Forum Discussion
How can I enable local deletion
In order to use co-pilot, it is required to store my files in OneDrive. However, when I want to get rid of some files, I am getting a warning message: "Deleting an online-only file permanently removes it from your PC without sending it to the Recycle Bin. Are you sure you want to continue?"
When right-clicking on the file, there is no "View this file online/on Sharepoint" button anymore. So Microsoft makes it very difficult to declutter my file explorer - which is the reason I did not use it much in the first place. Is there any workaround to this, i.e. to delete files permanently without having to click through Sharepoint?
And to the OneDrive developers: Do you plan on improving this - or at least re-adding the "View online" button?
Thank you!
2 Replies
I understand that this is expected behavior - but it is very cumbersome. As described, these are files in my personal OneDrive that I only use locally - so I want to delete them there as well and not go through the hassle on searching for them in my OneDrive web portal (which I never use). How can I turn off On-Demand files? And what about the "View Online" button to link directly to the files in the portal that existed a few months ago?
This is expected behavior when using OneDrive Files On-Demand.
Files marked as "online-only" do not exist locally on the computer. Because of that, Windows cannot move them to the local Recycle Bin when they are deleted.
The warning message only indicates that the file will not be sent to the Windows Recycle Bin. It does not mean the file is permanently deleted from OneDrive.
When an online-only file is deleted, it is typically moved to the OneDrive (or SharePoint) Recycle Bin, where it can be recovered for a retention period according to your organization's settings.
Therefore, this message is informational and is intended to clarify the difference between deleting a locally available file and deleting an online-only file.
If you need to review or restore deleted files, you can do so from the OneDrive web portal Recycle Bin.
