Smart Files allows a method of viewing SkyDrive files without problems as they use up space on the local disk. So if you set up SkyDrive in Windows 8.1, you can view photos and documents without actually storing them locally. View and open any files you want to view and they will automatically upload as if the files were stored on your computer. Then, when you’re done using it, the file will mostly remove itself from the system, but still appear as if it were a local file. Think of it as a method of cloud storage that disguises itself as local storage.
This can also be thought of as viewing your SkyDrive account online but in the context of the Windows file system. You can see all the files, but no files have been downloaded yet. Only when you access the file will it be stored temporarily locally. However, if you decide you want to always have a particular file available offline, you can easily allow this directly in Windows. On the contrary, to just store it online, it’s just a click away in reverse.
See how this is done by looking at my own SkyDrive account in Windows 8.1.
How to use SkyDrive Smart Files
You must use a Microsoft account to use SkyDrive. Sign in to your account to get started.
Note: If you don’t have a Microsoft account, you can create one here.
You may need to update Windows before using SkyDrive, of which you can do so through Windows Update utilities in Dashboard.
Once the updates are complete and SkyDrive is ready to use, browse to the SkyDrive folders just like you would any folder in Windows. You will see all the files and folders you have in your account.
Immediately, we were able to check the properties of the entire SkyDrive account to see that only 2MB of the 8.5MB were being used. This proves that while we see all the files and folders in the account, they don’t actually reside locally like the previous SkyDrive files.
If you right click on any folder or file, notice the online/offline status. By default, the file is set to online only. This means the status will say Offer offline, to denote the opposite of its current state. So the file we see below is online only. This means I can watch it over and over again and it won’t be downloaded to my computer anymore. Therefore, no local space is being used.
However, if my connection goes offline, I will no longer have access to this particular file. Click Offer offline on any file or folder to actually sync the file to the physical drive.
If you do this, the status will then change to Offline available in the status bar, like this:
To prove it again, I’ve done the whole thing background image directory is available offline. This will increase the amount of local storage used by SkyDrive.
Local space used before sync:
Local space is used after provisioning offline:
Should you use SkyDrive smart files?
The things that will benefit from smart files are those that don’t need to sync all their files all the time. The problem I’ve always had with SkyDrive in the past is that I don’t need all my videos and documents synced, just my photos, for example. But if I want them to be synced to my desktop, I have no option to re-sync those folders. Smart files, however, allow me to selectively choose what to sync and exactly when I want to pull them down for local use.
Also, if you have very little space on your computer, using SkyDrive smart files can benefit you because it’s like you have an external cloud account. You can see all the files, but they are not indented into your free space. View them anytime but don’t worry about them being stored locally.
If you always use all of your SkyDrive files or want them to always be available, then you’ll want to sync each item. The purpose of smart files is not to do this (although it is obviously possible), so you should be fine without this “smart” feature we found in Windows 8.1.
Conclusion
Using SkyDrive smart files is easy. It’s as if you’re using them locally but not using space. You can clearly see from the demonstration above that all your SkyDrive files can be viewed and accessed without syncing to the local system. This is a great feature that SkyDrive has rolled out, and you should try it out as soon as you get the chance.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
