Microsoft 365 OneDrive (2023): Syncing Files

Name: Microsoft 365 OneDrive (2023): Syncing Files
Author: Katie Layman

Learn to sync OneDrive files to your desktop, select and deselect files for syncing, and fix common sync issues

Preview the first lesson free — get full access to all 3 lessons.

Course: On-Demand

Hello, my name is Katie Lehman, and in these lessons, you will learn how to sync files to OneDrive, sync to your desktop, and how to stop syncing files and fix common issues. In this lesson, I will show you how to sync files to OneDrive. I'm currently in my File Explorer on my hard drive of a laptop or a computer, and in here you will find your OneDrive folder. I actually have two folders for OneDrive. One is my business account, and the other one is a personal account. So you are able to have two folders if you have one that's a personal and one that is a business account. So to go through these and check on the status and set up a backup to automatically sync back to my OneDrive cloud, to access that, you want to right -click on your OneDrive folder and select Settings. So this is the area to sync and backup. You can manage your backup right here. So let's click on that Manage Backup button. And it is already turned on to backup my documents, my pictures, and the entire desktop folder. So files are going to be backed up, protected, and available anywhere in OneDrive, even if you lose this device. So let's say my computer gets a virus, I can't access it anymore. The nice thing is these files have been backed up and synced, and if I have the app uploaded on my mobile device or on a tablet or another laptop, I can access these files and they are good to go because they will be the latest version and they have recently been synced. So that is how you set that up. So let's turn these off. We'll stop our backup. And it asks you each time if you are really going to stop the backup or continue it. It also tells you how much space will be used after the backup. So just a little bit of my one terabyte of space is being used. So let's go ahead and turn these back on so you can see how to switch each of these on for when it's time to backup your files. You simply click inside of that little window and watch the dot go to the right, and that area turns blue. Click Save Changes, and it's setting up the backup. And right now the files are being backed up in the background, so I'm able to close the window, and when they're done, the files will be available anywhere that I use OneDrive. You can view the progress, which gives you a nice status bar over here on the right -hand side. It shows me exactly which images or which files and folders are being backed up. And you can see the progress that they were backed up 42 minutes ago, and they're being backed up again. So you can see that it's in the middle of processing changes. When it syncs, it's essentially checking to see what the latest version is, and that is the version that will be on your OneDrive cloud version. So if I was going to go back to my OneDrive cloud, this is the business account, and all the files that are located in my files will be the most current version of those files and folders. So after they have been synced, they are already backed up. So that is how you sync directly from your File Explorer account, which was my business account, and it's going to upload all those files and synchronize with the OneDrive that is online. Now, to look at these little status buttons here, you can see that you can have available when online, there are certain files that are only available when you're online, certain files that are available on this device, or that the sync is pending. So in my case, with these cloud symbols, the cloud symbol means that you can download it for use on your hard drive as you're editing it, and then it will be synced and go back up to the cloud. As you can see here, it says availability status, let's take a look at that again, it comes back up, you hover over it, it usually will come up. Okay, available when online, this sales presentation folder, and it shows me when it was created and that it's available anytime I'm online as well. So here, this little symbol that's next to the cloud also shows that you have shared that document. So you can see that you're sharing these documents here. And the pictures currently are still in the process of being synced, the sync is pending. And then the spreadsheets are available on this device. So they have actually been downloaded, and they are available right here on the device. So that is the way you check the status of your sync. And again, to start the sync, it's the right click on your folder into settings, and you manage your backup right there. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned for the next lesson where I will show you how to sync to your desktop. Thanks for watching.

Essential Provider : Katie Layman 3 Lessons · 18m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

Syncing files with Microsoft 365 OneDrive enables you to work with the same file simultaneously on your desktop. It also ensures that the most recent version of the document has been saved, and that you can work on files online from any location through the web browser. But sync issues can occur when syncing, and it is important to know how to resolve those issues for success with OneDrive. In this course, you will learn how to sync files from OneDrive to your desktop, including checking the status window for updates and to confirm the sync is successful. You’ll also learn how to stop syncing with OneDrive, as well as how troubleshoot any issues with syncing.

What You'll Learn

Sync files from Microsoft 365 OneDrive to your desktop
Check the status window to confirm a sync is successful
Stop syncing files with OneDrive
Identify common sync issues and how to fix them
Understand the file collaboration status during the sync process
Describe the sync process from OneDrive to the desktop

Key Takeaways

Syncing files with Microsoft 365 OneDrive lets you work with the same file simultaneously on your desktop.
Syncing ensures that the most recent version of a document has been saved and can be accessed online from any location through the web browser.
Sync issues can occur, so knowing how to resolve them is important for success with OneDrive.
The status window can be checked for updates and to confirm that a sync is successful.

Frequently Asked Questions

What will I learn in this course?

You will learn how to sync files from OneDrive to your desktop, how to check the status window to confirm the sync is successful, how to stop syncing with OneDrive, and how to troubleshoot syncing issues.

Why is syncing files with OneDrive useful?

Syncing lets you work with the same file simultaneously on your desktop, ensures the most recent version of the document has been saved, and allows you to work on files online from any location through the web browser.

What topics do the lessons cover?

The lessons cover Syncing Files in OneDrive, Syncing to Your Desktop, and How to Stop Syncing Files and Fix Common Issues.

What skills does this course cover?

It covers Microsoft OneDrive, Microsoft Sync, Microsoft Sync Framework, OneDrive for Business, and SyncBack.