Windows 10: Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10

Discus and support Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 in Windows 10 Tutorials to solve the problem; How to: Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 How to Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10... Discussion in 'Windows 10 Tutorials' started by lx07, Jun 15, 2017.

  1. lx07 Win User

    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10


    How to: Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10

    How to Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10

    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Information At Build 2017, Joe Belfiore announced that the new OneDrive Files On-Demand feature will be delivered with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

    OneDrive Files On-Demand is rolling out to Fast ring who are on Windows 10 build 16215. The updated OneDrive client will be rolling out over the next few days but can also be installed from here.

    With Files On-Demand turned on, you can access all your files in the cloud without having to download them and use storage space on your device. All your files—even online-only files—can be seen in File Explorer and work just like every other file on your device. You’ll be able to open online-only files from within any desktop or Windows Store apps using the Windows file picker. And you’re covered in both your home and professional life since it works with your personal and work OneDrive, as well as your SharePoint Online team sites.

    Your files will have these statuses in File Explorer:


    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Online-only files don’t take up space on your computer. You see a cloud icon for each online-only file in File Explorer, but the file doesn’t download to your device until you open it. You can’t open online-only files when your device isn’t connected to the Internet.





    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    When you open an online-only file, it downloads to your device and becomes a locally available file. You can open a locally available file anytime, even without Internet access. If you need more space, you can change the file back to online. Just right-click the file and select “Free up space.”





    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Only files that you mark as Always keep on this device have the green circle with the white check mark. These files download to your device and take up space, but they’re always there for you even when you’re offline.





    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]


    For more information about OneDrive Files On-Demand, see:
    This tutorial will show you how to change locally available OneDrive files back to online-only to free up space in Windows 10.


    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Note Changing a file to online-only doesn't delete it from your OneDrive. The file will just no longer take up space on your device, and you will still be able to see the file from OneDrive mobile apps or on the website.

    When you open an online-only file on your device, it downloads to your device and becomes a locally available file again.



    Here's How:

    1. Open your OneDrive folder on the PC. (see screenshot below)

    2. Select one or more files and/or folders with a "locally available" or "Always keep on this device" status you want to change to "online-only".

    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]
    Tip If you would like to change all of your OneDrive files to "online-only" all at once, you could right click on the OneDrive folder in the navigation pane of File Explorer, and click/tap on Free up space.


    3. Right click or press and hold on the selected item(s), and click/tap on Free up space.


    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]



    That's it,
    Shawn


    Related Tutorials

    :)
     

  2. [Q] How to delete camera roll all at once in Windows 10 Mobile?

    I just found a solution. I have tested it and it works.

    Windows 10 Mobile comes with a built-in app named "Explorer". The Dutch name is "Verkenner".

    • Open Explorer
    • Select 'This device'
    • Browse to Pictures
    • Then select '...", and 'Select all'
    • Then you can delete them...

    This work perfectly. You now have available storage. Everything is still on OneDrive and your albums are also present. Your photos (Camera Roll) are just only available online.

    Although I would prefer there would be a clean-up function that gives users some information about it. Because not many people like to do it this way. And it does not provide you with information whether or not your OneDrive files are deleted, and if you
    albums get unrecognized.
     
    Boudewijn Plomp, Jun 15, 2017
    #2
  3. [Q] How to delete camera roll all at once in Windows 10 Mobile?

    Microsoft really leave a big black hole at managing OneDrive space vs. local phone storage. I'm losing hours trying to find out how to free local space WITHOUT losing my photo's on OneDrive. I've ended up deleting photos from OneDrive, including deleting
    them from the Recycle Bin on OneDrive. The photos finally disappear from my phone, but free storage space isn't going up. The storage setting for photos is This Device. I need to clear space on my device for the system update. Please help.
     
    Siem Eikelenboom, Jun 15, 2017
    #3
  4. Brink
    Brink New Member

    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10

    You should be able to right click on the OneDrive folder in the navigation pane, and click/tap on Free up space to change everything in the folder back to Online-only.


    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]
     
    Brink, Jun 15, 2017
    #4
  5. lx07 Win User
    That doesn't work unfortunately - it converts everything to online-only irrespective of whether it was "Available on this device" or "Always available on this device".
     
  6. Brink
    Brink New Member
    "Online-only" is technically "Available when online".

    If you open the "Online-only" file, it'll then become 'locally-available".
     
    Brink, Jun 16, 2017
    #6
  7. LarryTX Win User
    "Free up space" is grayed for all folders, including the base OneDrive folder. Only individual files can be made Available Online.
     
    LarryTX, Jul 30, 2017
    #7
  8. Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10

    You can use "Free Up Space" on the OneDrive folder itself. That will remove all local copies of all files within one drive.

    Edit actually it seems to work on any folder that has local copies of files available...

    If your folder does not have any files in it or there are no local files there, the option will be grayed out.
     
    slicendice, Jul 30, 2017
    #8
  9. LarryTX Win User
    @slicendice. Apparently I wasn't clear in my original post. When I right click on the OneDrive folder in File Explorer and on any subordinate folders, the option "Free Up Space" is grayed, disabled, not available, unclickable.I am unable to use it.
     
    LarryTX, Jul 30, 2017
    #9
  10. Do you have any files already downloaded locally? If not then there is nothing to clean up and the option is grayed out.
     
    slicendice, Jul 30, 2017
    #10
  11. LarryTX Win User
    Nooo. I did indeed have many, many files downloaded.Actually, >40Gb of files (or more than 34,000 files) are completely synced between the cloud and the local drive.
     
