OneDrive sync causes workflow inefficiencies and UX issues in Microsoft 365 and File Explorer
I would like to describe some workflow issues caused by the current integration between OneDrive, Windows, File Explorer, and Microsoft 365 apps. I understand that OneDrive is designed to synchronize files across devices, but in some scenarios the current behavior creates unnecessary delays, especially with slow internet connections or large synchronization queues. 1. Exported Microsoft 365 files are not immediately available in the selected OneDrive folder When exporting a Microsoft 365 file, for example exporting a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document to PDF, the user can select a OneDrive-synced folder as the destination. However, the exported file is not always immediately visible or accessible in that folder through Windows File Explorer. From the user’s perspective, it seems that the file is first saved into a temporary or internal Microsoft 365/OneDrive staging location, then uploaded to OneDrive, and only later appears in the actual synced folder through the normal synchronization process. The issue is not that the file is never stored locally, but that it is not immediately available in the location explicitly selected by the user. This creates practical problems. After exporting a PDF, I may need to quickly locate it in File Explorer to copy it elsewhere, attach it, upload it to another platform, or use it in a web tool to merge it with other PDFs. However, even though I selected a OneDrive folder as the destination, the file may not be available there right away. A related issue is that Microsoft 365 or Windows may open the exported file through a browser or web link instead of opening the local file directly. This can trigger login prompts, open the web version of Office, and interrupt the expected desktop workflow. Expected behavior: When saving or exporting a file to a OneDrive-synced folder, the file should become immediately visible and accessible in the selected folder in File Explorer, while OneDrive continues uploading or syncing it in the background. If the user selected a local OneDrive path, Microsoft 365 should prioritize the local file workflow and avoid redirecting to the browser unless explicitly requested. 2. File duplication inside OneDrive should use both cloud-side copy and local optimization Another issue occurs when duplicating or copying a file that is already stored in OneDrive, especially within the same OneDrive account. Currently, the process may behave like a traditional local copy: the file is downloaded if needed, copied locally, and then uploaded again as a new file. This is inefficient when OneDrive already has the source file in the cloud and the operation is simply a copy within the same account. Ideally, OneDrive should combine two optimizations: Perform a cloud-side copy when possible, so the duplicated file appears quickly in OneDrive online and on other devices. Reuse the local cache when available, so the current device does not unnecessarily download and re-upload the same data. This would make copied files appear faster on other devices as online-only placeholders, ready to be downloaded later if the user opens them or marks them as available offline. The other device should not have to wait for the first computer to download, copy, re-upload, and then synchronize the change. Expected behavior: When copying or duplicating a OneDrive file within the same account, OneDrive should use a cloud-side copy whenever possible, while also reusing local data when available. The copied file should appear quickly across devices as an online-available item, without forcing a redundant download, local copy, upload, and synchronization cycle. 3. OneDrive does not dynamically prioritize files the user needs immediately A third issue appears when OneDrive has a large backlog of pending synchronization changes, especially after using another computer. In this situation, OneDrive seems to follow its own synchronization order, even if the user opens a specific folder or tries to access a specific file urgently. For example, if there are hundreds or thousands of pending changes, and I need one specific document, that file may remain unavailable until OneDrive reaches it in the queue. Even when I navigate directly to the folder or attempt to open the file, OneDrive does not seem to move that item to the top of the sync priority. Expected behavior: OneDrive should dynamically adjust synchronization priority based on user activity. If the user opens a folder, selects a file, or attempts to open a cloud-only item, that file and its immediate dependencies should be prioritized over the general sync queue. Summary of requested improvements I believe these issues could be improved with smarter local and cloud prioritization: Exported or saved files should become immediately visible in the OneDrive folder selected by the user. Microsoft 365 should avoid opening exported files through a browser when the local file workflow is expected. Copying files within the same OneDrive account should use cloud-side copy operations when possible. Local file data should be reused to avoid unnecessary download and upload cycles. Copied files should appear quickly on other devices as online-available placeholders. OneDrive should prioritize files and folders the user is actively trying to access. Is this behavior expected, or are there settings to make OneDrive prioritize local file availability, cloud-side copy operations, and currently accessed files more intelligently?
Moving files out of unlinked, unsynced and disabled onedrive
I am out of storage space on my PC -Windows 11 and get reminders of that everyday. To help solve that problem I would like to move MyDocuments (a huge file) to Drive D. Here is the potential problem. I unlinked, unsynced and removed OneDrive in 2020, or so I thought. I still see the OneDrive symbol in Microsoft Explorer above the line from Drive C and other drives. Most of my files are accessible in Drive C, but not MyDocuments, Desktop, and some others. They can only be opened thru OneDrive. This always puzzled me, but since all my files are accessible to me, I haven't worried about it. Now I'm concerned that OneDrive still has its tentacles around some of my files. MyDocuments and Desktop are being updated, but my files in the cloud are seriously out of date. What does that tell me? If they are still tied to OneDrive somehow, does that complicate the removal of those files to Drive D?Please help, OneDrive sync and missing/deleted work files
I have OneDrive installed on both my PC and laptop because I use OneNote sometimes. The other day while I was on my PC, OneDrive randomly decided to sync my laptop and PC, I think, and all my files from my laptop were on my PC. This is a big problem because my PC is for personal use and laptop for work. Then I deleted some files thinking they were still on my laptop anyways. But today when I opened my laptop, all of my work files were gone. My desktop was just my PC desktop. I need help because the work files were really really important and I'm freaking out. Why would OneDrive do this? They are separate, I don't want them synced. Please help. Can I recover them?
