MacOS Devices - Sync Locally Your OneDrive Files
With OneDrive, you can sync files between your computer and the cloud so that you can get to your files from anywhere - your computer, your mobile device, and even through the OneDrive website at OneDrive.com.
There are two (2) methods for OneDrive Sync:
- OneDrive File On-Demand – this is the current and most preferred method of OneDrive syncing as it does not consume a lot of hard disk space and would only download files as you need it. However, if one has a very poor internet connection, files on the cloud may not be readily available to them.
Files or Folders with a cloud icon means that they are currently synced and stored in the cloud. The one with a green check mark means that the file is downloaded for use
2. OneDrive Local Sync – this method is preferable if user needs stable access to the files and wants a copy of the files in his local machine. Cloud files would still be accessible on their local machine even without an internet connection. However, this might consume hard disk space and be difficult to control
This article contains the steps for Windows machines on how to:
- Sync all OneDrive files locally
- Sync a single file in OneDrive locally
- Sync a Sharepoint folder locally
Sync All OneDrive Files Locally
- Start OneDrive by pressing CMD+Space to launch a Spotlight query and type OneDrive. This starts the OneDrive application.
- Click the OneDrive cloud icon up in your Menu bar, click the gear icon to open the menu, and select Preferences
- Click the Preferences tab, and then select Download all OneDrive files now. OneDrive will start to download all your cloud files and will keep a copy that will still be accessible even if your device is offline.
Sync A Single OneDrive File Locally
1. Start OneDrive by pressing CMD+Space to launch a Spotlight query and type OneDrive. This starts the OneDrive application.
2. Open Finder and you should see the OneDrive folder on the left-side pane
3. Look for the specific file or folder you want to sync locally
4. Right-click on the file and folder then select the Always Keep On This Device option
5. Once it has the green solid check mark, then the file or folder is now locally synced to your device
6. To change a file back to an online-only file: Right-click it and select Free up space.
Sync A SharePoint folder Locally
A Sharepoint folder are folders shared and accessible to multiple users in an organization. This allows seamless file collaboration among the users in the organization.
1. If the Sharepoint Folder has been set up on your device, skip this step and move to item #4. Otherwise, open your browser and navigate to the Sharepoint folder you want to sync. Alternatively, you can go to https://portal.office.com log in with your email credentials then expand App Launcher on the upper right corner of the portal then select Sharepoint. This should show you the list of Sharepoint sites you have access to.
2. Once the Sharepoint folder is open, click the Sync button. A prompt will open advising that it is currently syncing the Sharepoint folder.
3. To check the Sharepoint folder, open Finder. On the left-side pane, you’ll see the newly added Sharepoint folder. The below screenshot is an example of S7 Sharepoint folder:
4. By default policy, Sharepoint folders are only synced on-demand. Hence, to sync a Sharefolder folder or file locally, right-click on the file or folder (the same way as we did on the previous steps) then select Always Keeps On This Device
5. To change a file back to an online-only/cloud-only file: Right-click it and select Free up space.