How do I keep a local copy or back-up of my OneDrive files?

There may be cases in which you may want to keep local copies of some or all of your OneDrive files. As long you have enough storage space on your local hard drive and the content is not restricted from being synced by Information Security policies, then this can be easily done. You may also find this useful to ensure you have a local copy so you can work with files when you will be offline (i.e upcoming snow day or working remotely in an area with poor internet connectivity).

NOTE: Sync should only be used for data that is not restricted per the UMS data classification, or disallowed by the individual's department.  Questions may be directed to the Information Security Office.

Instructions

Keep a local copy

macOS

  1. Open a Finder window and navigate to your OneDrive folder
  2. Navigate within your OneDrive folder to the content you want to always keep a local copy of
  3. Right-click on the folder or file and select Always Keep on this Device from the right-click menu

TIP: To no longer keep a local copy, right-click on the folder or file and click Free Up Space

Windows

  1. Open File Explorer and navigate to your OneDrive folder
  2. Navigate within your OneDrive folder to the content you want to always keep a local copy of
  3. Right-click on the folder or file and select Always Keep on this Device from the right-click menu

INFO: For more information on sync status icons, see Microsoft's documentation on Sync Status

NOTE: If backing up OneDrive files because your OneDrive account will soon be de-activated, once there are green circles with the white check-marks next to the content indicating it has completed syncing and has a local copy on the device.

Back-up OneDrive

Sync your OneDrive files, once there are green circles with the white checkmarks next to the content indicating it has completed syncing and has a local copy on the device. Then you should also copy the content to a folder to a folder outside of your OneDrive folder. Then to truly back it up, save a copy to an external hard drive or another cloud storage service (NOTE: ensure appropriate for classification of the content).

Environment

  • macOS
  • Windows
  • OneDrive Client

 

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