Can I create a link to an Office file that forces the user to create a copy? #M365AMA

In this episode, the #M365AMA panel discusses the following community question:

“Is there a way to create a link to an Office file and make it force the user to make a copy of it, like on Google docs?”

Check out the discussion here:

 

Participating in this discussion were:

• Christian Buckley @buckleyplanet 
• Kirsty McGrath @KirstyMcGrath13
• Jay Leask @jayleask
• Shari Oswald @sharoneweaver

Some relevant notes/links shared by the team:

• “force the user to make a copy?” No. “not let them edit so they can only edit if they save a copy?” Yes.
• Unfortunately, the cloud version of Word (and other Office types) does not support the automatic creation of .docx files after clicking on .dotx (template) links. It’s a known deficiency. Microsoft’s guidance is to open the template and save as new. [https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/use-my-custom-templates-in-word-for-the-web-1a76e864-b5ae-4f14-b435-469cdfa2d695]
• Mark as Final https://www.thewindowsclub.com/mark-a-document-as-final-in-microsoft-word
• Automating Your Document Processes http://bit.ly/LIL-ShortcutShari