OneDrive: How to use it on Windows 10

There are many innovations awaiting users who have switched to Windows 10 . One of them is the pre-installed OneDrive client app.

In the system tray, out of nowhere, an icon appeared – a cloud with settings that allow, if necessary, to change the parameters of autoload and synchronization of the service. What is OneDrive and how do I use it? Read on and find out everything.

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Table of Contents

Microsoft OneDrive: what is it?

OneDrive is a cloud-based Microsoft file storage service. It is usually loaded with photos, videos, documents and other data to hedge against a hard drive breakdown , as well as:

to synchronize data between PC and smartphone,
transferring information to another user,
collaboration, etc.

For users who plan to upload files to the cloud and not pay anything for the service, the company provides 5 GB of free storage. If necessary, you can eventually switch to a paid subscription. Another option for obtaining additional cloud space is to participate in the referral program.

OneDrive is not only a web service, but also client software integrated into Windows 10. On a Windows 7 computer, you can download and install the client application for free, after which a OneDrive folder will appear on the disk. After setting up the storage, you can access documents, photos or other files from almost any device on Windows, MacOS , Android. How to use OneDrive from another device – below in the text.

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Create a Microsoft cloud storage account

Microsoft accounting is needed to use various services of the corporation, including cloud storage. You can start it on the website microsoft.ua:

We go to the web resource, in the upper right corner, click on the login icon.
The login window will open. In it, select the link “Create yogo!”
In the window for creating an account, enter your email at gmail.com.
We enter the password from Google mail, or even better, for security purposes, come up with a new secret combination of characters.
Enter the last name and first name. This infa is not pulled from Google mail, since we are creating a new account, although it will be tied to the same email.
Enter the date of birth.
At the end of registration, a confirmation code will be sent to the mail. It must be inserted into the appropriate field on the Microsoft account activation page.
After registration is complete, the microsoft.ua login icon will change its appearance, signaling successful authorization.

If there is no mail on gmail.com, it is not difficult to create one. A Google site is always happy to welcome new users.

It is better to register a Microsoft account from a computer on which licensed Windows is installed. The corporation’s services are intended for users who prefer legal software.

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Setting up OneDrive: a step-by-step guide

The OneDrive client application is included in Windows 10. If you use the “seven” – for the service to work, you need to download the software. To download, you can type OneDrive.com and the browser will transfer you to the page of the Microsoft site, from which you can record the program on your PC.

In the “top ten” to launch and configure OneDrive, click on “Start” and the name of the application. Algorithm for further actions:

At the entrance, the service asks you to enter your email and Microsoft account password. Enter the data for authorization.
Select the folder where the files will be saved. Instead of the C drive directory, you can stop at some other location.
So that nothing is lost, OneDrive offers to sync 3 folders in which users usually store personal information: Desktop, Docks and Pictures. The feasibility of such a decision is questionable. If configured incorrectly, the contents of these 3 directories will move to the cloud, and only shortcuts will remain on the PC.
Synchronization is in progress.
OneDrive is ready to go.

If you need to change the settings after the first launch of OneDrive, right-click on the “cloud” in the system tray, enter the options. There you can turn off automatic synchronization after each turn on of the computer, which will speed up the preparation of the PC for work.

Some users who have configured the default storage, then complain that they have a long and tedious time syncing PC, Documents and Images. The situation can be corrected as follows:

open the “cloud” in the notification area, enter the parameters;
select the “Backup” tab;
click “Manage backup”;
select “Stop Backup” for each of the 3 folders.

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How to work with OneDrive

For those who are used to working with cloud services, it will not be difficult to deal with OneDrive. Everything is logical and intuitive. All users have access to the following operations in the web interface.

Adding files and folders. Conveniently, you can start uploading an entire catalog to the cloud with one click.

Downloading information to a computer.
If you select a file and click “Delete”, it will go to the trash. After 30 days, it will be permanently deleted.
Copying, moving, changing file names.
Quickly copy a link that other users can use to open the file.

In OneDrive, you can grant temporary or permanent access to your files to others with read or edit permission.

