Sign In with Work Email


  • Select the white or blue OneDrive cloud icon in the Windows taskbar notification area or search for "Onedrive" in the Start Menu.

                          

                               OneDrive SyncClient with blue cloud and white cloud icons                     

                                        

    Note: You might need to select the Show hidden icons arrow The Show hidden icons button. next to the notification area to see the OneDrive icon.

  • Login with your work email.

    • On the This is your OneDrive folder screen, select Next to accept the default folder location for your OneDrive files. If you want to change the folder location, select Change location - this is the best time to make this change.

                    

                       The This is Your OneDrive Folder screen in the Welcome to OneDrive wizard
          

    • On the All your files, ready and on-demand screen, you'll see how files are marked to show them as online-only, locally available, or always available. Files On-Demand helps you access all your files in OneDrive without having to download all of them and use storage space on your Windows device. Select Next.

                    

                       The Files on Demand screen in the Welcome to OneDrive wizard


See and manage your OneDrive files

                  
  • Your OneDrive files will appear in File Explorer in the OneDrive folder. If you use more than one account, your personal files appear under OneDrive – Personal and your work or school files appear under OneDrive - CompanyName.
          

                                     Screenshot of OneDrive for Business files in File Explorer         

          
  • You now have a new white or blue cloud icon (or both) in your notification area and your files are synced to your computer. Your blue cloud icon will appear as OneDrive – [YourTenantName] when you hover over the icon.
          

                                     OneDrive for Business sync client         

          

Note: Contoso is an example name - yours will show the name of your organization.


Save space with OneDrive

                  

With OneDrive Files On-Demand, you can:

          

  • Save space on your device by making files online only 

  • Set files and folders to be always available locally on your device    

  • See important information about files, such as whether they are shared    

  • See thumbnails of over 300 different file types even if you don’t have the required application installed to open it

          

Your files will have these statuses in File Explorer:

                                                                                      

                     Blue cloud icon indicating an online-only OneDrive file                 

A blue cloud icon next to a OneDrive file or folder indicates that the file is only available online. Online-only files don’t take up space on your computer. You see a cloud icon for each online-only file in File Explorer, but the file doesn’t download to your device until you open it. You can’t open online-only files when your device isn’t connected to the Internet.

                     Green check icon indicating a locally available OneDrive file                 

When you open an online-only file, it downloads to your device and becomes a locally available file. You can open a locally available file anytime, even without Internet access. If you need more space, you can change the file back to online only. Just right-click the file and select “Free up space.”

                  

With Storage Sense turned on, these files will become online-only files after the time period you've selected.

                     Green circle icon indicating an always-available OneDrive file                 

Only files that you mark as "Always keep on this device" have the green circle with the white check mark. These always available files download to your device and take up space, but they’re always there for you even when you’re offline.


FAQ


Files On-Demand and deleting files

                          

  • Can I move online-only files within my OneDrive folder?

Yes, you can move online-only files within your OneDrive folder for that OneDrive account. When you move files outside that OneDrive folder, the files download to the new folder and are removed from your OneDrive. With your files and folders in the OneDrive cloud backup, if you accidentally delete something, you can restore them from your OneDrive recycle bin.

          

  • What happens if I delete a file or move it to the trash?

When you delete an online-only file from your device, you delete it from your OneDrive on all devices and online. You can restore deleted files and folders from your OneDrive recycle bin on the web for up to 30 days for items stored in OneDrive personal (when you're signed in with a Microsoft account), or for up to 93 days for items stored in OneDrive for work or school or SharePoint in Microsoft 365 (when you're signed in with a work or school account). If you delete a locally available file, it also appears in your device recycle bin.
          

  • Does changing a file to online-only delete the file from my OneDrive?

No, changing a file to online-only doesn't delete it from your OneDrive. The file no longer takes up space on your device, and you will still be able to see the file from OneDrive mobile apps or on the website.

          

  • Why don’t I see the Files On-Demand options in OneDrive settings?

First, make sure you don't have Windows Information Protection (WIP), previously known as enterprise data protection (EDP) configured on your computer. Files On-Demand is not yet supported when WIP is enabled.              

If you aren't seeing the Files On-Demand options, the latest version of OneDrive hasn't rolled out to you yet.