OneDrive in Windows 8.1 has this nifty feature of a placeholder or smart sync that lets you download only the files from the cloud that you need. But citing a lame reason, that users were unaware of this feature and therefore did not use it, Microsoft removed it in Windows 10.
But as always, there’s a workaround that brings the feature back. Let’s see what it is and another method.
Network drive method
Step 1: Sign in to your OneDrive account on the browser.
Step 2: Go to Your Files. In the browser’s address bar, copy the following text cid=. The CID is a unique ID associated with your account and will be used in the next step.
Step 3: Enter My computer on your PC, right click Network in the sidebar, click Map of network drives... This will open a new wizard window.
Step 4: Select the drive letter from the drop-down menu and in the Folder field type https://d.docs.live.net/ and concatenate the CID you copied in the second step. Tick the box Reconnect on login box and click Complete.
Step 5: It will start trying to connect and once connected will ask you for your OneDrive Credentials. Enter them and tick Remember my login information so you don’t have to enter it again and again.
Do not check the box on the shared PC
Hot Tip: Using OneDrive, you can access all the files on your PC from anywhere, learn how.
Selective folder sync
The above method is great for not storing every file on your PC. But what if you only want certain folders to be available all the time on your PC. OneDrive has built-in functionality.
Just right click on the OneDrive icon on the taskbar and click Settings > Account tab > Select folder. In the newly opened window, select the folders you want to sync.
Alternative – Odrive
Odrive is an alternative client for OneDrive and many other cloud services that offers placeholder features and selective synchronization. Follow the step-by-step process to set up.
Step 1: Download the Odrive Desktop client from here and install it. Odrive will appear as a folder and an icon in the task tray with some basic options.
Step 2: Since most of the installations are web-based, linking the cloud accounts is done in a similar way. Open your Odrive account in your browser and click Get a link. Add OneDrive and any other cloud services you want to link by entering your credentials and granting the necessary permissions.
Step 3: Open the Odrive folder on your PC and right click > Refresh if your cloud services folder is not present. Your folder and all files will be links and will only download when you open a particular file.
If you want to turn the downloaded file or folder back into a placeholder, just right click on it and click Cancel sync.
Odrive is very good, with some pretty good (paid) add-ons, but if you just want a placeholder or smart sync for Ondedrive then only the first method should suffice.
Is this feature coming back?
There are some reports that Microsoft has listened to users’ opinions and is thinking of bringing the placeholder feature in the next big Redstone update. But Microsoft hasn’t announced it officially, let’s take that news with a pinch of salt and fold your arms.
ALSO SEE: Microsoft makes unlimited free storage change for Office365 users: Here’s what changed
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
