Forum Discussion
SharePoint sync issues when opening from File Explorer
Hi there,
Some users in my company are having issues with files not syncing with SharePoint when they save them and are also unable to concurrently edit files. They open the files via File Explorer and the 'autosave' functionality is disabled. Enabling autosave prompts them to save as a new copy. These users have recently switched to a new laptop running Windows 11 (previous laptop was Windows 10) and had no sync issues when using the old laptop. If the user first opens Excel/Word and then uses the File menu to open the document then the autosave is enabled and the file syncs with SharePoint.
Here are some of the troubleshooting steps I've tried:
- stopping the sync and starting it again
- unlinking the pc and re-syncing the SharePoint site
- uninstalling and re-installing OneDrive
Has anyone come across this issue or know of a fix that I haven't tried yet?
Regards,
Steve
1 Reply
Check this may help:
1. Enable Office file collaboration in OneDrive
o Right-click the OneDrive cloud icon → Settings → Office tab.
o Check “Use Office applications to sync Office files that I open”.
o This ensures autosave and co-authoring work when opening from File Explorer.
2. Check Files On-Demand
o In OneDrive settings → Advanced → ensure Files On-Demand is enabled.
o Files should show cloud icons in Explorer. If they are only local, autosave may not work.
3. Update OneDrive and Office
o Make sure users are on the latest OneDrive client (Windows 11 ships with it, but updates matter).
o Update Office apps to the latest build, older builds often break autosave integration.
4. Verify sync method
o Ensure the SharePoint library is synced via the modern OneDrive client (OneDrive.exe), not the legacy Groove.exe.
o If Groove.exe is in play, autosave and co-authoring may not work.
5. Test with a fresh sync
o Stop syncing the library, clear cached credentials, and re-sync from SharePoint Online.
o Sometimes stale credentials or cached sync metadata cause Office to misidentify the file source.
6. Check file path length and naming
o Windows 11 enforces stricter path length rules. If the path exceeds 260 characters, autosave may fail.
o Rename or shorten folder paths if necessary.
