Windows 10: Choose Folders for OneDrive Selective Sync in Windows 10

How to: Choose Folders for OneDrive Selective Sync in Windows 10

How to Choose Folders for OneDrive Selective Sync in Windows 10


OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service where you can view, browse, upload, and share the files you saved online to OneDrive.com. When you save files to OneDrive, the files are automatically available to access or share from any device, even if something happens to your PC.

Microsoft is introducing changes to how OneDrive syncs your files. In Windows 8.1, Microsoft used placeholders on your PC to represent files you have stored in OneDrive. People had to learn the difference between what files were available online (placeholders) versus what was available offline and physically on your PC. Microsoft heard a lot of feedback around this behavior. For example, people would expect that any files they see in File Explorer would be available offline by default. Then they would hop onto a flight (or go someplace without connectivity) and try to access a file they thought was on their PC and it wasnt available because it was just a placeholder. It didnt feel like sync was as reliable as it needed to be. For Windows 10, having OneDrive provide fast and reliable sync of your files is important. OneDrive will now use selective sync. This means you choose what you want synced to your PC from your online OneDrive and it will be. What you see is really there and you dont need to worry about downloading it. You can choose to have all of your online OneDrive files synced to your PC, or just the ones you select, and what you want to keep safe on your online OneDrive cloud.

See: New build available to the Windows Insider Program

This tutorial will show you how to use OneDrive selective sync to choose folders and files from your online OneDrive that you want to sync to the OneDrive folder on your PC in Windows 10.



Here's How:

1. Do step 2 or step 3 below for how you would like to choose folders to sync on your OneDrive.

2. Open your OneDrive folder in File Explorer. Right click or press and hold on a file or folder in OneDrive, click/tap on Choose OneDrive folders to sync, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)



3. Right click or press and hold on the OneDrive

icon on the taskbar notification area, click/tap on the menu (3 dots) button, and click/tap on Settings. (see screenshot below)




A) Click/tap on the Account tab, click/tap on the Choose folders button under the top OneDrive section, and go to step 4 below. (see screenshot below)




4. Do step 5 (sync all) or step 6 (choose) below for what folders you want to sync on your OneDrive.


5. To Sync All Files and Folders on your OneDrive
A) Select (dot) Sync all files and folders in my OneDrive, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below)




6. To Choose Folders to Sync or Unsync on your OneDrive
A) Check or uncheck the folders you want to sync under Sync only these folders, click/tap on OK, and go to step 7 below. (see screenshot below)




7. Your selected folders will now sync on your PC. You can do either option below to check the sync status.
A) Click/tap on the OneDrive icon on the taskbar notification area. (see screenshot below)



OR

B) Open your OneDrive folder in File Explorer. (see screenshot below)




That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Link or Unlink OneDrive with Microsoft Account in Windows 10
• How to Sync Any Folder to OneDrive in Windows 10
• How to Sync Multiple OneDrive Accounts in Windows
• How to Pause Syncing in OneDrive in Windows 10
• How to Reset OneDrive Sync in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Automatically Pause OneDrive Sync when in Battery Saver Mode in Windows 10
• How to Enable or Disable Automatic Pause OneDrive Sync when on Metered Network in Windows 10
• How to Add a OneDrive Open or Close Context Menu in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off Start OneDrive Automatically when you Sign in to Windows 10
• How to Add or Remove Windows 10 PCs from OneDrive Fetch Files
• How to Enable or Disable OneDrive Integration in Windows 10
• How to Change the Location of your OneDrive Folder in Windows 10
• How to Turn On or Off OneDrive Files On-Demand in Windows 10
• Mark OneDrive Files as Always keep on this device for Offline Use in Windows 10
• How to Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10
• How to Auto Save Desktop to OneDrive or This PC in Windows 10
• How to Auto Save Documents to OneDrive or This PC in Windows 10
• How to Auto Save Pictures to OneDrive or This PC in Windows 10
• Turn On or Off Documents, Pictures, and Desktop Folder Protection with OneDrive in Windows 10
• How to Uninstall OneDrive in Windows 10

:)

 

Automatically backup OneDrive Files?

Hi,

When you first set up your Windows 10 system, you will be given the choice of which folders will be downloaded and synced.

To change OneDrive settings later, right-click the OneDrive icon in the notification area, select Settings, switch to the Choose folders tab, and click the Choose folders button. Then, you can either sync All files and folders on your OneDrive or Choose folders
to sync, meaning they will be available locally.

Please let me know, if that helps.

Kind Regards:

Engr. Malik Yasir

 

how do I make onedrive available offline?

In Windows 10 there is no "make available offline" function.

Right-click on one of the folders in OneDrive within File Explorer (that's the new name for Windows Explorer) and choose "Choose OneDrive Folders to Sync"

 

Thanks Shawn..
Great information as usual!
Jeff *Biggrin

 

Hehehe

 

Thanks Shawn. I couldn't convert ESD to ISO so tried in place to 9879. Within hours I got fatal error OneDrive couldn't find Desktop causing it to flash uncontrollably from intact Desktop to error box - without any help from killing tasks, SysRestore, Startup Repair, Refresh or Reset using 9860 disk WinRe. I reimaged 9860.

Do you think clean install will help making these settings adjustments like in the OneDrive desktop app in 7? Looks like that's what they've fallen back to? This works fine for me since I want all files available offline.

Is there any reason to rethink rooting my active User folders in OneDrive and rooting OneDrive in E? This is the config on all my other PCs

One other thing. Will these moves affect built-in Backup of Libraries to another PC on Network which I'm trialing in 10?

Thanks! *Smile*Smile

 

Hey Greg,

If you had moved the OneDrive folder before doing the in-place to 9870, then that could be the issue. If you move them back to default, the in-place may then work properly for OneDrive.

Yeah, it looks pretty much the same as what the OneDrive desktop app for Windows 7 now, but now integrated into Windows.

I've always found that moving user folders usually causes issues. Instead, I usually use include folders in libraries if I want to keep something saved at another location.

It shouldn't affect backing up of libraries.

 

Prob is I want real time User folder synch across all devices. How to do that via Libraries? Abandon Shells to create parallel set in OneDrive added to Library?

 

Yeah, you could add the OneDrive folders to libraries once you get it working.

If you like, you could also just sync the OneDrive folders across all devices that you sign in with the same Microsoft account.

 

Aha! No need to create parallel User folders, just select my existing OneDrive set and add each to Library, then set as default save?

 

Bingo, or just use OneDrive directly.

 

Thanks Shawn! I may be too attached to the shells and their various links and libraries. OneDrive by itself may suffice.

You da man! *Cool

 

Hope it'll do for you. *Smile

 

Yep I've never been a big fan of sync and always used it as what it is a website with all of your goodies on it that can be signed into from any computer anywhere with an internet connection,
And it works very well like that,
Manually upload when I want too *Wink
Cheers.

 

Onedrive doesn't work! The settings to choose folders etc. are grayed out! I'm on build 10240.
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