When you purchase a new Windows computer, it comes with Microsoft OneDrive installed. Microsoft offers 5 GB of free cloud storage per user, the storage includes OneDrive files & photos, and Outlook.com pictures & attachments, you also get 15 GB of free Outlook.com email storage which is separate from your Microsoft cloud storage. If you have a Microsoft 365 subscription you can purchase additional storage.

Here are some tips for working with OneDrive.

How to Enable Local File Storage

By default, OneDrive wants to store your files in the cloud. This allows you to access your files from any device and acts as a backup location, but you can also save copies of your files to your computer’s hard drive. Having a local copy of your files ensures that you always have access to them even if you don’t have an internet connection.
To ensure that all of your files are stored locally, open File Explorer and right-click the OneDrive folder in the left sidebar and select “Always keep on this device.” This option creates a local copy of your OneDrive files, when OneDrive syncs, your files will reside locally and in OneDrive.

To Specify Which Folders OneDrive Syncs

You can choose which folders on your computer sync with OneDrive.

1. Click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar notification area.
2. Select Help & Settings > Settings.
3. Select the Account tab.
4. Select Choose folders.
5. In the Choose folders dialog box, check any folders you want to sync. (unchecked folders will not sync) then click OK.

Understanding Sync Status

When you sync files and folders the sync status is denoted with small icons next to the files and folders.

A cloud: A blue cloud icon indicates the file is only available online and is not saved locally.

A green checkmark on a white circle: This file or folder is in the cloud and also saved on your local hard drive. With Storage Sense turned on, the files downloaded to your device will become online-only files after the time period you’ve chosen.

A white checkmark on a green circle: This file or folder has been designated as Always keep on this device, Windows will not automatically revert it to cloud-only if you haven’t used it after a period of time.

Animated arrows: When a file or folder is in the process of syncing to the cloud, the icon by its name will have two arrows animating in a circular motion.

To view recent activity, click the OneDrive icon in the system tray.

Using Folder Backup

If you enable folder backup the folders you choose will be moved to OneDrive, for example the documents folder would be moved from C:\Users\Name\Documents to C:\Users\Name\OneDrive\Documents. Once enabled any changes you make to the backup folder will be automatically synchronized to OneDrive.

If you prefer more control, you can disable backup, your default folders will remain in their original location, and you can sync files and folders by putting them in your OneDrive folder. This will also use less OneDrive storage space, as you won’t be syncing every file in your Documents and other folders.

Choose Where to Save Office Documents

By default, OneDrive wants to save the Office documents you create in the cloud, but you can turn that feature off to ensure that all of your documents are saved locally.

1. Open any Office app, Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
2. Click the File menu and then select Options.
3. Click the Save tab and select “Save to Computer by default,”
4. Then choose the “Default local file location” and click OK.

Note The Office “AutoSave” feature only works when saving files to OneDrive or SharePoint. When you choose the local storage option that option is disabled, however you can still use the Auto Recover feature, it will automatically save backup copies of your documents so you can recover them if needed. To ensure it’s activated, click the File menu > Options > Save and make sure the “Save AutoRecover information” option is checked and choose a frequency as to how often it saves.

Scan and Share Documents

OneDrive makes it easy to scan documents using your phone. The scan will be saved to your OneDrive account, you can scan anything, including legal documents, business cards, ID cards, Insurance cards, photos and anything else you want to save.

1. Open the OneDrive app on your phone.
2. Tap the Camera Icon.
3. Swipe right to select either Whiteboard, Document, Business Card, or Photo depending on the type of document you are scanning.
4. Tap the circle icon to start the scan. Once scanned, options will appear to crop, rotate, add text, or highlight sections.
5. View the document and click confirm to accept the scan or click cancel to rescan. Add more pages by tapping the Add button. Once you have added all of your pages, tap Done.
6. Enter a file name, then tap Save. The file will be saved to OneDrive, from there you can share the document with others.

Uninstalling OneDrive

If you don’t want to use OneDrive you can uninstall it. If you have been using OneDrive Backup be sure that you have saved all of your files locally before uninstalling,

Even if you don’t use the OneDrive app you can still use it online to save and share files.

1. Click Start > Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.
2. Find Microsoft OneDrive in the list.
3. Click the More Options Menu and click Uninstall.

Or

1. Type Control Panel in the search box.
2. Select Control Panel in the search results menu.
3. Click Programs > Programs & Features.
4. Select Microsoft OneDrive and click Uninstall.

Microsoft OneDrive Sharing Files & Folders

OneDrive is a place to store your documents and collaborate with your colleagues. You can securely share files and folders with others in OneDrive and manage access and permission levels. Your files in OneDrive are private until you share them. When someone has shared something with you, OneDrive displays those items in your OneDrive account.

