Direct template opening in word desktop app from Teams chat/SharePoint Links.

Dear ELeon,

Thank you for posting your question on the Microsoft Q&A forum.

While Teams provides a setting that allows users to prefer opening Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files in the desktop app, this setting does not enforce the behaviour in all scenarios. How a file opens can still vary depending on the link source, the sender’s configuration, and the associated SharePoint site settings.

At this time, Microsoft 365 does not offer a global override to force all files to open in the desktop app across every context, regardless of how or where the link is shared. However, you may consider the following workarounds:

1/ Adjust SharePoint or OneDrive library settings

For SharePoint document libraries, site or library owners can configure the default open behavior:

• Open the document library in SharePoint.
• Select Settings (gear icon) > Library settings.
• Under Advanced settings, locate Opening documents in the browser and set it to Open in the client application.
• 
• Please note that this setting applies to users accessing the library directly and does not override individual user preferences or file links shared in Teams chats.

2/ Change file open preferences in Teams

 Users can also update their personal Teams settings:

• In Teams, go to Settings and more > Settings > Files and links.
• Under Always open Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files in, choose Desktop app, Teams, or Browser.
• 
• More details are available in the following Microsoft article: https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/topic/open-file-links-directly-in-microsoft-365-desktop-apps-fr…

If the above options do not work, you can use the ms-excel:ofe|u| protocol when creating hyperlinks to make SharePoint hyperlinks open directly in Excel Desktop instead of the browser as below:

Step 1: Copy the SharePoint file URL

• Go to your SharePoint document library.
• Locate the file you want to link to.
• Copy its full URL

Step 2: Modify the hyperlink

• In Excel, select the cell where you want to insert the link.
• Press Ctrl + K (or right-click and select Link).
• In the Address field, enter the following format: ms-excel:ofe|u|<sharepoint-url>
• 
• Explanation:
  • ms-excel: instructs Windows to open Microsoft Excel.
  • ofe|u| means Open File in Excel using a URL.
  • The URL following u| is your SharePoint file link.

Step 3: Test the link

• When opened from the Desktop app, Excel should launch and open the file directly.
• When opened from Excel Online or certain Microsoft 365 surfaces, a confirmation prompt may appear—select Open in Desktop App to proceed.
• 
• Please note that this protocol-based approach depends on client configuration and may not function consistently when links are clicked directly from Teams chat.
• Requirements:
  • Excel Desktop must be installed. 
  • You must be signed in to Office with the same account that has SharePoint access. 

In words, you can follow the same steps but in the Address field, enter the following format: ms-word:ofe|u|<sharepoint-url>

I hope the information above is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.

If this answer resolves your issue, please click Accept Answer and consider upvoting it. If you have additional questions regarding this response, kindly click Comment.

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.