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Five steps from "Classic Sync" to "Add to OneDrive"
A change from the classic method of synchronization to the new synchronization with Add to OneDrive is not always easy. After I have described the principles here, then also again showed the advantages and disadvantages, now a step-by-step guide.
We have synchronized the entire library. It does not matter how many items are included. When the "Files on demand" function is enabled, the files that I do not have in progress do not take up space on the hard disk.
This is about the SharePoint Online document library B2B-Marketing. The icon next to the folder indicates that the files are in the cloud. Only with the displays Microsoft still has its problems, because a file actually shows in the folder the display "locally available". The only important thing is that we have an icon at all. No matter if it shows locally available, always available, only available in the cloud or in synchronization. It means that changes synchronize in both directions. (Icons)
But it doesn’t have to be a SharePoint Online library, it can also be a OneDrive for Business folder from a colleague that he shared with me.
Step 1: Stop Synchronization
Before we use the new method, we have to end an existing synchronization. To do this, we open the blue cloud symbol in the Windows notification area with a right mouse click. Then select Settings
Sometimes you have to give Windows Explorer a refresh (F5), then you will see that the status has disappeared.
Step 2: Other devices
If you own more than one device and have set the above synchronization on these devices as well, you have to repeat step 1 on these devices. And this for all other devices. This does not include mobile devices like iPhone, iPad or Android devices. The app called OneDrive there only displays files, it does not download anything by default, unless you do it manually.
Step 3: Switch to SharePoint Online in the browser
Now we switch to the WebBrowser and search for the corresponding library under SharePoint. Within the library we select one folder. How many subfolders and files are contained is not important. We should only select the folder with which I can do my daily work. After selecting one folder, we click on "Add link to my files".
And now this selected folder will appear in several places
- OneDrive (for Business) under my files
- In Windows Explorer under OneDrive (for Business)
- in my mobile devices (iOS,Android)
the folder will have the new icon. And this is true for all devices including mobile devices.
Step 4: Rename the shortcut
So from a large library I can select exactly the files I need for the next time to work. This reduces the synchronization volume, whose upper limit is 300000 files. But since it is a shortcut, we can rename it without causing a change in the origin.
The files that are essential for me should have appeared at the beginning of OneDrive. This saves time when selecting documents. My renaming is done with "_xxxxx" so that all shortcuts are at the beginning of OneDrive.
By the way, the whole thing happens on all devices, including mobile devices (iOS, Android)
Step 5: Delete the original synchronization
The last step in the conversion is to delete the files, the "classic synchronization. Why do I do this now?
Well, if something went wrong. we can always go back to the old synchronization. Again, only one synchronization of a library is possible. So if you want to go back, you have to unlink it. This can be done in several places
Windows Explorer -right mouse button: Remove shortcut. Then the shortcut is removed, the contained folders and subfolders/files. Then you can do the "classic" synchronization again. But in doing so, OneDrive recognizes that they had already synchronized this library before and suggests them to take this data. This reduces network traffic.
Back to our topic. We wanted to delete exactly this document library that is no longer synchronized:
Make sure that you select the correct library. There must not be a sync icon visible. Right-click on the library on the left and select Delete. The folder and all subfolders/files will be deleted and can only be found in the recycle bin.
Lastly, a note for administrators:
If you are working with group policies and you have configured the OneDrive group policy Configure team site libraries to sync automatically you have to turn off this group policy first.
If you as a user do not know if such a group policy exists, ask your administrator !!!
OneDrive: Differences in synchronization
Currently there is the classic synchronization at SharePoint Online document libraries and the new possibility called "Add shortcut to my files". There are advantages and disadvantages for both methods and significant differences. In this article everything refers to OneDrive for Business and not to OneDrive Personal.
Synchronizing SharePoint libraries
- Manual triggering of synchronization by clicking on the Sync button +
- Automatic triggering via group policy +
- The group policy always affects the root directory, so it’s all or nothing –
- Restriction by filter only conditionally possible, because faulty–
- If synchronization is cancelled, data remains on device –
- Synchronization must be executed on every device –
- Unsynchronization must be executed on every device –
- Renaming of root order not possible –
- Fragmentation of the structure –
Add shortcut to my files
- Only manual triggering of synchronization
- No Group Policy
- Synchronization in OneDrive +
- Synchronization in all devices including mobile devices +
- Shortcut can be renamed +
- When the shortcut is dissolved, the data is deleted on all devices ++
- Quickly created, only designated folder, then again resolution +
- Only applicable within an organization –
Details about synchronizing SharePoint libraries
You log in to Office 365 with a browser. You change to a SharePoint library, where you of course also have access. In the browser you will see the link "Documents" on the left and after the click the Sync button appears in the upper menu. This button only appears if you are in the root directory and no folder or file has been selected. With the click the synchronization is started. In organizations usually several SharePoint libraries are implemented. Because "marketing" data usually has nothing to do in the "finance" library. This is a common mistake when network drives are migrated to SharePoint Online. Of course, a SharePoint Online library can fit 30 million documents, but the OneDrive Sync Client (OneDrive.exe) on Windows has a maximum limit of files (300000) that the Sync Client is able to synchronize. For me, the question is always whether we always need all of these files on the client, but more on that later.