    LarryTX, Jul 30, 2017
    #11
  12. Oh, there must be a BETA BUG then. For me OneDrive works exactly as it was designed to do, except for one thing. Sometimes the file status icons in Explorer don't get updated properly. Shows as syncing though it's already locally available.
     
    slicendice, Jul 31, 2017
    #12
  13. lx07 Win User

    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10

    If that was the design it is a mistake and even from their choice of icons it makes no sense.

    If you want to revert the ones the ones that are not explicitly "Always available off line" to online only to free space, you can't.

    That is to say, I can't free space of those that downloaded themselves and not free space for the ones I decided to be always available.

    It is a shame as it is generally better implemented than the placeholders in Windows 8 - "Online only" files take 0 bytes rather than the 4k each the placeholders took for example.

    Perhaps it is just a bug, as you say, but it certainly doesn't currently work the way common sense would indicate.
     
  14. What icon choices? A green icon for locally available, a cloud for available but is currently online only and the sync icon for sync. Makes totally sense to me. If you are referring to the icon where you have an empty folder and it's marked as available offline, then that is correct too, as there is nothing to download. You already see the folder, thus locally available. *Smile

    I can make files local, one at a time, multiple files at a time, single folder and multiple folders at a time, or whole OneDrive at once. I can also free up space one file at a time, multiple files at a time, one folder at a time, multiple folders at a time and the whole OneDrive in one blow.

    Isn't that how it's supposed to work?
     
    slicendice, Aug 2, 2017
    #14
  15. lx07 Win User
    How I understand it you have 3 status.


    Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 [​IMG]


    These are (from the top)

    1. Online (a file which has not been downloaded). This is a placeholder for stuff just in the cloud.
    2. A file that has been downloaded. This is stuff that you haven't specifically said should be on your device but has downloaded as you looked at a picture or ran a program that downloaded its dependencies.
    3. Always offline. This is stuff you said should always be on your device.

    I want to push number 2 off my device as I didn't specifically say I wanted it. Unfortunately you can't do this.

    At the moment status 2 and 3 are treated the same when obviously they should not be. Status 3 you asked to be always on your device and status 2 you didn't.

    At the moment 2 and 3 are treated the same. This is either a bug or poor design.
     
Thema:

Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10

Loading...
  1. Free Up Space from Locally Available OneDrive Files in Windows 10 - Similar Threads - Free Space Locally

  2. free up space in onedrive

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    free up space in onedrive: OneDrive is using up most of the storage on my HDD and I'd like to change that. I've already done "free up space" in the OneDrive app and that didn't do anything. I uninstalled the OneDrive app, but it still left the OneDrive folder on the pc and I no longer had the OneDrive...
  3. free up space in onedrive

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    free up space in onedrive: OneDrive is using up most of the storage on my HDD and I'd like to change that. I've already done "free up space" in the OneDrive app and that didn't do anything. I uninstalled the OneDrive app, but it still left the OneDrive folder on the pc and I no longer had the OneDrive...
  4. How to undo deleted "Free up Space" local OneDrive Folder

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    How to undo deleted "Free up Space" local OneDrive Folder: I mistakenly deleted onedrive folder on my local computer by choosing "Free up Space" from folder properties. The folder is no longer present on local computer. I do have a 2nd computer that still shows the the original folder local, and in onedrive cloud. Both computers show...
  5. How to undo deleted "Free up Space" local OneDrive Folder

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    How to undo deleted "Free up Space" local OneDrive Folder: I mistakenly deleted onedrive folder on my local computer by choosing "Free up Space" from folder properties. The folder is no longer present on local computer. I do have a 2nd computer that still shows the the original folder local, and in onedrive cloud. Both computers show...
  6. How to undo deleted "Free up Space" local OneDrive Folder

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    How to undo deleted "Free up Space" local OneDrive Folder: I mistakenly deleted onedrive folder on my local computer by choosing "Free up Space" from folder properties. The folder is no longer present on local computer. I do have a 2nd computer that still shows the the original folder local, and in onedrive cloud. Both computers show...
  7. Onedrive won't free up space

    in Windows 10 Software and Apps
    Onedrive won't free up space: I have been using Windows 11 on a Surface Pro 7 for several months. As the C drive is only 120gb I have set 'Save space and download files as you use them' on Onedrive thus keeping 40gb or so free. However recently OneDrive is constantly being synced to the device using all...
  8. Onedrive won't free up space

    in Windows 10 Gaming
    Onedrive won't free up space: I have been using Windows 11 on a Surface Pro 7 for several months. As the C drive is only 120gb I have set 'Save space and download files as you use them' on Onedrive thus keeping 40gb or so free. However recently OneDrive is constantly being synced to the device using all...
  9. Onedrive and Free up space

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Onedrive and Free up space: Hello,Using Onedrive to back up folders on my W10 desktop.In order not to double up storage usage on my desktop, I am right clicking on the Onedrive folders and selecting Free up space which then grays out that option.But the next day when I go back to those folders, the Free...
  10. Onedrive Free up space

    in Windows 10 Network and Sharing
    Onedrive Free up space: Hi I wanted to Free up laptop space so I selected my Photos folder onedrive and hit free up. PC grinds away and hey presto blue cloud next to all my photo folders, Job done. However....About an hour later I get a notification saying I had deleted a large number of files...