From beginner to pro: get the most out of your OneDrive

05 Apr From beginner to pro: get the most out of your OneDrive

With over 38 million subscribers to Microsoft 365, and in excess of half a billion worldwide using its free applications and services, Microsoft knows a thing or two when it comes to delivering secure, efficient and versatile software. But there is one element of its Microsoft 365 package that is frequently overlooked by users, and that’s the ubiquitous and immensely useful OneDrive.

Always there, working away behind the scenes to sync, save and share documents, many customers fail to use it to its full potential. And that’s a mistake. Here’s why. Did you know that OneDrive provides seamless integration with Teams, 365 and SharePoint? Whilst its perfect for storing personal documents or for small team edits and collaborations, projects can also be shared onwards via Teams and SharePoint. Editing is simple. Saves can be set to automatic. Partnership is effortless.

Here’s our top ten tips for getting more from your OneDrive, whether you’re a beginner or already a pro:

If you’re a OneDrive beginner:

• Storage: Don’t overlook the 1TB of storage available on OneDrive. That’s enough to store 500,000 photos and thousands of documents (depending on their size!)
• Backup: Use PC folder backup to automatically sync your Windows desktop, documents and pictures to OneDrive. Quick, easy, and protected, everything is then backed-up and available across all your devices or from someone else’s if yours crashes (by signing in online to your OneDrive account). You can also automatically backup your phone’s camera roll to OneDrive, keeping all your favourite moments stored, protected, accessible and all in one place. There’s also an option called personal vault, which adds extra protection to sensitive photos and files like passports, driving licenses, medical documents etc.
• On the go: When you’re out and about, it’s easy to use the OneDrive mobile app to access or share files and photos from your mobile device. The mobile app has a great function that you might not be familiar with called scan and save, which allows you to effortlessly capture whiteboard notes, business cards, receipts and photos.
• Collaborating: Using OneDrive as a cloud backup, you can share files and photos, and entire files if you wish. But it’s all completely private until you decide to share, and you have control over who to show, when and what. You can also stop sharing at any point and withdraw permissions.
• Deleting and moving: We’ve all done it – accidentally thrown away a file. With OneDrive, you can track down deleted files (available only on OneDrive for web), and if you’re graduating from school and want to keep using your OneDrive, you can use the mover option to transfer all your files from your school account to your personal account.

If you’re a OneDrive Pro:

• Two-step verification: Add another layer of security to your OneDrive account by using two-step verification across your entire Microsoft account.
• Storage: There are two great storage functions on OneDrive that you might want to use. Manage your storage allows you to see how much storage you have left, and what’s using up the most space; and storage sense, that automatically frees up space on your PC by making local files that you haven’t used recently online-only again.
• Offline access: Offline access, for your iOS phone, laptop or PC allows you to keep working on documents even if you lose internet connection or are on the go without any available data.
• Scan, sign and send: From school permission slips to invoices, with scan, sign and send (available with the OneDrive mobile app) it’s possible to scan, sign and send important documents wherever you are.
• Files details pane: If you’re collaborating with others, the file details pane gives a summary of activity on shared files, including shares, recent activity, and file size/type. If one of your collaborators has made changes that just won’t work and you want to revert them, use the version history to restore any OneDrive file to a previous point in time (up to 30 days after being modified).

Sound interesting? It is. Whatever your current skill level with OneDrive, we can show you in practice how these functions can be ‘turned on’ to ensure that you’re making the most of your subscription spend on Microsoft 365.