How to Create Shortcuts in a SharePoint Document Library (Step-by-Step)

If you regularly work with multiple document libraries and folders in SharePoint, creating shortcuts can save a lot of clicks and make navigation much smoother. In this tutorial, we will walk through different ways to create shortcuts in a SharePoint Online document library so you and your users can quickly access important content.

What is a Shortcut in a SharePoint Document Library?

In SharePoint, a shortcut in a document library is usually created using the “Link to a document” content type or the “Add shortcut to OneDrive” option. Instead of storing another copy of the file or folder, SharePoint simply stores a link that points to the original location.

This helps you:

• Avoid duplicate documents across libraries.
• Offer a single place where users can access important files and folders.
• Keep content in its original library while surfacing it in multiple places.

When Should You Use Shortcuts?

Before we go into the steps, it helps to know when shortcuts are the right choice:

• When multiple teams need to reference the same file, but you want to maintain just one master copy.
• When you want a central “hub” library that aggregates important files/folders from other libraries.
• When you want to give users fewer clicks to reach deep folders buried several levels down.
• When you want to give users quick access via OneDrive and File Explorer without moving content.

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Enable “Link to a document” in a SharePoint Document Library

Most shortcut techniques in SharePoint libraries rely on the “Link to a document” content type. So first, you need to enable it in the destination library where you want to create the shortcuts.

Assume:

• Source library: where your original files or folders exist (for example, “Product Library”).
• Destination library: where you want to create shortcuts (for example, “MB Documents”).

Follow these steps in the destination library:

1. Open the SharePoint Online document library.
2. Click the Settings (gear) icon and select Library settings (or More library settings in modern UI).
3. Under General Settings, click Advanced settings.
4. Find “Allow management of content types?” and select Yes.
5. Click OK.

You can see the screenshot below as a reference.

Now add the “Link to a document” content type:

1. Back on the Document Library settings page, go to the Content Types section.
2. Click Add from existing site content types.
3. In the “Select site content types from” dropdown, choose Document Content Types.
4. From Available Site Content Types, select Link to a document and click Add.
5. Confirm that it appears in the “Content types to add” list and click OK. You can see the screenshot below:

You will now be able to create “Link to a document” items in this library, which act as shortcuts. Below is the screenshot for your reference.

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Create a Shortcut to Another SharePoint Document Library

Let’s start with a simple but very useful scenario: creating a shortcut to another document library in SharePoint.

Example:

• Source library: Product Library.
• Destination library: MB Documents.

Steps:

1. Open the source library (Product Library) and copy its URL from the browser address bar.
2. Go to the destination library (MB Documents).
3. Click + New and select Link to a document.
4. In the dialog:
   • Document Name: Enter a user-friendly name such as “Product Library (Shortcut)” or “Mitchell Black Documents”.
   • Document URL: Paste the URL of the source library.
5. Click OK. Here is a screenshot for your reference.

The shortcut will appear as an item in the destination library. When users click it, they are taken directly to the original document library without needing to browse through the site. Check in the below screenshot how it looks like:

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Create a File Shortcut in a SharePoint Document Library

You might only need a shortcut to a single file instead of the whole SharePoint document library. This is great for policies, templates, or “master” documents used in multiple places.

Assume you have a library called MB Policy Document and you want a shortcut to a specific file.

• Make sure the destination library has the “Link to a document” content type added (as shown earlier).
• Open the SharePoint document library where the original file lives.
• Select the file, click the ellipsis (…) menu, and choose Copy link like in the screenshot below:

• Copy the generated link like in the screenshot below:

• Go to the destination SharePoint library where you want the shortcut (for example, MB Policy Document).
• Click + New and choose Link to a document, like in the screenshot below

• Enter a Document Name (for example, “Privacy Policy (Shortcut)”).
• Paste the Document URL you copied.
• Click OK, like in the screenshot below

You’ll now see a shortcut item in the SharePoint document library that opens that specific file. The file continues to live in its original library and is maintained there.

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Create a Folder Shortcut in a SharePoint Document Library

You can also create a shortcut that points to a folder, which is especially helpful when the folder lives several levels deep, or in a different library.

Example:

• Library: Installation and Guide.
• Goal: Create a shortcut to a specific folder inside this library.

Steps:

1. Open the Installation and Guide document library in the SharePoint site.
2. Open Library settings and ensure “Allow management of content types?” is set to Yes in Advanced settings.
3. Add the “Link to a document” content type from existing site content types if it’s not already there.
4. Go back to the library and locate the folder you want to shortcut.
5. Select the folder, click the ellipsis (…), and choose Copy link.
6. Copy the link from the dialog.
7. In the same library (or another library where you want the shortcut), click + New and select Link to a document.
8. Provide a Document Name such as “Installation Guides – 2026 (Folder Shortcut)”.
9. Paste the folder URL into the Document URL field.
10. Click OK.

