Page Banner

DEP SharePoint Instructions for External Users

Users who wish to access the DEP SharePoint site must be specifically invited. Please contact your program or project liaison to begin this process.


Clearing your Browser Cache

Please do not skip this step! To prevent errors and account conflicts, ensure that you are not logged in with any existing Microsoft Office 365 accounts if you have them.

  1. Sign out.
  2. Delete your browser cache to prevent conflicting information.
  3. Close and reopen your browser to ensure the session is refreshed.

Check if you have an Office 365 (“Work or School”, “Organizational”) Account and/or Microsoft Account

  1. Navigate to https://office.live.com/start/MyAccount.aspx
  2. Sign in with your Microsoft Account (an email address and password you use to sign into Outlook.com, Hotmail, Messenger, Xbox LIVE, etc.) or Work/School/Organizational (Office 365) Account, or run the “Not sure if you have an account?” check.

Manage Account


Creating a new Microsoft Account

If you do NOT already have an Office 365 account or a Microsoft Account, do the following steps. If you do already have such an account, you may skip to the appropriate section based on your account type: Logging into SharePoint with Your Microsoft Account or Logging into SharePoint with Your Office 365 Account.

  1. Go to login.live.com
  2. Select on the link to sign up for a Microsoft Account.
    Sign_In
  3. Fill out the fields with the requested information.
    • Be sure to set the ‘user name’ to be the email address where you wish to receive the invitation.
      SPECIAL NOTE: You may prefer to create a free email account (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) to use specifically for DEP. If you do, this account will need to be invited instead of your normal work account.
    • Choose a unique password that will only be used for the DEP site and keep it in a safe location in case you forget.
      IMPORTANT! This password will be used as part of your DEP SharePoint login, and should not be your normal work password.
      Create_Account
  4. You may uncheck the ‘Send me promotional offers from Microsoft’ option toward the bottom of the form.
  5. Select ‘Create Account’.
    Click_Create_Account
  6. Go to the email inbox that you used on the ‘create account’ form (which should also be the email address where you received the original SharePoint invite).
  7. Check to see if you have gotten the confirmation message from the Microsoft Account team and select ‘Verify’.

Logging into SharePoint with Your Microsoft Account

  1. If you have not done so, notify your DEP contact of the Microsoft Account you wish to use with the DEP SharePoint environment.
  2. You should receive an invitation email message with a subject line similar to:
    “<Admin Name> has invited you to <page name>”.
    IMPORTANT NOTE: This message is unique to you – it cannot be forwarded to other users!
  3. Select the hyperlink title provided in the message (“Permitting” in this example).
    Go_To_Permitting
  4. If you have a Microsoft Account (not an Office 365 Account), do NOT use the Username/Password fields on the first Office 365 login page. Instead, select on the hyperlink toward the bottom that says: ‘Sign in with a Microsoft Account’. If a second set of questions appears, select the “Microsoft Account” option.
    Click_Sign_In_AccounSelect_Microsoft_Account
  5. Sign in with the e-mail address and password you created in earlier steps.
    IMPORTANT NOTE: SharePoint Online is NOT asking for the password you use to log into your work account. Rather, it needs the password you created when you associated your e-mail to your Microsoft Account (the one created during Step 3b). If you enter the wrong credentials here you will not be able to access the SharePoint site.

Logging into SharePoint with Your Office 365 Account

  1. If you have not done so, notify your DEP contact of the Office 365 Account you wish to use with the DEP SharePoint environment.
  2. Select the hyperlink title provided in the message (“Permitting” in this example).
    Go_To_Permitting
  3. Log in using your normal organizational (work) account credentials and select ‘Sign In’.
    This account must be the same one that received the invitation email.
    Log in using your normal organizational (work) account credentials and click ‘Sign In’. This account must be the same one that received the invitation email.

If you receive an error, please message your DEP contact and send a screenshot of the error text for assistance.

Last Modified:
August 15, 2023 - 8:45am

Some content on this site is saved in an alternative format. The following icons link to free Reader/Viewer software:
PDF: | Word: | Excel: