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Enable & Add External Users in SharePoint Online
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Enable & Add External Users in SharePoint Online

Depending on your plan, you can enable access to either 500 or 10,000 external users.  As a collaboration tool with customers, partners, etc. this is an invaluable tool.  While allowing external users to view your on-premise SharePoint portal is certainly possible, it isn't quite as simple of a process, especially if you are within a government organization with strict firewalls.  Below I walk you through the process of enabling sharing of your portal with external users and the process through which a user with a Gmail account would access your site.

1.  From the Office 365 Administration site, click on Manage within the SharePoint section.

 
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2.  Within the administration center, click on Manage site collection.
 
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3.  In the Site Collections ribbon click Settings, then Manage External Users.
 
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4.  Click Allow, then click OK.
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5.  Access your team site and click Site Actions, then click Site Settings.
 
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6.  Within the Site Collection Administration category, click Site collection features.
 
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7.  Click on Activate for the External user invitations feature.
 
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8.  When activated, the Active button will be displayed.
 
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9.  To share your site with an external user, click Site Actions, Share site.
 
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10.  Decide whether the user will be a part of the Visitors (Read access) or Members (Contribute access) group and enter their email address in the provided box, then click on the verify icon to ensure it is a valid email address.
 
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11.  The verified email address will be underlined.  Enter any text in the Message box to personalize the email to your external user, then click Share.
 
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12.  The user will receive an email and they will click Accept your invitation!
 
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13.  They will be given 3 choices, to login with a Windows Live Hotmail account, Microsoft Online Services ID, or Sign up for a free Hotmail login.  I will demonstrate signing up for an account.  Click Sign up.
 
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14.  Click the grey Sign up button in the bottom left.
 
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15.  Fill out all pertinent information for your new Microsoft account and click I Accept.
 
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16.  You will be redirected to your new Windows Live email inbox.
 
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17.  Go back to the URL in step 13 from your original invitation email. And click the Windows Live Hotmail login button on the left.
 
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18.  Sign in with your new Hotmail credentials.
 
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19.  You will be redirected to the collaboration site.  You can now login directly to the site from the screen in step 18.
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Author

Wiz E. Wig, Mascot & Director of Magic
Wiz E. Wig

Director of Magic