Microsoft OneDrive

OneDrive is a significant part of Microsoft 365 as it provides solutions for file storage, sharing, and synchronization. It allows you to access your documents from anywhere and any device. Additionally, the OneDrive app enables automatic synchronization of files between your device and cloud storage, meaning any changes made to files on one device are automatically reflected on all other devices you use. The app also provides offline access to files, so you can work without an internet connection, and once you connect, changes are automatically synchronized.

Microsoft OneDrive Features

• File Storage - allows storing documents, photos, and other files in the cloud, ensuring their backup and availability from anywhere.
• File Sharing - allows easy sharing of files and folders with others, whether they are colleagues, students, or external partners.
• Synchronization - automatically synchronizes files between your devices, so you always have the latest versions of documents.
• Real-time Collaboration - allows multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously, facilitating teamwork.

OneDrive on the Web

OneDrive on the web allows you to access your files directly from a web browser without installing any software. Just log in to the OneDrive web interface using your school email address and AMU network password.

Where to Download the OneDrive App

The OneDrive app is pre-installed on managed school computers with Windows 10. It is also a standard part of the Windows installation on personal devices. If you don't have it, or you use another operating system including mobile ones like Android or iOS, you can download it here.

OneDrive Service Limits

• Standard storage size at AMU: 25 GB
• Maximum size of a single synchronized file: 250 GB *
• Maximum file name length including the entire path: 255 **
• Maximum number of files and folders in a shared folder including nested ones: 50,000
• Maximum number of files uploaded at once via the web interface: 2,500
• Recommended maximum number of files and folders on the entire OneDrive: 300,000 ***
• Unusable characters in file and folder names: " * : < > ? / \ |
• Unusable file and folder names: .lock, CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM0 - COM9, LPT0 - LPT9, _vti_, ~$, desktop.ini

* Only if you have sufficient storage size for such a file.
** In reality, OneDrive supports longer names, but the limitation is given by the Windows operating system.
*** This is a recommendation from Microsoft; from our experience, we recommend not having more than 100,000 files and folders on OneDrive.

Backing Up Local Folders to OneDrive

The OneDrive app allows redirecting local folders Documents; Pictures; Desktop on your computer to cloud storage within OneDrive. This ensures not only their synchronization between other devices but also backup, provided your device is connected to the internet.

Before deploying OneDrive, it was preferred to store all data (folders and files) on the I: drive, which was a backed-up network storage, so even in case of your computer's failure, you did not lose any data, or you had access to this data from another computer at AMU. Even so, many important data were stored only on the user's desktop or in the documents folder because such a way of working was more natural for most users. In such a case, the data was not backed up. Replacing the I: network drive with the OneDrive service with the corresponding app allows you to maintain this more natural way of storing data while having continuous backup and access to them from other devices, even from computers outside AMU.

If you decide to install OneDrive yourself on your private device, and during the OneDrive setup wizard, or later, enable this feature, not only will your work data be downloaded to your private computer, but all private data located in the Documents; Pictures; Desktop folders in your user profile will be uploaded to OneDrive. You will then see this data on your work computer as well. Keep in mind that the default OneDrive capacity is 25 GB, especially private photo albums or videos can quickly exhaust this capacity.

Files On-Demand Feature in OneDrive

Since OneDrive offers higher capacities for storing data in the cloud than a user might fit on their own computer disk, it is possible to have synchronized data in so-called Files On-Demand mode. Files are always stored in the cloud, but only some are directly on your computer. Thanks to the OneDrive app, you will still see all your files on your computer, but in reality, only placeholders for these files are stored on it. Only when you need to work with a file, it is automatically downloaded from the cloud and takes up the corresponding space on your computer's disk.

This way of working with files has two important properties:

1. If the file was not created on the given computer and you have not worked with it on this computer before, and it is therefore only in the cloud, you will only have access to such a file with a functional internet connection.
2. Even with a functional internet connection, it may take a while to start working with very large files (100 MB and more). The time depends on the file size, internet connection speed, and overall load on the OneDrive service.

Offline File Availability

In case of problems with this feature or frequent need for file availability without an internet connection and with sufficient disk space, you can choose which folders and files should always be stored on your computer. Especially on shared work computers, make sure there is enough disk space left for your colleagues.

To set offline availability, right-click on the respective folder or file and select Always keep on this device.

File Availability Status

The file is available online only, i.e., only with a functional internet connection.

The file is available offline because it was created on this computer or has been used on this computer before.

The file is available offline because it was marked by the user as always available on this computer.

Checking the OneDrive Status

To ensure the correct synchronization of your files, it is necessary to regularly check the status of the OneDrive application. OneDrive runs in the background and handles synchronization automatically, but in some situations it may log out, pause, or encounter an error that the user does not notice. This typically happens when the sign-in session expires, when you change your password, after a long period of inactivity, or when there are issues with the internet connection.

The simplest way to make sure everything is working correctly is to monitor the blue OneDrive icon in the notification area.

What you need to check

OneDrive must be signed in
The icon must be blue and without a red cross, warning symbol, or greyed-out state. If OneDrive is signed out, new or changed files will not synchronize.

Synchronization must be completed before shutting down the computer
If you see an icon with ongoing synchronization (circular arrows), OneDrive is currently working. Shutting down the computer at this moment may cause the latest changes not to be saved to the cloud.

Why this is important

In practice, we often encounter situations where users working from home do not notice that OneDrive has logged out or stopped working correctly. When they return to the office, they discover that their work has not been synced and only older versions of files are available. You can avoid this by regularly checking the OneDrive icon, especially before shutting down your computer.

How to verify the OneDrive status

1. Click the blue OneDrive icon in the notification area.
2. A synchronization overview and any errors will be displayed.
3. If OneDrive reports a problem, follow the recommendations in the displayed dialog. In many cases, signing in again or restoring the internet connection is enough.