I didn't understand the logic behind Onedrive sync

[assafwei1979]

Hi all,

I think I didnt understand the logic behind the sync in OneDrive.

What I am looking for is the following:

I have a local folder on my PC, I want OneDrive to always sync this folder, such that the folder in the cloud is always up to date and contains the exact same files as in the local folder on my PC.

What I currently have is a folder in the cloud that is not in sync with the local folder, if I want it to be I need to manually copy files to OneDrive, and on top of this I have a copy of my local folder (not up to date) somewhere else on my PC, where OneDrive downloads the files from the cloud...

I didnt quite understand the logic of the sync function.

PS - Where do I change the location to which OneDrive sync downloads the files it synced with my PC? Can I stop this download? I dont really need it, I have the files in another folder on the PC and on the cloud...

Thanks.

 

[rj7500]

Hi
I have the exact same problem with the One Drive that was bundled with Windows 10. If you get an answer, please let me know.

 

[mtf1380]

Hi all,

I think I didnt understand the logic behind the sync in OneDrive.

What I am looking for is the following:

I have a local folder on my PC, I want OneDrive to always sync this folder, such that the folder in the cloud is always up to date and contains the exact same files as in the local folder on my PC.

What I currently have is a folder in the cloud that is not in sync with the local folder, if I want it to be I need to manually copy files to OneDrive, and on top of this I have a copy of my local folder (not up to date) somewhere else on my PC, where OneDrive downloads the files from the cloud...

I didnt quite understand the logic of the sync function.

PS - Where do I change the location to which OneDrive sync downloads the files it synced with my PC? Can I stop this download? I dont really need it, I have the files in another folder on the PC and on the cloud...

Thanks.

I use OneDrive, as I would any other 'Drive' on my PC...with the bonus that this 'drive' is also accessible to ALL my other devices (for me that is Windows devices).

What I do is...when saving a file, picture, music, etc., I save it to OneDrive just like you would save it to C:, D:, or any external storage 'drive'. If I need to pull up a file that is on OneDrive I can pull it from ANY of my devices, from just about anywhere I am; I can view it, edit it, share it, and when I save it, it is saved back to OneDrive and that updated version is automatically available from any of my devices.

"IF", I need to show or have access a big file, or I anticipate that I will need the file somewhere I will not be able to download it (i.e. out of country; or where there will be no Wi-Fi, and I don't want to use data plan for download, etc.), I will download a local copy AND label it as so (with the date of the download, or the device it's on) - I try not to edit this version, but if I do I will save it locally - and if I need to save a copy to OneDrive, I save with a different filename, other than the original filename, useless I want edited copy to become the master copy.

Hope this makes sense, and helps you out.

 

[midnightfrolic]

That local folder needs to be in the OneDrive section in Windows File Explorer. Not under your local user account folder.


EXAMPLE:
OneDrive
-Documents
-Desktop
-Pictures
-Videos
-YOUR FOLDER NAME

 

[Captain_Eric]

Bottom line: You can do it. That is, set up a folder that is synced to OneDrive. These guys explained it fairly well.

 

[noknees438]

so, like many of you I've been all over trying to get an answer and decided to come to this forum. So set me straight. I can have the same file in the OneDrive Directory and in the C: drive but if I change the file locally on C;, it will NOT sync and change in the OneDrive directory. I would have to copy that "c" file to OD or just use all the files in the OD directory as I would use them locally in order for them to sync to the cloud, right?

 

[mtf1380]

so, like many of you I've been all over trying to get an answer and decided to come to this forum. So set me straight. I can have the same file in the OneDrive Directory and in the C: drive but if I change the file locally on C;, it will NOT sync and change in the OneDrive directory. I would have to copy that "c" file to OD or just use all the files in the OD directory as I would use them locally in order for them to sync to the cloud, right?

Correct.

> If you open a file from the OneDrive Directory on your computer/laptop/tablet/phone, it will 'download' that file to your computer, were you can edit it.

> when you go to 'save' that edited file you can select the 'SAVE' command, or the 'SAVE AS' command to save a copy of your edited file.

- if you select 'SAVE': the copy will 'update' the original file on OneDrive.​

- if you select 'SAVE AS': you can 'rename' the file and save it to OneDrive (should be the default directory setting), or you can save as the original file (which will update the original file to the edited file), "OR" you can save it to your C:, D:, etc, Drive. By using the last two options (renaming, or sending to a different Drive), you are basically creating a 'copy' (at that point in time) of the original, and is NOW separate and autonomous of the original.

look at it like you had opened a regular file in C: Drive; and after editing that file you saved it under a new name, or in a different Drive, you would now have a COPY of the original; and if you, later, made changes in the original (on C: Drive), it would have no effect on the saved copy on D: Drive.​

to distinguish between the original file on OneDrive, and a saved version elsewhere, I usually suffix the copy by an 'as of date' (i.e.: filename_as of 4-5-2017), or Device (i.e.: filename_SP3 as of 4-5-2017).

Their may be a better method, but this is what I do.

hope this helps.

 

[DLong4]

Concerning OneDrive sync, I am frustrated that a newly created folder on OneDrive using the Surface Pro 4 (which is still awaiting the Creators Update) cannot appear on my Desktop PC (which is running the Creators Update). It's been 3 days and the new folder is not showing up. The Windows Mobile 10's OneDrive app sees the files which the Surface Pro created. And, of course, I can see the One Drive files on the Surface Pro as well.

How do I get the One Drive to sync on the PC?

 

[DLong4]

It looks like Sync is gone from OneDrive. I have 2 PCs with the same account. Each can access the same folders and files on OneDrive, but anything newly uploaded does not show up on the other's view of OneDrive. This results in me having to email files to myself between PCs, which is pretty sad.

Update: I figured out that I needed to run the OneDrive app in order to get the files to sync, that it doesn't all happen by itself.

I found this support page:
https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...problems-83ab0d8a-8400-45b0-8dcf-dc8aa8a6bcf8