Links to files NOT stored in OneDrive or SharePoint Links from 1st party Office clients such as OneNote, Teams, Skype, It’s important to note that there are a number of scenarios where the link handling option is not yet supported, listed below. To make this change, go to File > Options > Advanced > Link Handling in any Office 365 desktop application and check the box next to “Open supported hyperlinks to Office files in Office desktop apps”

If users prefer to have files open in the online application, no action needs to be taken. Users can apply a change to make it so Excel, Word, & PowerPoint files that are stored in OneDrive, SharePoint, or Outlook open in their desktop app by default. In a recent Office 365 Monthly Channel update, Microsoft has given users the ability to control where Office documents open in their default behavior. Until now, users who prefer to open the file in the desktop application have needed to manually select the option to edit in the desktop version of the app they’re working in. Currently, when a link to a file that’s stored in OneDrive or SharePoint is clicked, it opens the file in the online version of the Office application by default.

The opening location of Microsoft Office 365 files and documents has long been a subject of controversy.

Open word in edit mode default