Share a File or Folder

When you share a file or folder with someone, an email notification is sent to that person with a link to the file.

1. Sign in to microsoft365.com and from the apps menu choose OneDrive.
2. Select the file or folder you want to share, and then click the three-dot menu and choose Share, you can also right click the file or folder and from the right click menu choose Share.
3. Enter the name or email address of who you’d like to share the file or folder with.
4. Select the pencil icon to set permissions to the file or folder. Can edit is automatically checked. Select Can view to give permission to view the file, but not edit it. Or select Can’t download if you want to allow the file to be viewed but not downloaded.
5. Add a message that the recipient will see when they receive the email and then click send.
6. When you send the message you have invited the person to share the file or folder. When they receive the message, they can click Open to accept your invitation, the file or folder will open in their OneDrive account.

When a change is made to a shared file in OneDrive, the changes are automatically reflected for all users who have access to that file with edit permissions, so everyone with access will see the updated version simultaneously.

When you share a folder, all sub-folders and files within the folder are also shared. When the folder is shared with more than one person you can set specific permissions for each person who has access, allowing them to view, edit, or only download files within the shared folder. If you add more files to the folder those will automatically be available to anyone who has access to the folder.

Get a Link for Sharing

You can also choose to copy a link to the file or folder to add to a chat message, email, or document.

1. In OneDrive, select the file or folder you want to share, and then to the right of it select the three- dot menu.
2. Select Copy link. This will copy the link to the file or folder to the clipboard.
3. A Link copied message will display to verify. You can change the permissions to the file or folder by selecting the Settings icon.
4. Paste the link (Ctrl+V) where you want, for example, in an email or on a website.

See Files Shared with You

To view the files that others have shared with you select Shared in the left menu. Then click With you on the menu at the top. Any files or folders others have shared with you will be listed.

See Files You Have Shared with Others

Select Shared in the left menu, then click By you on the menu at the top. The files and folders you have shared with others will be listed. To see who you have shared with and change permissions, select the file and then click the three-dot menu to the right of the file and click share.

Hide Files Shared with You

You can choose to hide files that others have shared with you.

Select Shared in the left menu, then click With you on the menu at the top. Select the three-dot menu next to the file you would like to hide and click Hide from Shared.

Unhide Hidden Files

Select Shared in the left menu, on the toolbar at the top click the more button and then click Hidden. The files you have hidden will be listed, click the three-dot menu next to the file you want to unhide and choose Unhide.

Stop Sharing

Select the file or folder you want to stop sharing, click the three-dot menu and then click Manage Access, you can also right click the file or folder and then choose Manage Access from the right click menu.

Depending on how the item is shared, you may see different options on the Manage Access pane. To stop sharing the item completely, click Stop sharing. Use the People, Groups and Links tabs to change or remove sharing permissions.

If you have been using Microsoft OneDrive for a while you probably have some files and folders that you no longer need, deleting these will free up space and keep things in order.

Using the Desktop App

Right-click the OneDrive icon in the lower right corner of the taskbar and select the View online button. OneDrive will open in your browser (you will be prompted to sign in)

Click the My Files tab in the left menu. Locate the file or folder you would like to delete.

There are several different ways to delete a file or folder. Click the circle icon next to the file or folder to select it and from the menu bar above click delete, click the three-dot button to the right of the file or folder and select delete from the menu or right click the file or folder and choose delete from the right click menu.

Click the Delete button when the verification message appears.

If you want to delete multiple files or folders, select the first one and hold down the Ctrl key and then select the others then delete them.

Delete OneDrive Data in File Explorer

Click the OneDrive icon on the right side of the taskbar and click Open folder.

File Explorer will open to the OneDrive folder on your computer, select the files or folders you want to delete, you can select multiple files or folders by holding down the Ctrl key, then click the delete button on the toolbar, press the delete key on your keyboard or right click the file or folder and select delete from the right click menu.

Delete OneDrive Files on Your Phone

Open the OneDrive app on your phone and sign into your account.

Tap the Files icon at the bottom and find the file you want to delete, then tap the three-dot icon next to it.

Click the Delete option from the menu. Tap the Delete button when the verification message appears. (You can select multiple files in a folder by long-pressing a file and selecting others)

Empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin

When you delete files and folders from OneDrive on your PC or phone, they go to the Recycle Bin, which you can empty to free up OneDrive space.

Go to the OneDrive page and select Recycle Bin from the menu. To empty the Recycle Bin completely click the Empty Recycle Bin button at the top, if you would like to delete just selected files or folders select them from the list and click the Delete button.

To restore a file or folder in the Recycle Bin select it and then click the Restore button.