How Does OneDrive Work on PC: A Beginner's Guide

OneDrive is a cloud storage service that allows you to store and access your files from anywhere, on any device.

To get started with OneDrive on your PC, you'll need to download and install the OneDrive app from the Microsoft website. This will give you access to your OneDrive account and allow you to sync your files across all your devices.

OneDrive offers a free storage plan of 5 GB, which is a great starting point for most users. However, if you need more storage space, you can upgrade to a paid plan, which starts at 1 TB.

You can access your OneDrive account from the OneDrive app on your PC, and also from the OneDrive website.

To get started with OneDrive on your PC, you'll need a Microsoft account. If your company uses Microsoft 365 or you have an Outlook.com account, you already have a Microsoft account.

You can sign up for a free Microsoft account if you don't have one already. With a free account, you get 5GB of OneDrive storage, which is a great starting point.

OneDrive offers more storage options if you need them. You can upgrade to 100GB storage or more by subscribing to a Microsoft 365 plan, starting at $2 per month.

If you prefer to work in the desktop, you can download the OneDrive desktop app. This will add a OneDrive folder to your File Explorer, making it easy to upload and access your files.

To install the OneDrive app, navigate to the Download OneDrive page and select the file for your Windows version. Once downloaded, open the file and follow the instructions to install OneDrive.

Here are the steps to install OneDrive:

If you have Windows 8.1 or later, you already have the OneDrive app on your computer, so you won't need to download and install it.

OneDrive creates Desktop, Documents, and Pictures folders in the OneDrive folder in your user profile when folder backup is on.

Windows creates these folders in the OneDrive folder in your user profile, resetting the location of the known folders to point to those newly created OneDrive versions.

Your files that were in C:\Users\Your_profile_name\Documents are now in C:\Users\Your_profile_name\OneDrive\Documents.

The Desktop and Pictures folders have also been relocated.

To turn folder backup on or off, right-click your OneDrive in the navigation pane on the left in File Explorer, select OneDrive, and then Settings.

In the Sync and backup category, you can toggle the switch to the right of each folder name to turn backup for it off or on.

You can also decide on a case-by-case basis, allowing you to store certain files online only while others are stored both online and locally.

To set this up, you can right-click a folder or file stored only in the cloud and select Always keep on this device to permanently keep the file on your PC.

Alternatively, you can right-click on a folder or file stored locally and select Free up space to remove the file from your PC and store it online only.

If you're running low on drive space, turning on Files On-Demand can save space on your drive by storing files online only.

However, this means you need to be online to access your files.

You can also enable options that will automatically upload photos, videos, and screenshots to OneDrive storage.

To do this, open the OneDrive settings menu and click the Backup tab in Windows 10 and earlier versions of Windows 11.

Alternatively, in Windows 11 22H2, select the Sync and backup category and then click the Manage backup button.

By default, a file in your OneDrive is downloaded to your PC when you select it to open or access it from an application.

You can change this option by opening OneDrive settings and clicking the Settings tab.

The Files On-Demand setting to remove your OneDrive files from local storage on your computer should be enabled by default.

In Windows 11 22H2, you can find this option in the Sync and backup category by clicking the drop-down link for Advanced settings.

You can store files online only by right-clicking on a folder or file stored locally and selecting Free up space.

This will remove the file from your PC and store it online only.

You can also store certain files online only while others are stored both online and locally by right-clicking a folder or file stored only in the cloud and selecting Always keep on this device.

Syncing files is a crucial aspect of how OneDrive works on PC. Files in your OneDrive are synced to the cloud, and if you delete a file or folder, it's deleted from the cloud as well.

To access your OneDrive files and folders, you can interact with them like any regular storage drive connected to your PC. You can put your files or folders in it by dragging and dropping them from another location, or by saving a document, image, or other file type to it from an application.

Files in your OneDrive are synced to the cloud, and if you make changes to a file and save it in OneDrive, the new version will replace the older version stored in the cloud. If you're offline when you make changes, the newer version of the file or folder will be synced to the cloud when your PC connects to the internet again.

The sync status of files in your OneDrive is denoted with small icons beside their names. A cloud icon indicates that the file or folder is only in the cloud, while a green checkmark on a white circle means it's in the cloud and also saved on your PC's storage drive.

Here's a breakdown of the sync status icons:

Sharing files is a breeze with OneDrive on your PC. You can share files or folders in OneDrive for Windows by right-clicking the file or folder in File Explorer and selecting OneDrive from the menu.

To start, click Share from the OneDrive menu, and the Share panel will open. If you're using a Microsoft 365 account owned by your company, your IT administrator may have restricted the options for sharing a web link to a file or folder.

You can invite specific people to access the file or folder by entering their email addresses in the first field. If they're in your Outlook contacts, you can start typing their name and select from the suggestions that pop up.

You can set the access level to your file or folder by clicking the pencil icon to the right. Depending on your account, you may see options to set the access level to Can edit, Can view, or Can't download.

Here are the access level options in more detail:

You can also enter a brief message for the recipients to read, then click Send. An email will be sent to the recipients with a link to your file or folder that only they can open.

You can access your OneDrive files and folders in File Explorer, just like any regular storage drive connected to your PC.

To interact with OneDrive, simply drag and drop files or folders into it, or save documents and other files directly to it from an application. This will sync the files to the cloud.

If you delete a file or folder in OneDrive, it will also be deleted from the cloud. Conversely, if you change a file or folder and save it to OneDrive, the new version will replace the older version stored in the cloud.

By default, files in your OneDrive are downloaded to your PC when you select them to open or access from an application.

You can free up disk space by storing all your OneDrive files in the cloud only. To do this, click the "Free up disk space" option in File Explorer.

To make your OneDrive files or folders available offline, right-click them and select "Always keep on this device." This will download a copy of the file or folder to your PC's main storage drive.

Here are the sync status icons you'll see in OneDrive:

You can view a log of recent syncing actions done to files and folders in your OneDrive by clicking the OneDrive icon on the notification area of the taskbar.