Making a SharePoint File Download Instead of Open

This article explains how to create a SharePoint link that downloads a file instead of opening it in the browser by using SharePoint’s built-in download URL format.

What this is 

When you click a file in SharePoint (like a PDF or Word document), it usually opens in your web browser. That’s helpful for reading, but sometimes you want the file to download straight to someone’s computer instead.

This guide shows you how to build a special link that tells SharePoint: “Don’t preview this — download it.”  No coding is required. You’re just assembling a URL using a simple pattern.

When should you use this?

Use this type of link when:

• You want forms to download instead of preview
• You’re linking from another website or system
• You want consistent behavior across browsers

If you just want people to read the document online, the normal SharePoint link is fine.

How to Steps

To locate the SharePoint site address and the path to the file, follow these steps: 

1.  Open SharePoint: Navigate to the SharePoint site you want to access and locate the file.
2.  Copy the file link: In SharePoint, right‑click the file → Copy link
3.  Paste the link somewhere you can edit it.  (Email, Word doc, browser address bar, etc.)
4.  Add  ?download=1 to the very end of the URL.  If the link already has a ? in it, add &download=1 instead

Important things to know

🔒 Permissions still apply

This link does not bypass security. If someone doesn’t already have access to the file, they will see an access denied message.

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📄 Spaces in file names are okay

If you see %20 instead of spaces, that’s expected. SharePoint uses this format so browsers read links correctly.

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🔗 Sharing links won’t work

This method does not work with SharePoint “sharing” links (the ones that look like .../:b:/s/...).

You must use the actual file path inside the SharePoint site.