What can always be done manually, can also be automated. By means of group policy. But the restrictions of the sync engine remain. The group policy can also not implement a filter, so all or nothing. A filter can then be created manually by the user to hide folders. Unfortunately, there is still a bug in the filter for quite some time, which makes the filter thus unusable. If the user has multiple devices, he must perform the manual synchronization multiple times if the administration does not provide a group policy. Even if the synchronization is cancelled, it must be done on each device individually and the files are not deleted after the cancellation on the device.
Exception: files on demand, where only the file name is displayed, and which are only in the cloud, are removed immediately when the synchronization is cancelled.
Another disadvantage is that renaming the root folder is not possible. If there are many SharePoint libraries in the synchronization, the file explorer looks very fragmented for some users.
Add shortcut to my files
So, looking at the drawbacks of classic synchronization, don’t be surprised to see Microsoft initiate the next generation with "Add to OneDrive". First, the synchronization is initiated as above. But then a folder must be selected, and then the menu item "Add shortcut to my files" must be clicked in the top menu.
Then several things happen: In OneDrive for Business, a folder is displayed with the Shotcut icon. The same thing happens on every device of the user, even on the smartphones, both Android and iPhone. But there is no group policy, so the ShortCut must always be triggered by the user. This is a good thing, because it is up to each employee to select exactly the right folder to work with the subfolders and files it contains.
If you have ever worked with Windows Shortcuts, you know that a ShortCut can be renamed there. This is also true here. The origin is not changed. This way I can also cleverly sort the files in OneDrive for Business. If the files are no longer needed, they can be removed from any device. So in the browser within OneDrive, in Windows Explorer or in the smartphone. The files are then deleted on all devices, but not in the origin. This is fast and the synchronization process is much faster because fewer files have to be synchronized.
However, it is necessary to consider how the document libraries on SharePoint Online must or should be structured in the future in order to ensure optimal work by different employees. Here, even in the case of a possible migration, it must be considered beforehand how and where the documents are to be migrated.
And last but not least a few hints:
It is not possible to synchronize twice. So, if you already use the classic synchronization, you can’t use the same library and the "Add link to my files" function right away. First of all, you need to stop sync on each device, don’t forget to delete the files as well. As said on each Windows device of a user. Only after that, the "Shortcut to my files" method can be used.
And then it works only internally, that is, on SharePoint libraries and OneDrive for Business folders of one’s own organization.
Currently, Microsoft has also prevented the synchronization of folders from external OneDrive for Business, which are shared with a user, and can then be synchronized. However, these are to be resisted shortly.
References and links
Add to OneDrive – the next step
OneDrive: Add Shortcut to My Files
Microsoft Ankita Kirti’s Blog Post
Microsoft: Restrictions on OneDrive and SharePoint
OneDrive: new Version and new Group Policies
OneDrive Version 21.002.0104.0004 neue Gruppenrichtlinien
The time over the turn of the year is over. This is also noticeable in the versions that have been made available in the different rings for the OneDrive Sync Client (OneDrive.exe).
First of all, there is version 21.002.0104.0004 in the production ring on January 25, 2020, which could previously be tested in the Insiders ring. Now we also learn what awaits the user with this version:
Bug fixes to improve the reliability and performance of the client.
New features gradually rolling out to users:
- Users will see a dialog teaching them about deleted content being moved to their OneDrive Recycle Bin after a delete.
- When users try to open a “.fluid” file in File Explorer, the file will open in the browser.
- Admins now can force override the user’s preferred language when provisioning new folders during KFM, using a new policy available in this build.
new Group Policies
Always use user’s Windows display language when provisioning know folders in OneDrive is the name of a new Group Policy
This is available both as a computer and user configuration and allows to override the preferred language chosen by the user.
Already a few days old, but not yet mentioned by me, is the computer group policy Hide the “deleted files are removed everywhere” reminder
The user gets the message whenever he removes locally synchronized files in Windows Explorer. If the files are from a synchronized team website, the message is "Deleted files will be removed for everone".
The user can stop this reminder after the first occurrence. And this is exactly what the policy can do in general. So if all your users know what you are doing, then enable this policy.
Here is the link to the Microsoft documentation
new Insiders version
Over the weekend I received a new OneDrive version for the Insiders ring, about which it is not yet, knows what you contain new: Version 21.011.0117.0001.
As usual, Microsoft does not provide more information here.
OneDrive | Update: Exclude specific kinds of files from being uploaded
[Supplement 23.11.2020]
This is a post to a blog post from 11/16/20. Please read here first
Documentation
The Microsoft documentation on Group Policy "Exclude certain file types from uploading" is partly incorrect and incomplete.
Incorrect:
The registry key is incorrect
Missing information:
currently no Office formats are supported. I have only tested this with docx, xlsx and pptx. Microsoft has informed me that the documentation will be adapted.
In the wildcard description only the asterisk [*] is described. But also the question mark [?] works.
