articles section.

The folder appears twice.

• You are probably both syncing the library and holding a shortcut to a folder inside it. Remove one. See Choose How Teams and Shared Files Appear on Your Computer in the Related Articles section.

Limits

• You can add up to 100 folder shortcuts from a single person's OneDrive or from one Teams site, and up to 1,000 shortcuts in total.
• Shortcuts cannot be added to individual files.

Bowdoin's limits for file size, path length, item counts, and file naming are listed in one place. See Best Practices and Limitations in Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive in the Related Articles section.

Additional Help

If you need further assistance, you have several options:

• Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
• Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
• In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
• Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.

Additional Resources

• Microsoft: Add shortcuts to shared folders in OneDrive for work or school
• Microsoft: Sync SharePoint and Teams files with your computer