onedrive sync issues
Hi We use OneDrive for Business and need a solution for sharing files and folders among a team while maintaining proper access permissions. Currently, each team member's Desktop and Documents folders are synced with their own personal OneDrive for Business account. In addition, we have a separate common OneDrive account that has been added to all team members' PCs, and all team members have Owner permissions on that account. When a user creates a folder or saves a file in the shared OneDrive location, it is actually being created under the common OneDrive account, not in the user's personal OneDrive. While this allows everyone to access the same files, we frequently experience synchronization conflicts and sync issues between users. What is the Microsoft-recommended approach for this type of collaboration? Is using a common OneDrive account with multiple owners a supported best practice, or should we instead use a SharePoint document library (or another Microsoft 365 solution) for shared team files, permissions, and reliable synchronization? ThanksOutlook attachments and OneDrive recent files
In Outlook Web App and the new Outlook app, the Add Attachment button displays 3 Suggested files and allows you to browse OneDrive. When you choose OneDrive, it displays a list of Recent files. What criteria is used to determine the list of suggested and recent files? I've seen very random behaviour. Sometimes, I'll open a document in SharePoint Online and when I try to attach it to an Outlook emial, it appears in the Suggested files list and the Recent files straight away. Other times it only shows up after I reload the browser tab. It's more likely to show up as one of the 3 suggested files, without needing a refresh. However I've also had it show up under OneDrive Recent files only. It doesn't appear to detect new files uploaded to SharePoint Online or OneDrive. For example, I download a PDF from another website and save it to a folder on my computer that syncs back to SharePoint Online. I then want to email this PDF to someone, but it's not available from the Outlook attachments button. I need to open the file before it shows up under the Outlook attachments button. It would be much more useful if Outlook picked up on files I recently created as well as opened.
OneDrive app synchronisation
I added a folder last night to my OneDrive on my computer. It synchronised to the cloud. If I share the link to this folder, it works perfectly. However, if I open the app, the folder does not show (even after 24 hours). Searching for the folder name (which takes forever btw) yields the right folder. Why is the folder not visible in the place where it should be? And why does the search yield zillions of results instead of just 1?11 thousand sync errors!!
Hi everyone, I've been struggling with an issue in Onedrive for the past couple of days. I think (but can't be positive) that it started when I tried to 'free up space' on my desktop PC. Since then a large number of files have been flagged with a red "x" with the error message that "the name or type isn't allowed". The files in question range from .pdf to .docx, .stl, etc. There doesn't seem to be any obvious reason why I'd suddenly get this message, and none of the files contain restricted characters. Also, I can download the files without issues, and that seems to clear the 'x'. I guess one solution is to go through and download all these files, but there are 11k such files. Yeah, hoping for another solution. To date I've tried pausing and unpausing the sync; unlinking and re-linking my account; deleting the cache files; deleting and reinstalling Onedrive. Onedrive was also crashing regularly, though reinstalling seems to have at least fixed that for the moment. For what it's worth, I'm also syncing to my laptop, without issue (though won't be 'freeing up space' anytime soon :) ). Everything also seems fine online. I guess I could just leave it, as the files do seem to download ok, but this feels really flaky and I'd really like to resolve the issue. Sorry for the long post, and thanks for any advice anyone might have.
OneDrive Taking up space on C: even when nothing is being kept on device.
Recently got a new device and had all my files on the previous device synced to my OneDrive. The C drive has about 120 GB of my data (including OS) but when I check my Disk space, I only have 5GB remaining out of 256. However, OneDrive seems to be taking about 150 GB on the disk even though all the files have the cloud icons on it.Getting rid of unwanted shares
Hello everyone. On my company computers there is a name listed under "People" and this individual has shared a file with me (by mistake I assume). Through a lot of digging I finally found out he is an attorney and it was paperwork from some case he had worked on. I don't know him and whatever the docs are have nothing to do with me. The secretary I talked to didn't seem to care and said, "I don't believe it's confidential. Just ignore it." I don't want to ignore it! Every time I log on there it is. It's intrusive! And before you all say just hide it, No, There should be a way to not automatically accept unwanted shares.
Temp Files Flagged As Viruses By Norton - Windows 11
My Norton anti-virus software keeps quarantining temp files from my onedrive setup folder as containing viruses. This happens every few minutes. Any thoughts on what this might be from? All files seem to be synced and I am just doing normal browsing and Word processing.
