Sharing with external users

[Ehsanuls55]

In collaborative projects, you may encounter situations where not all team members or external stakeholders have access to SharePoint. While SharePoint supports external sharing, you often need to manage permissions or configure additional access, which can slow down the process, especially if users don't have Microsoft accounts or face compatibility issues. This can be a challenge when it comes to sharing important lists or data.

Excel offers greater flexibility in data sharing. You can send files via email, cloud services like OneDrive, or third-party tools without worrying about SharePoint restrictions. Recipients can easily interact with the data, even if they don't use chief vp compliance email list SharePoint. Excel Online also supports real-time collaboration, providing a seamless experience with no access barriers, though it's important to balance flexibility with security in sensitive environments.

Backup and archive
Need a quick snapshot of your data at a particular point in time? Exporting to Excel is a great way to back it up and refer back to it. You can track changes, manage different versions of your analyses, and revert to previous versions if necessary. This is especially useful if you work with external stakeholders who may need historical data or to review the evolution of your analyses. While SharePoint offers version control, Excel provides more granular control over individual data sets and calculations.

Custom data view
Each project may require different perspectives on the same data. When exporting to Microsoft Excel, you can create custom views that focus on specific KPIs or project phases. This ensures that stakeholders only see the relevant information without the noise of unrelated data.

Offline access
When you export your SharePoint data to Excel, you gain the benefit of offline access. This is especially beneficial for team members who do not have reliable (internet) connections or who work in remote locations. They can continue to manipulate and analyze the data without relying on a SharePoint online list.

In short, the export option is your best bet if you need more control over your data or want to make it available to others outside of your SharePoint ecosystem.

Now, let’s jump straight into how to export a SharePoint list to Excel.