OneDrive for Business is online storage (with about 1TB of space if you’re using Office 365) available for business purposes.  It is very similar to your personal OneDrive except that the latter is intended for personal use and initially limited to 5GB of space only (unless you buy additional space from Microsoft).

Your system administrators may have set up OneDrive for Business on your local machines.  Your files and folders have been set up to synchronize to the cloud and you’ve been saving, copying, and moving files on your File Explorer.  But unknown to most regular users, there is some pretty cool stuff available with OneDrive for Business.  Here are some of the top features:

1. The Icons

OneDrive uses 3 different cloud icons (see below.) The old OneDrive for Business (Groove.exe) is now only being used for Sharepoint.  If you are not sharing your OneDrive files/folders, you may not even see this icon. This icon is going away very soon as its functionality (Sharepoint) will be combined with the new OneDrive for Business client (OneDrive.exe).

2. Selective Folder Sync

Unlike the old OneDrive for Business client (where you sync either all files or none), the new OneDrive for Business allows you to select which files/folders you want to sync.

On your system tray:

1. Right click on the new OneDrive for Business icon
2. Select “Settings”
3. Go to the “Account” tab
4. Click “Choose folders”
5. Check/uncheck boxes for the files/folders that you want to sync/unsync.

3. Move your “Documents” folder to OneDrive

Did you know that you can move your “Documents” folder to your OneDrive for Business folder so that anything you save in that “Documents” folder will be synced with OneDrive for Business?

On File Explorer:

1. Right click on your “Documents” shortcut
2. Select “Properties”
3. Go to the “Location” tab
4. Click “Move” button
5. Then locate your OneDrive for Business folder (you may want to create a sub-folder named “Documents” first in your OneDrive for Business folder and choose that folder for ease of identification)
6. Click “Select Folder”, then “OK”.

NOTE:  You can do the same for your Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos and Desktop shortcut folders.

4. Careful with your Outlook 2016 File Attachments!

One neat feature of Outlook 2016 is that it remembers the last few documents that you opened so you can conveniently search and attach the file in your email.  If the file is in your OneDrive for Business folder though, you will see two entries of the same filename.  One bears the OneDrive cloud overlay icon and the other one doesn’t.   If you want to share the file to your co-workers or friends to collaborate with, pick the one with the cloud icon.  (Note: They will be able to edit your document from your OneDrive.)  Otherwise, select the other one to just send a copy of the file.

5. OneDrive for Business on Mobile Phones/Tablets

The coolest feature of OneDrive for Business is that you can also view, edit and delete documents with your mobile phone or tablet.

1. Download the “Microsoft OneDrive” app from your App Store/Play Store. Install it, then run.
2. Click on the 3-line icon at the upper left-hand corner.
3. Select “Add OneDrive for Business” then follow the prompts.

If you have any questions about OneDrive or Microsoft Office 365, please contact us!