SharePoint basics - team sites and shared files

Updated 27 September 2026For Microsoft 365

SharePoint basics - team sites and shared files (0:22)

SharePoint is where your company keeps files that belong to a team, such as Accounts or Sales. Each team site has a document library that everyone in the team can open and edit. Every team in Microsoft Teams automatically gets its own SharePoint site.

OneDrive or SharePoint?

Both store files in the cloud. The difference is who owns them:

OneDrive holds your own work files. Only you can see them until you share them. See share from OneDrive.
A SharePoint team site holds the team’s files. Everyone in the team can open them, and they stay with the company when staff change.

A simple rule: drafts and personal work go in OneDrive; anything the team needs goes on the team site.

How SharePoint links to Teams

When someone creates a team, Microsoft creates a SharePoint site for it. Each standard channel gets its own folder in that site’s document library, and the channel’s Shared tab shows that folder. Private and shared channels get their own separate site.

Open a team site

The quickest way into a team’s site is from Microsoft Teams.

In Teams, open a channel of the team and select its Shared tab.
Select … (more options) on the toolbar, then Open in SharePoint. The site opens in your browser at the channel’s folder.
Select Documents in the site menu on the left to see the whole document library. Each channel has its own folder there.

You can also start from m365.cloud.microsoft: open the app list and select SharePoint, then pick the site under Discover. SharePoint is not always listed in the app list, and a new site can take a while to appear on the SharePoint start page, so bookmark the site once you have opened it.

Upload files

You need to be a member of the team or site to upload.

Open the document library and the folder you want.
Drag files from your computer into the browser window, or select Create or upload → Files upload and choose them.
Wait for the upload to finish before closing the page. The file appears in the list with your name under Modified By.

Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on a team site can be edited by several people at once. See work on the same file together.

See team files on your computer

To work with team files in File Explorer or Finder, open the folder or library and select Add shortcut to OneDrive. The folder then appears in your OneDrive folder on every computer where you sync OneDrive. Microsoft recommends this over the older Sync button.

Uploaded file in the channel folder with the file and Add shortcut to OneDrive highlighted

Still stuck

WhatsApp our support team at +60 16-916 3324.

Common issues

Where are the files from my Teams channel?

They are stored in the team's SharePoint site. In Teams, open the channel and select its Shared tab (Microsoft renamed Files to Shared in 2026). Select ... → Open in SharePoint to see the full site.

Channel Shared tab in Teams with the more options button and Open in SharePoint highlighted

See it in the steps

I cannot upload to a team site.

You need edit (contribute) permission on the site. Ask the site or team owner to add you as a member.

What happens to files on a team site when someone leaves?

They stay. Files on a team site belong to the team, not to one person, which is why team documents should live there rather than in someone's OneDrive.

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