The OneDrive folder on your computer has the same properties as other directories, plus it syncs periodically. You can save files to it, delete them, etc. In addition to the traditional characteristics of files and folders (type, date of modification, etc.), Windows shows the state of the elements:

a green circle means that the synchronization has passed;
red cross – failed;
blue arrows – in progress;
cloud – in the PC only a shortcut.

You can work with or without an internet connection in the OneDrive catalog . In the second case, the synchronization will take place later.

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File and folder management

The standard operations with files and folders are described above. It remains to mention the possibility to share them. A quick guide on how to share information on your computer in the OneDrive folder:

Right click on the file and select “Share link …”. A link is automatically copied to the clipboard, which can be sent by email. mail to a friend. You can also send him a link through the social network.
If instead of “Share link …” you select “More options …” – a web interface with access settings will open. You can give the opportunity to edit a file, set access restrictions by time, set a password, and so on.

There is nothing complicated in the web interface either:

Select a file or folder.
On the panel at the top, click “Share”.
In the window that opens, you can enter the recipient’s mail or click on the “Copy link” button. In the second case, a link to the file / folder will open.

Before point # 3, you can configure access. By default, link recipients are editable.

Another interesting feature that will be of more interest to owners of Android devices is the automatic sending of camera data to the storage. It’s easy to set up:

Go to the files in the “Photos” tab.
We turn on the sending of data.

In the transmission parameters, to save traffic, it makes sense to select the option – use only Wi-Fi.

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Configuring access and security

If you want, you can share all the files on your PC so that you can open them from other devices. Only the data of the OneDrive folder will be synchronized, as before, and the rest will be able to view and download, editing is not provided. To enable access, right-click on the cloud in the system tray and in the “Options” section, put a tick in the “Allow use …” checkbox. Then we restart the application. In the same window, by the way, you can configure enabling / disabling the autorun of the client service and notifications about changes in shared files.

In addition to the “Allow use …” checkbox, of course, two more conditions must be met:

PC is connected to the Internet,
The OneDrive client application is running.

When you try to access your computer from another device for the first time, you will be stopped by a security check. You will need to select “Sign in with a code …”. The secret combination of symbols will come to your mail or phone .

To avoid unauthorized access to your device, it is advisable to use OneDrive carefully, as Microsoft recommends. Corporation representatives advise:

set a strong password for Microsoft account;
add information to your account, which will come in handy in case of a hacked account (phone number, second e-mail, secret question / answer);
use two-factor verification for authorization;
enable encryption on iOS and Android devices.

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Synchronization

The user selects the list of folders to be synchronized when installing the client application on a PC. By default, it includes Desktop, Docks and Pictures files. You can uncheck these boxes and leave only the OneDrive folder. Synchronization makes it possible to edit the same file from multiple devices. For example, work in the office with a document, and then, if necessary, make some edits to it at home. If syncing to OneDrive fails, the problem may be one of the following:

The file being synced is larger than 10 GB.
The file path is longer than 400 characters. If you’ve moved your OneDrive folder to the wilds of the directory, syncing might fail.
Exceeded the limit of 5 GB, which the service allocates for free.

If there is no syncing for other reasons, you can try disabling / enabling OneDrive on your PC:

right click on the cloud in the tray, select “Exit”;
click Start and OneDrive.

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How to use OneDrive from another device

From another device, you can open and edit files using the web interface. Another possibility is to view and download files from any directory of another PC without editing. To do this, you need to enable the corresponding setting in the system tray. When everything is ready, in the web interface, click on Computers. A list of PCs linked to your account will open. Choosing the right one. Click to open the list of logical drives. We choose what we need, open or download.

In conclusion, we give a table in which, in addition to free services, there is a paid OneDrive:

Package of services	Family	Personal	Standard	Base
Price, UAH	2600 per year	1900 per year	60 per month	Is free
Storage size, GB	6000	1000	100	5
Microsoft 365	+	+	–	–

For a family and personal package of services, you can pay a monthly fee, but this option will cost more.