Forum Discussion
Have OneDrive or SharePoint files/folders on home screen of iPad without internet connection?
This. I'm on a big iOS project. We have several users who need files on an ipad when traveling, and be able to open them when there is no internet connectivity. These files aren't intended to be edited, just 'read only.' These files do not contain any sensitive corporate data. The content lives in SharePoint online and I'm using OneDrive as a bridge to their sharepoint site. BUT the files can only be viewed on the ipad within the OneDrive app without internet access. These are devices using user affinity enrollment.
Initially, the solution for users was to use the 'Mark Offline' feature within the OneDrive iOS app. I used Power Automate to have it fetch new files found in OneDrive and move them to the teams SharePoint site. These shared devices are locked down (an understatement). These will be used by the least computer savy/literate people and so having them dive through OneDrive folder after folder, even offline, is a tall order to ask. I totally get it and don't want them doing that either. So now I have to move onto plan B.
How can we put the files that live within OneDrive/Sharepoint onto the home screen without an internet connection when the ipad is 'out in the field.?' This would make it infinitely easier for them. The key here is to not have end users manually moving files around. We don't want them to even have to go into OneDrive and mark folders/files offline, if possible.
We don't have the SharePoint app on them. I tried the SP app a while back, and it is a hot mess of garbage. I could revisit it. Whatever I can get to work of course we'll have to modify our Intune polices.
Thoughts?
1 Reply
Intune can place a web clip on the iPad home screen, but it is only a URL shortcut; it does not cache SharePoint files. Microsoft’s documented OneDrive method is Make Available Offline, which stores the selected file or folder inside OneDrive and lists it under Offline Files. I do not see a supported Intune setting that preselects SharePoint folders or forces them offline.
For these locked-down devices, deploy OneDrive as required, use one dedicated read-only folder, and place OneDrive prominently with an Intune Home Screen Layout. Have support staff mark that folder offline once during staging, then test that new files refresh before travel. If even that one-time action is unacceptable, you need a managed line-of-business content app that downloads approved files into its own container and refreshes when connectivity returns. A web clip can simplify online navigation, but it cannot provide the offline copy.
