Linking to a folder in SharePoint

Linking documents in SharePoint is a quite common task. For example, a local PowerPoint presentation may contain a link to a Word document stored in SharePoint. There may be also cases where the author needs to refer not only to a single document, but also to a folder stored in SharePoint. It turns out that the process of retrieving the URL of a folder in SharePoint is different than the method used for a document.

Let’s start on how to get a link to a document in SharePoint. The simplest way is to copy directly the URL via the context menu of the web browser.

The URL can be copied using the content menu of the browser

Alternatively, the URL of the document can be retrieved using the SharePoint context menu Send To > E-mail a link. For example, the URL of a document in my Personal Document library is represented as follows: http://<MySharePointSite>/Personal%20Documents/SharePoint%20Folder%20Test/Test/MyWordDocument.doc

Alternative way to output the URL of a document

On the other hand, copying the URL of a folder via the context menu of the browser produces quite a different URL as it contains additional parameters such as the identifier of the current view. For example, the URL of a folder in my Personal Document library is represented as follows: http://<MySharePointSite>/Personal%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=<RootPath>/Personal%20Documents%2fSharePoint%20Folder%20Test&FolderCTID=&View=%7b55CE731A%2d75D7%2d41C3%2dA802%2dB2CCD0C24B96%7d

The URL is quite long, hard to read, and will not be accessible to other users if the view identifier is tied to a specific user. To generate a simpler and more robust URL, simply open the folder via the library menu called “Open with Windows Explorer”. Copy then the URL found in the address bar of newly opened window.

Alternative way to output the URL of a document:

The URL is now in line with the pattern observed for the document’s URL. The following represents the updated URL from the previous example: http://<MySharePointSite>/Personal%20Documents/SharePoint%20Folder%20Test/Test

To summarize, the URL for a document can be accessed directly using the context menu of the browser. It is however advisable to source the URL from Windows Explorer when linking to a folder in SharePoint.