SharePoint Drive Mapping

Summary

With the advent of cloud computing, mapped network drives are no longer relevant and files are accessed via an application or a browser rather than legacy File Explorer. Mapping a SharePoint library as a network drive is not supported by Microsoft and often disconnects intermittently.

Requirements

All requirements should be verified before proceeding to implementation steps:

• This process is only temporary until after January 31, 2020 when Internet Explorer 11 begins extended support with no further updates.
• Edge is the preferred browser for Windows 10 for best experience and security with no capability to map legacy network drives.
• PC must have the latest Windows 10 updates and Office 365 Pro Plus.

Steps

1. Sign out of all Office 365 applications.
2. Open Control Panel and click Internet Properties.
3. Click Delete under Browsing History.
4. Next click on the Advanced Tab and click Reset under Reset Internet Explorer settings.
5. Close Internet Explorer
6. Sign in for the SharePoint Online site by using your Office 365 account credentials. Make sure that you select the Stay signed in option.
7. Browse to the library that you want to map as a network drive.
8. Select View menu and View in File Explorer. This option is not available in Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Mozilla Firefox.
9. Select an empty area of the Internet Explorer window address bar, and then copy the URL of the library.
10. Add copied URL to the Trusted Sites:
    • Click Tools menu or click the Gear icon and then click Internet Options.
    • Click the Security tab, Trusted Sites, and then Sites.
    • In the Add this website to the zone box, type the URL for the SharePoint Online site that you want to add to the Trusted sites zone, and then click Add.
    • After you have added each site to the Websites list, click Close, and then OK.
11. Right-click Computer or This PC from the Desktop, or within Windows Explorer, and then click Map Network Drive.
12. Click Connect to a Web site that you can store your documents and pictures link, and then click Next two times.
13. Paste the URL that you copied previously, click Next, and then follow the instructions in the wizard.

Follow-up

Test the drive mapping to confirm file access. Even if you follow these steps, the drive mapping may connect or intermittently disconnect. See Microsoft referenced article for legacy and unsupported operating system troubleshooting.