SharePoint without Sync (Advice Needed)

One other option to consider is the newer View SharePoint Files with File Explorer in Microsoft Edge - this will let your users navigate the cloud using the familiar File Explorer interface to traverse your folder structure, then work on the cloud versions of the files WITHOUT the need to sync - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/SharePoint/sharepoint-view-in-edge 

Yes, many orgs do disable Sync for large SharePoint libraries in real life. At this scale, users working from File Explorer often cause sync errors, accidental deletions, or offline overwrite issues.

A few key points to be aware of:

1. Disabling Sync does not delete content and does not stop existing syncs — it only prevents new ones.
2. Existing syncs must be manually stopped in the OneDrive client.
3. The OneDrive sync client has a ~300k item limit, and that includes everything: OneDrive, synced libraries, and even “Add shortcut to OneDrive”.

What usually works best is a tiered approach:

1. Disable Sync for large libraries is recommended.
2. Allow Sync only for smaller, well-scoped “working” libraries where desktop editing is really needed.
3. Push users to the web/Teams experience for large libraries.

Sync is convenient in some cases, but at the scale you’re describing, disabling it for large libraries often reduces incidents and support noise rather than creating new problems.

Many organizations with mining, engineering, construction, field, or manufacturing teams follow this approach: Disable Sync for large or business‑critical SharePoint libraries. In these environments, Add shortcut to OneDrive is a much safer and more stable alternative to full OneDrive Sync. A shortcut simply creates a pointer to the library or folder inside the user’s OneDrive. It does not download the entire library. Sync, on the other hand, downloads a full local copy and continuously pushes changes back to SharePoint, which introduces significant risk.

Sync = copies files locally  
Shortcut = only shows them in OneDrive, but doesn’t download everything

If you disable Sync after users have already synced a large or any library, what happens?

• Disabling Sync does NOT delete any documents in SharePoint.  
  It also does not automatically delete anything from users’ local machines.

When you disable Sync at the library level:

• The Sync button disappears from the library in SharePoint and Teams.
• Users cannot create new sync connections for that library.
• Existing sync connections continue to work. OneDrive does NOT automatically stop syncing. Disabling Sync does NOT break existing syncs.
• Users must manually stop syncing from the OneDrive client if you want to fully remove the connection.
  Users must manually choose Stop Sync in the OneDrive client.

In several of my projects, we have disabled Sync at the site level and disabled the sync option from all libraries. Sync frequently causes version conflicts, accidental overwrites, and data loss, especially when users work offline without realizing it.

1. A common scenario I’ve seen is someone syncing a large library, working offline, going on leave for several days, and then saving their local copy when they return. OneDrive pushes their outdated version to SharePoint and overwrites all the changes made by others during that time.
   

   It is one of the top reasons organizations disable Sync for large libraries and move to Add shortcut to OneDrive instead.

2. I’ve also encountered sync errors, long‑path failures, and accidental deletions when users remove folders locally, not understanding that this deletes them in SharePoint as well.

Because of these risks, we disable Sync for large or important libraries and encourage users to rely on Add shortcut to OneDrive. It provides quick access without downloading everything, avoids long‑path issues, reduces accidental deletions, and prevents offline overwrite conflicts. It’s not perfect, but for large or critical libraries, it is significantly safer and more stable than full Sync while still giving users a simple way to reach the content they need.

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