A Microsoft file hosting and synchronization service.
This behavior is expected for OneDrive for Business and Outlook.
When a OneDrive or SharePoint file link is pasted into the body of an Outlook email, Outlook can recognize it as a shareable link and automatically:
- apply special formatting,
- show the file icon,
- shorten the displayed URL to the file name,
- show sharing and access information.
When the same link is pasted into Notepad or another plain text app, it stays as the full long URL because those apps do not use Outlook’s shareable links feature.
Common reasons the short file-name style does not appear in Outlook:
- The link is not being recognized as a OneDrive or SharePoint shareable link.
- Outlook cannot identify the service behind the link.
- The link is wrapped as a Safe Link.
- Outlook is offline when the link is inserted.
- The account signed in to Outlook is not associated with the tenant/domain that hosts the file.
- The link is for consumer OneDrive, while this feature supports OneDrive for Business.
Checks to perform:
- In Outlook, confirm the same work account is signed in that is associated with the OneDrive for Business link under File > Office Account > Connected Services.
- Make sure Outlook is online when pasting the link.
- Copy the link again directly from OneDrive for Business or SharePoint, then paste it into a new email.
- If the link came from a received email and was protected by Safe Links, paste a fresh original sharing link instead of the wrapped link.
- If the SharePoint site uses a custom domain, ensure Outlook is also signed in to an account for that domain in Connected Services.
Expected result:
- If Outlook recognizes the link correctly, it shows a gray background, a file icon, and a shortened display name instead of the full URL.
- If Outlook cannot recognize or validate the link, it remains a normal hyperlink or plain long URL.
If the requirement is to always keep the full visible URL, Outlook may still convert OneDrive and SharePoint links into shareable links automatically. A documented workaround is to use Insert Hyperlink instead of directly pasting the URL.
References: