Sync your computer's files and folders with OneDrive

​​​​​​​Install and set up OneDrive for Windows

1. Download and install OneDrive for your computer from www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/onedrive/download 
   ​​​​​​​Download OneDrive

   Note: If you have Windows 11, OneDrive is already installed on your PC.

2. Open OneDrive, and when prompted, enter your Microsoft personal account or work or school account, and select Sign in.

3. There are two screens in OneDrive Setup that are helpful to watch for:​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

   • On the This is your OneDrive folder screen, select Next to accept the default folder location for your OneDrive files. If you want to change the folder location, select Change location - this is the best time to make this change.
     

   • On the All your files, ready and on-demand screen, you'll see how files are marked to show them as online-only, locally available, or always available. Files On-Demand helps you access all your files in OneDrive without having to download all of them and use storage space on your Windows device. Select Next.
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4. Once sync has completed, you can:

   • Choose which OneDrive folders sync to your Windows PC so you only keep important files available offline. Learn more.

   • Enable important folder backup for your Windows. Every computer has standard folders such as Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos, which you probably use but might not be included in your OneDrive. By backing up these folders to your OneDrive, they're protected and available across all your devices. Learn how.

   • Add another account. You can have multiple work or school accounts, but only one Personal OneDrive account. Learn more.

You're all set!

Your OneDrive files will appear in File Explorer in the OneDrive folder. If you use more than one account, your personal files appear under OneDrive – Personal and your work or school files appear under OneDrive – [CompanyName].

You will also see the OneDrive cloud icon on the Windows taskbar.

Install and set up OneDrive for Mac

1.  Download and install OneDrive for your computer from www.microsoft.com/microsoft-365/onedrive/download 

   Download OneDrive

2. Start OneDrive Setup by pressing cmd+Space to launch a Spotlight query and type OneDrive. When prompted, enter your Microsoft personal account or work or school account, and select Sign in.

   Note: The OneDrive Sync app for macOS does not currently support adding two business accounts from different organizations if they share the same display name. Attempting to configure such accounts will result in a setup failure.

3. There are a couple of points of OneDrive Setup that are helpful to watch for:

   • When setting up your OneDrive, it has a default location set. However, you can change this during setup. On the This is your OneDrive folder screen, click Change Location.

     

     Select a location where you would like to save your OneDrive files and click Choose this location.

     

     When you see the This is your OneDrive folder screen, you'll now see a path to the folder you selected. Click Next to continue.

     

   • On the Sync Files from Your OneDrive screen, you can choose the folders you want to sync to your computer, and click Next. This conserves space on your computer, and reduces bandwidth needed for the sync processes.

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4. Once sync has completed, you can:

• Enable important folder backup for your Windows. Every computer has standard folders such as Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos, which you probably use but might not be included in your OneDrive. By backing up these folders to your OneDrive, they're protected and available across all your devices. Learn how.

• Add another account. You can have multiple work or school accounts, but only one Personal OneDrive account. Learn more.

• Add Finder integration. If you're on OSX 10.10 or higher, get sync status directly from Finder by enabling Finder overlays in Settings. First, click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your Mac Desktop and select System Preferences, then select Extensions in the top-level menu. Toggle on the OneDrive Finder Integration to enable Finder overlays. 

You're all set! Click Open my OneDrivefolder to see your files sync to your folder.

If you use more than one account, your personal files appear under OneDrive – Personal and your work or school files appear under OneDrive – [CompanyName].

You will also see the OneDrive cloud icon on the Menu bar.