The integration with Windows and Office has made OneDrive one of the most popular cloud storage services of the moment. But OneDrive deserves it too, there's a lot of free storage and you can use it from any device and platform. We give 11 handy tips for OneDrive.
Tip 01: Cloud Storage
OneDrive is a free online storage service from Microsoft. It is comparable to DropBox, Google Drive and Box, but with one big difference: it is built into Windows 8 and 10 and Office 365 by default. So there is a good chance that you already use it or can start using it without further effort. The files you store in OneDrive are stored somewhere in the world in a Microsoft data center on a storage system. Microsoft stores the files for you, backs them up and secures them. Whether the tech giant is doing well is difficult to verify, but so far no major data breaches or data losses have come to light. A look at //uptime.com/live.com also shows that OneDrive has excellent availability and responsiveness.
Tip 02: Configure
OneDrive setup starts with signing in with your Microsoft account. First type the corresponding email address and then the password. OneDrive tells you where it will place its own folder on your computer. You can change this location, but if you like the default option, click Next one. After that, you can choose the folders that OneDrive will sync between the computer and the cloud. If you want to synchronize all files and folders, click again on Next one. If not all folders and files that are in the cloud with OneDrive are also on the PC, uncheck all folders that you do not want to sync and then click Next one. The installation is complete. click on Open my OneDrive folder to view the local version of OneDrive's online storage.
OneDrive is standard in Windows 8 and 10, for 7 you can download the software OneDrive on Windows 7
Do you use an older version of Windows, for example the still very popular Windows 7? Even then you can use OneDrive, only in that case you have to install the corresponding software yourself. Go to //onedrive.live.com and if you don't already have an account, create one there first via Register for free. Once you've done that, click To download or, if you are already logged in, on Download OneDrive apps. Download OneDriveSetup.exe and double click it to start the installation. At the end of the installation, you can configure OneDrive. This works the same on all Windows versions (see Tip 02: Configure).
Tip 03: Synchronization
Synchronization means that OneDrive makes the files and folders in the cloud as easily accessible as possible on any device that has OneDrive software running. This can be a Windows PC, but also a Mac, tablet or smartphone. On devices with their own storage, such as PC and Mac, a copy of the storage is created in the cloud. So the same folders and files that are online are also on the PC or Mac, ready to open via Windows Explorer or Mac Finder. Devices without their own storage, such as smartphones and tablets, will not have a copy of the cloud. However, you can easily browse through the online folders and files with the app. If you open a file in the OneDrive folder on your PC or Mac and make changes, the modified version will be uploaded to the cloud and synced from there to all other devices on which you use OneDrive.
Tip 04: Save space
OneDrive recently added a new feature to Windows 10: Files On Demand. With Files On Demand you can see all files on the computer that are also in the cloud, but only a part of them has actually been downloaded to the computer. The others won't download until you open them. This way you can save disk space. This is especially useful for devices with a smaller storage capacity, such as notebooks or devices that you only use occasionally. To configure Files On Demand, right click on it OneDrive icon next to the Windows clock. Choose Settings / Settings / Files on Demand and switch Save space by downloading only the files you use in. Confirm with OK.
Tip 05: Request status
If you use the Files On Demand feature, OneDrive determines which files are stored locally and which ones are good enough to be on cloud standby based on your usage. To see how OneDrive syncs your files, right-click it OneDrive icon next to the clock in the Taskbar and choose Open your OneDrive folder. Choose Image / Layout / Details. In the Explorer you will now see the Details column. Here you can see the sync status for each file or folder. A white check mark in a green circle indicates that the file has been downloaded and is on the PC, a green check mark in a white circle indicates that the file has been downloaded based on usage, while a blue cloud indicates that it is only in the cloud stands.
Tip 06: Adjust request
If you're not completely happy with OneDrive's choice to store certain folders and files locally or not, or if you're going offline for a while and just want to have access to one or more files, you can sync any file or file yourself. determine folder. Launch File Explorer and click on the OneDrive folder. Right-click on the file you want to use offline as well. Then choose Always keep on this device. The file will be synced and its status will be the solid green circle with the white check mark. If you don't need a file on the PC and it is enough if it is only online, then choose Free up space. The item now has the status of the blue cloud, indicating that it is only available online. As an intermediate, there is also the Locally available status: the file is already saved in the local OneDrive folder, but not yet synchronized with the online storage and all other devices.
Weird features
The new OneDrive feature of downloading files on demand leads to the weird situation where a file can be several MBs or GBs in size and still take up no space on the disk. That is a logical consequence of files that are only in the cloud and not locally on the disk. To see it, right-click on a file that's only available online and choose Characteristics. On the tab General you see that the file has a certain size, but still takes up 0 bytes on the hard disk.
