Share files with a Group in Outlook

Attach a shared file to an email message

1. Open classic Outlook. There are two ways to find your group.

   1. From the navigation bar select More apps > Groups. (To pin, right-click Groups and select Pin.)

      From Groups Home you can see all your groups at once.

   2. In the mailbox folders list, under Groups, select your group.

2. From your group, start a conversation.

3. Select Attach File.

4. Select the source of your file. Choices include Recent Files, Web Locations, and This PC. Web locations include One Drive, SharePoint Sites, Group Files, and other sources.

   • If you opt for a web location, select Attach as a copy or Share as a OneDrive link. Attaching as a copy gives each recipient their own copy of the file for review. Sharing a OneDrive link enables group members to see the latest changes and co-author in real time

   • If you select a file from your PC, it's attached as a copy.

Accessing your files

To access your files in the Outlook on the web client, click Files in the groups header. 

In this view you'll see two sections: Recent and Documents. Recent section shows the top 5 most recent files shared in the group. These files include both files that were shared as attachments in messages posted to the shared Inbox and files shared to the group from OneDrive or SharePoint. Files are sorted in chronological order based on when they were last shared via email, last modified or uploaded to the library. The Documents section shows all the files and folders that exist in the group Sharepoint site in the similar folder file structure. 

Uploading or Creating files 

To upload a new file to the library, click the Upload button in the toolbar above the group header. To create a new file or folder use the New button in the group header and choose from the dropdown. 

Deleting or renaming your files

You can easily delete or rename a file from the Documents view. Select the file you want to delete or rename in the Documents list and choose Delete or Rename as appropriate from the toolbar above the group header. If the file was in the Recent files view prior to deletion, then the Recent files will update after deletion to reflect the change. 

Sharing your files

Its easy to share files from the file view in Outlook on the web. If you'd like to send one of the files from the Recent files as an email attachment, simply click to open the file and from the ribbon you can choose to share by email.

If you would like to share one of the files from the Documents section, simply select the file and click Share the toolbar above the group header to share. The familiar share dialog will appear, and you can choose the people to share it with. 

Working with email attachments

The new Files experience includes a powerful way to work with files attached to an email. When an email is sent to the group's shared Inbox that contains a Word, Excel or PowerPoint attachment that you want to edit and send back to the original author:

• Go to Files, open the file and select Edit and reply from the ribbon.
  The file will be stored in the group's SharePoint document library and opened in the online version of the relevant Office application.

• A reply email can be sent to the original sender, with a link to the stored copy of the file.

• When you're done editing, add your comments to the email and click Send.

Navigate to your SharePoint document library

The Files view allows you to see all the files that exist in the  Sharepoint site, but if you want to go to the Sharepoint site you can navigate to using the group card or from the group header. Choose … from the Groups header and select Site. From the site, select Documents to go to the document library.  

See also

• Share group files

• Learn about Microsoft 365 groups

Attach a shared file to an email message

1. From your group, start a conversation.

2. At the bottom of the conversation pane, select .

3. Select the source of your file. Choices include OneDrive, Group files, Computer, and other sources as well.

   • If you select OneDrive, select Attach as a copy or Share as a OneDrive link. Attaching as a copy gives each recipient their own copy of the file for review. Sharing a OneDrive link enables group members to see the latest changes and co-author in real time

   • If you select a group as your source, select the file you want to attach.

   • If you select Computer as the source, select Attach as a copy or Upload to group files. Uploading to group files enables group members to see the latest changes and co-author in real time. Attaching as a copy gives each recipient their own copy of the file for review.

   • If you choose another source, log in to that source and follow the prompts.

Accessing your files

To access your files in the Outlook on the web client, click Files in the groups header.

In this view you'll see files that were uploaded to the group's document library, you'll see files that were shared as attachments in messages posted to the shared Inbox and files shared to the group from OneDrive or SharePoint. Files are sorted in chronological order based on when they were last shared via email, last modified or uploaded to the library. You can't change this sort but if you'd like to see the files in a different chronological order go to the SharePoint document library by clicking Browse Library near the upper right-hand corner.

To upload a new file to the library, just click the Upload link in the toolbar above the files list. If you'd like to search your files library simply type your keywords into the search box at the top left corner of the window and press enter.

Deleting or renaming your files

To delete or rename a file, first navigate to the SharePoint document library by clicking Browse library towards the top right corner. Right-click the file you want to delete or rename and choose Delete or Rename as appropriate.

Working with email attachments

The new files experience includes a powerful new way to work with files attached to email. When an email is sent to the group's shared Inbox that contains a Word, Excel or PowerPoint attachment that you want to edit and send back to the original author, go to the Files section, double-click to open the file and select "Edit and reply" from the ribbon. The file will be stored in the group's SharePoint document library and opened in the online version of the relevant Office app. A reply email will also be sent to the original sender, with a link to the stored copy of the file. When you're done editing, add your comments to the email and click Send.

Navigate to your SharePoint library

In addition to the improvements we've discussed above, we've also made it easier to get directly to your SharePoint document library. When you're in the Files section of your group you'll see Browse library towards the top right. Click it and your SharePoint document library for this group will open in the browser.