- #Onedrive for mac free up space how to#
- #Onedrive for mac free up space update#
The main issue isn’t data loss, it’s changes in the way folders appear in Finder. If you wanted to be very sure, make a separate copy of all your files, especially those in OneDrive storage.Apple TimeMachine, if enabled, also has a copy of current and past files.OneDrive saves all deleted and changed files for 30 days.Happily there’s already one or two backups in place.
#Onedrive for mac free up space update#
Ideally do the macOS update at the end of the day and leave your Mac on overnight to give OneDrive a chance to update all the files and settings. Update with a stable Internet connection. Don’t do it in the middle of an important job, just in case there’s a problem. Update to macOS v12.3 at some idle or downtime. Some precautions are prudent, our suggestions: We’re always wary of major changes in software. If you have a standard macOS setup with a single drive and no special apps or settings, all should be OK. Hopefully the changeover will be smooth and trouble free. OneDrive files are visible in Finder in the usual way. This location is usually hidden from users. Up to now, users could change the root folder location. The sync root folder moves to ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive-Personal and can’t be changed. But you can mark whole folders (all folders) as “Always Keep on this Device” or “Free up Space”. Files On Demand will be on for all users and can’t be disabled. The only way to stop OneDrive changing is to stop the macOS update. OneDrive will change to the new Files On Demand system when the macOS update is installed. If you are having problems with OneDrive Files On-Demand, work through these steps.The new OneDrive is rolling out now for macOS 12.1 and later.įrom the next update v12.3 the new technology and OneDrive Files on Demand system is required. If you are downloading and installing OneDrive for the first time, you will see all these screens, but possibly in a different order. This step-by-step guide assumes OneDrive is already installed on the Mac. You can choose to have some files online and some offline, so it is up to you how much drive space is used. If you are familiar with making an alias for an app on the Mac, it’s like that. The drive space on the computer is then the same as the space used on OneDrive online.īy enabling Files On-Demand, all the files on the computer can be replaced with links to the online files, and this uses almost no drive space on the computer, while still providing access to all the files. It is possible to sync all the files on OneDrive and keep a mirror copy on the Mac’s drive. The file remains on the Mac in case it is needed again and is automatically synced with the online version, but there is an option to replace it with a link again. The file then opens as a local file on the Mac’s drive. Any attempt to access it, such as by opening it in an application, triggers a download. Opening a local file (link) automatically downloads it first.īasically, it looks like the file is on the Mac’s drive, but really it is a link to the inline version. This is a feature of Microsoft OneDrive that replaces local files in the computer’s OneDrive folder with links to the online files. A better solution is to use the Files On-Demand feature. This works, but is inconvenient when you need to access files in folders that are not synced. There are two solutions to this problem and one is to sync only some of the folders on OneDrive online with the OneDrive folder on the Mac’s drive instead of all of them. Another problem is that syncing so many files can use a lot of internet data. 
Hopefully, you have a bigger drive in your Mac, but there still may not be sufficient free space to sync all your online files and have local copies on the Mac’s drive. Clearly you cannot sync the OneDrive folder on the Mac with your OneDrive folder online if the drive is not big enough. Some Apple MacBooks have as little as 128 GB drives. Here is the problem: You can have up to 1 TB of online storage with OneDrive for your work or personal files and even if you don’t have the top of the range subscription, you could still have tens of gigabytes of online files.
#Onedrive for mac free up space how to#
Here’s how to use Files On-Demand with the OneDrive app on macOS. Microsoft OneDrive online storage works great with the Apple Mac and it enables you to access work and personal files.
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