How to Look in OneDrive and Access Shared Folders

Looking in OneDrive can be a bit tricky if you're not familiar with its layout. You can access OneDrive by signing in to your Microsoft account.

OneDrive is organized into folders, and you can create new folders to store your files. This makes it easy to keep your files organized and find what you need quickly.

To access shared folders, sign in to your Microsoft account and click on the Shared tab. From there, you can view all the shared folders you've been invited to.

You can also access shared folders from the Files tab by clicking on the Shared with me option. This will show you all the files and folders that have been shared with you.

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You can see files or folders shared with you after signing in with your work or school account on the OneDrive website.

The Shared view is not a separate folder, so you can't move items out of it into your Files view. You can copy a shared file to your Files view, but any changes you make to the saved copy won't be reflected in the original file.

Broaden your view: Shared with Me Onedrive

If you have edit permission to a shared folder, you can add a shortcut to it under your Files view, keeping the shared folder alongside your own folders in your Files list.

Any updates you make to the shared folder will sync with the original, so everyone with access to the folder will be up to date.

You can't move items out of the Shared view into your Files view, but you can add a shortcut to shared folders if you have edit permission to a folder.

Curious to learn more? Check out: Add Shortcut to Onedrive

OneDrive files are synced to the cloud automatically, so you can access them from any device with an internet connection. This means you can work on a document on your PC and then pick up where you left off on your tablet or phone.

If you delete a file or folder in your OneDrive, it's deleted from the cloud too. This can be a good thing, but be careful not to delete something important by mistake.

You can access OneDrive files and folders in File Explorer, just like any regular storage drive. This makes it easy to find and manage your files.

If you change a file or folder and save it in OneDrive, the new version will replace the older version stored in the cloud. This is great for keeping your files up to date, but it can also overwrite changes made by others.

If you're offline when you make changes to a file, the newer version will be synced to the cloud when your PC connects to the internet again. This ensures that your changes are always reflected in the cloud, even if you're not connected at the time.

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You can share files and folders with specific people using the Share panel in OneDrive.

To share a file or folder, enter the email addresses of the people you want to invite 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.

Here's an interesting read: How to Share in Onedrive

You can choose from three access levels: Can edit, Can view, and Can't download. If you choose Can edit, the people you've invited can view, download, and make changes to the file or folder, including overwriting the original copy in your OneDrive.

Here's a summary of the access levels:

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