Since this article came from the official OneDrive blog you'd be correct
if you felt that there may have been some bias contained in this
article. However, the fact is that OneDrive really is a very useful
service and one which I use quite a lot. At work I actually use two
different laptops and it's important that both laptops allow me to
access my documents and downloaded files, as well as files that I share
with my manager and with another member of my team if we need to share
documents or even collaborate on files. OneDrive is one tool that allows
me to do this. I also back up my personal documents to my personal
OneDrive account, which can hold a terabyte of storage since I use
Office 365. This means that either my wife or I can access and edit any
of these documents from our phones. One thing she's used it for is to
pull up our list of medications if we need them to fill out forms while
at a doctor's office. If I have audio files stored on OneDrive I can
open the OneDrive app from my phone and listen to them anywhere.
David Goldfield, Assistive Technology Specialist WWW.DavidGoldfield.org
On 9/13/2019 7:11 AM, David Goldfield wrote:
Microsoft OneDrive Blog articles - Thursday, September 12, 2019 at 12:00 PM
Top 5 advantages of syncing your files with OneDrive
To get work done from anywhere, across your devices, you need ubiquitous access to all your files – online and offline. Business information needs to be up to date and in reach, without compromise.
Digital natives and mobile professionals expect this. And OneDrive does not disappoint. OneDrive is the intelligent files app for Microsoft 365—your conduit to access, share and collaborate on all your files anytime, from anywhere, and across all your devices.
Let us look at the top 5 benefits when using the OneDrive sync client:
*1. Be productive and stay connected
*
OneDrive enables you to synchronize your content to your PC and Mac so you can easily and securely access files anytime—even when you are offline.
**
With OneDrive you can easily sync files to your desktop.
Once you're back online, your new files and edits will sync to OneDrive automatically. You can view and edit your files, as well as collaborate in real-time and share files/folders easily and directly from your desktop—without using a web browser. Also, everyone who has access to these files, will always have the latest version of the file at hand.
Share and collaborate on your files directly from the desktop.
“Known Folder Move” enables you to easily backup your important Windows folders like Desktop, Documents and Pictures to OneDrive—ushering in the power and simplicity of OneDrive to the folders where users have the habit of saving files, along with the seamless File Explorer experience.
With Known folder move you can back up your important Windows folders like Desktop, Documents and Pictures.
OneDrive also allows syncing IRM-protected files and supports differential sync (currently for Office files and rolling out to *ALL* file types), that saves time and bandwidth by only syncing parts of files that have changed, rather than re-uploading the entire file.
All of these scenarios are also supported in virtualized desktop environments that persist between sessions and non-persistent environments that use FSLogix <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/fslogix/overview.>, including Windows Virtual Desktop <https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/modern-desktop/enterprise/windows-virtual-desktop>.
*2. With more files, comes more space*
As you create and collaborate on more files and take more photos, do you worry whether there is enough storage on your device? You shouldn’t have to—OneDrive has your back!
OneDrive Files On-Demand on PC and Mac helps you access all your files in OneDrive without having to download all of them and use storage space on your device. You don’t have to change the way you work, because all your files—even online-only files—can be seen in File Explorer or Mac Finder.
Easy access to online -only files with Files On-Demand.
With Files On-Demand, you can save space on your device by making files online-only as well as access files locally by making files and folders to be always available on your device.
3 states of files : only-online, locally available and always available.
Also, Windows 10 Storage Sense now has the capability to automatically free up disk space by making older, unused, locally available OneDrive files be online-only.
Learn more about Files On-Demand <https://support.office.com/en-us/article/save-disk-space-with-onedrive-files-on-demand-for-windows-10-0e6860d3-d9f3-4971-b321-7092438fb38e> and Storage Sense <https://support.office.com/en-us/article/onedrive-files-on-demand-and-storage-sense-for-windows-10-de5faa9a-6108-4be1-87a6-d90688d08a48>.
All of these functionalities are also extended to your shared libraries. “Shared libraries” are SharePoint document libraries that are connected via Office 365 Groups and accessible via SharePoint and Microsoft Teams integrated experiences.
OneDrive sync client now also supports Windows Server 2019 with Files On-Demand. This allows users running OneDrive in virtual desktop environments to leverage the power of Files On-Demand.
Files On-Demand in WVD environments.
*3. Access beyond your individual files and folders*
We see OneDrive as the files app for Microsoft 365 enabling you to access all your shared content across Microsoft 365, inclusive of SharePoint and Microsoft Teams, in addition to your individual work files. OneDrive enables you to sync files and folders from shared libraries that you have access to within your organization harnessing a ubiquitous and secure productivity experience across OneDrive and SharePoint.