Clicking this new item in the library takes users directly to that folder, so they don’t need to navigate there manually.

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Add a SharePoint Document Library Shortcut to OneDrive

Another powerful feature is the “Add shortcut to OneDrive” option in the SharePoint site. This lets you surface a SharePoint library or folder directly in your OneDrive, which then appears in both the browser and File Explorer (when OneDrive is configured).

To add a shortcut to OneDrive:

• Open the SharePoint Online document library whose shortcut you want to add.
• Click Add shortcut to OneDrive on the command bar, like in the screenshot below:

• Wait for the confirmation message that the shortcut was added to “My files” in OneDrive.
• Open OneDrive in the browser and click My files.

• You’ll see the SharePoint library or folder as a shortcut there.

From the user’s perspective, that SharePoint document library now feels almost like part of their OneDrive space, making access more natural and faster.

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Add a Shortcut to a SharePoint Document in Another Document Library

Sometimes you want to surface a specific document from one library within another, such as showing a shared policy or template in a project library.

Assume:

• Library A: where the document physically resides.
• Library B: where you want to show the shortcut.

Steps:

1. Ensure Library B has the “Link to a document” content type enabled.
2. Open Library A and locate the document you want to shortcut.
3. Select the file, click the ellipsis (…), and choose Copy link.
4. Copy the link from the dialog.
5. Navigate to Library B.
6. Click + New and choose Link to a document.
7. Enter a clear Document Name, such as “Privacy Policy (Shared from HR Library)”.
8. Paste the Document URL.
9. Click OK.

Library B now displays a shortcut to the file living in Library A. If the original file is updated, every library with a shortcut automatically points to the updated version.

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“Add shortcut to OneDrive” vs Sync

Many users see “Add shortcut to OneDrive” and “Sync” in a document library and wonder which one to use.

Here’s the practical difference:

• Add a shortcut to OneDrive
  • Creates a shortcut to the SharePoint library or folder in your OneDrive.
  • Great for quick access in OneDrive (web and desktop).
  • Does not immediately download everything to your device; items are typically accessed on demand.
• Sync
  • Uses the OneDrive sync client to sync the entire library (or selected folders) to your local machine.
  • Files appear in File Explorer and can be made available offline.
  • Better when you need heavy offline access or work with large sets of files regularly.

In many modern scenarios, “Add shortcut to OneDrive” is favored because it is lighter, integrates well with OneDrive, and avoids syncing too many libraries on each device.

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Pin a SharePoint Document Library to Quick Access (File Explorer)

If you use Windows File Explorer a lot, you might also want a library pinned to Quick Access so it’s always just one click away.

At a high level, the flow is:

1. Sync the SharePoint document library using OneDrive (so it appears under your organization’s name in File Explorer).
2. Open File Explorer and locate the synced SharePoint library folder.
3. Right-click the library folder and choose Pin to Quick access.

Once done, that library is visible directly in Quick access in File Explorer. This works nicely together with the other shortcut options when you want desktop-style access to SharePoint content.

Check out Pin to Quick Access in a SharePoint Document Library (With File & Folder)

Best Practices for Using Shortcuts in SharePoint

Here are some practical tips to keep your shortcuts clean and useful:

• Use clear names
  Add “(Shortcut)” or mention the source library in the name so users understand they are opening a link, not a local file.
• Keep permissions in mind
  A shortcut never bypasses security. If someone does not have access to the original library or file, the shortcut will not work for them.
• Avoid chains of shortcuts
  Always link directly to the original library, folder, or file, rather than to another shortcut.
• Use OneDrive shortcuts for frequent work
  If users open the same library or folder every day, “Add shortcut to OneDrive” makes it much easier to reach without browsing the site again and again.
• Review shortcuts periodically
  If libraries or folders are renamed or restructured, test your shortcuts to ensure they still point to valid locations.

Conclusion

Creating shortcuts in SharePoint document libraries improves navigation and user experience. With “Link to a document”, you can surface libraries, files, and folders in multiple places without duplicating content, and with “Add shortcut to OneDrive” and Quick Access, users can get to SharePoint content directly from OneDrive or File Explorer.

Once you set up these shortcuts thoughtfully, your site becomes much easier to use: key files are always one click away, libraries feel more connected, and users spend less time hunting for documents and more time actually working with them.

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Bijay Kumar

After working for more than 18 years in Microsoft technologies like SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI), I thought will share my SharePoint expertise knowledge with the world. Our audiences are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. For my expertise knowledge and SharePoint tutorials, Microsoft has been awarded a Microsoft SharePoint MVP (12 times). I have also worked in companies like HP, TCS, KPIT, etc.