Examples:
In the group policy are stored: | Files | Synchronization |
Try.* | Tryt | Blocked |
Try.mdb | Blocked | |
Try.docx | Synchronized | |
Try.xlsx | Synchronized | |
*Exclude*.txt | A Exclude Textfile.txt | Blocked |
A Exclude Textfile.mdb | Synchronized | |
A Exclude Textfile.docx | Synchronized | |
TestEx??*.txt | TestEx12.txt | Blocked |
TestEx13.txt | Blocked | |
TestEx4.txt | Blocked | |
TextEx56 Try.pptx | Synchronized |
Where does this Group Policy work?
This is a computer group policy. Currently, this Group Policy applies to all synchronized areas:
- OneDrive Personal
- OneDrive for Business
- SharePoint document libraries
- Local synchronization of files "shared with me”
- Synchronization of "Add to OneDrive" files
Existing files will still be synchronized. Only new files are scanned.
Workaround:
The user can switch to the browser and upload the file manually. Afterwards, this file will also be synchronized. So it is clear that this Group Policy cannot be used as a security feature!
Exclusion:
an exclusion on folder level is not possible.
View
The user does not (yet) get a display which names and wildcards have been created. He has no possibility to read out these parameters.
OneDrive | Exclude specific kinds of files from being uploaded
[Update 11/23/2020]
The post has become bigger, so I wrote a separate blog post about it. So first read here, then switch to the new blog post
Exclude specific kinds of files from being uploaded is the name of a new Group Policy for the OneDrive Syn Client.
Requirement: You have installed the Insider version 20.201.1005.0006
According to the announcement the functionality will be rolled out in the first weeks of December 2020.
Don’t worry, at the moment Group Policy is not working yet. I’m in contact with the OneDrive product group of Microsoft in Redmond, USA to find out why the functionality is not yet available. I will keep you up to date (best is to subscribe to this blog- right sidebar email subscription)
First of all. With every OneDrive update, not only will you get a new version of the sync engine, but you’ll also get the latest version of the Group Polices in 16 languages. The version 20.201.1005.0006 contains the admx and adml files, and these are almost all Group Policies that can be used for OneDrive. (Storage Sense can be found in the Windows system)
The above group policy allows at machine level to exclude files from uploading by specifying their name. The administrator can also use wildcards.
Example:
Configuration | Exclusion of |
Verkauf.docx | all files with the name Verkauf.docx |
*Verkauf*.docx | docx files, in which the name Verkauf occurs |
*.pst | All pst files |
But there are a few little things to consider:
- The OneDrive Sync Client 20.201.1005.0006 or higher is required
- It is a computer policy, affects all files that are synchronized.
- Files already synchronized are not touched
- If a file should be uploaded nevertheless, this is possible in the web browser.
Here are some pictures to test the functionality on individual devices:
As we can see, this is a computer policy.
this is now the opened policy. An error has crept in on the tab under the options. I have already informed Microsoft about it.
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If you click on Show keywords, they will be displayed. |
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Display in OneDrive |
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and in Windows Explorer a new icon |
and this is what it looks like in the Explorer.
Summary:
- Not clarified are other placeholders in Group Policy, such as "Test??.docx".
- What is not clarified is that the policy also affects other additional tenants.
- The user does not know which files / placeholders have been entered.
- Not a bad idea, but bypassing it via web browser is too cumbersome
Virtual M365 Saturday Ottawa
Bug: Configure Team site libraries to sync automatically
Wer derzeit eine Team site library automatisch per Gruppenrichtlinie ausrollen möchte, wird bei der Konfiguration beim Ermitteln der eindeutigen ID , bestehend TenantID+WebID+ListID+WebUrl auf ein Problem stoßen, weil beim Klicken auf die Share-Funktion als SharePoint Online Administrator das PopUp Fenster den Link nicht anzeigt.
Das liegt nicht am Browser und ich habe Microsoft darüber informiert. Der Bug wurde bestätigt und die korrigierte Version wird derzeit wieder auf alle Tenants wieder ausgerollt. Das Ganze kann aber noch eine Weile dauern.
Workaround:
Natürlich lässt sich dieser Wert auf per PowerShell ermitteln und die einzelnen Werte per String-Manipulation auf einen einzelnen String „umbauen“:
So sollte der String aussehen:
tenantId=2ac0e372%2AF9bf%2D4c2a%2Dbe89%2D7b69e0724eb4&
siteId=%7B1bee354e%2D28b5%2D4d69%2D9bd3%2Db73b81dd1c56%7D&
webId=%7B7210d0e0%2D56f0%2D45d1%2D95ac%2D9aca68287fd9%7D&
listId=%7B67997B16%2DE45D%2D4646%2D91F5%2D3ABBC75BE765%7D&
webUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fmvphb%2Esharepoint%2Ecom%2Fsites%2Fmbuf%2Dmarketing&version=1
Aber natürlich ist es einfacher, zu warten…..
[Update 11.10.19]
In meinem Tenant funktioniert diese Funktion wieder. Bitte den Browser Cache leeren !