Sync your shared libraries with OneDrive .
You can also sync files from libraries or folders that have been shared from other organizations (B2B). This implies, that you can sync content shared not only by peers within your own organization, but also by partners, customers, external contractors, suppliers and third-party vendors outside of your organization that you regularly collaborate with.
Two quick notes for admins on B2B sync-
* Azure Active Directory (AAD) guest accounts play a key role in
making B2B collaboration possible.
* A guest account at one organization links to a member account at
another organization. As a result, a single sign-in to their
account enables access to content from their own organization and
from any other organization that have created guest accounts for them.
Learn more about the B2B sync requirements <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/b2b-sync>.
*4. Monitor your files and sync actions*
The OneDrive Activity Center is the hub for all your OneDrive related activity and can be accessed by right clicking the OneDrive cloud icon in the task bar on Windows or menu bar on Mac.
Activity center located in the menu bar on Mac.
It shows you the current synchronization status and what files are in the queue to be uploaded or downloaded.
Activity Center in the task bar on Windows.
Apart from managing various settings for the accounts syncing on your device, Activity Center also helps you pause sync, and resolve a sync conflict if one exists. We are introducing in-app resolutions to help you easily fix sync errors such as when a file or folder name is not supported. You can also request assistance from Microsoft experts via the “Get help” option as well as sending us your feedback—all from the Activity Center.
End user settings available in the Activity Center
Earlier this year we introduced the “mass delete prompt” functionality. If you delete more than 200 synced files at once from your device, the sync client will notify you to confirm if it was intentional. If it was accidental, you can tap “Restore Files” to bring them back, otherwise tapping remove will delete them as usual.
Mass delete prompt .
Lastly, as end users, you will also be notified when you have pending uploads and your device is shutting down or going into standby.
*5. Admins: Customize sync experience with effective policies*
As always, we have saved the best for last!
For Windows devices, with a set of GPOs you can allow or block syncing OneDrive accounts for specific organizations by specifying a list of tenant IDs, configure the maximum speed at which the OneDrive sync client can upload or download files as well as balance the performance of different upload tasks on a computer by specifying the percentage of the computer's upload throughput that the OneDrive sync client can use to upload files.
For more information on the group policies to control OneDrive sync client settings refer here <https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/OneDrive/use-group-policy>.
On Mac, you can configure similar policies using the property list (Plist) files. For more information, refer
The admin center also helps you set rules that will allow you to sync devices joined to a selected domain(s) as well as block certain file types from being uploaded.
Admin center helps you block syncing of specific file types and domain joined PCs
We do realize one blog does not to justice to OneDrive sync client so tune in next month to read about the power of Windows + OneDrive close integration along with tips on how you can deploy and configure the sync client.
*Learn more and stay engaged*
We are excited to launch *OneDrive On-Demand <https://resources.techcommunity.microsoft.com/onedrive-on-demand/#on-demand-webinars> *- a one stop shop for all our current and upcoming podcasts, webinars and customer stories.
We are very thrilled to showcase the advantages of sync and discuss effective usage scenarios with you. Join us in the upcoming, related webinar and AMA:
* WEBINAR | If you are interested in learning more, please register
for our upcoming webinar “*Syncing up with OneDrive
<https://www.bigmarker.com/onedrive/Syncing-up-with-OneDrive>*” on
24^th September 2019 at 9:00 am PT.
* AMA | Participate in our *AMA* <https://aka.ms/onedriveAMA> on,
24^th September 2019 between 10:00 am – 11:00 am PT to get
answers to your questions directly from the experts.
Till then,
* Install OneDrive for PC
<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?linkid=844652> and Mac
<https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=823060>.
* Take a quick tour
<https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Sync-with-OneDrive-bb89981b-e382-4969-b8fd-d413a90b6db3>
to
try out the sync client.
* Check out the related session from our events:
We continue to evolve OneDrive as a place to access, share, and collaborate on all your files in Office 365, keeping them protected and readily accessible on all your devices, anywhere.
You can stay up-to-date on all things via the OneDrive Blog <https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-OneDrive-Blog/bg-p/OneDriveBlog> and take advantage of end-user training resources on our Office support center <http://support.office.com/>.
Thank you again for your support of OneDrive. We look forward to your continued feedback on UserVoice <https://onedrive.uservoice.com/> and hope to connect with you at Ignite or another upcoming Microsoft or community-led event.
Thanks for your time reading all about OneDrive,
Ankita Kirti – OneDrive | Microsoft
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Microsoft-OneDrive-Blog/Top-5-advantages-of-syncing-your-files-with-OneDrive/ba-p/839866
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info <http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
