Fix file storage and sharing in Microsoft 365

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  • 8 minutes to read

I of the best ways to set up upwardly file storage and sharing for your concern is to use OneDrive and a team site together. This is ideal if yous take a pocket-sized business with a few employees.

Watch: Where to store files in Role 365

If yous found this video helpful, check out the complete training series for small businesses and those new to Microsoft 365.

Microsoft 365 document storage and management

  • OneDrive is designed for individual use, with the occasional sharing of files.

  • A team site is designed for sharing and collaborating on files regularly. A squad site is ideal for storing files that take shared ownership where several people own the files and might interact on them. Create a Microsoft Team to add a team site. Learn more at Create a team in Teams.

Both OneDrive and team sites provide anywhere access for you and your employees.

A diagram that shows how Microsoft 365 products can use OneDrive or Team sites.

Here are recommendations for what to store in each location when you apply OneDrive and squad sites together:

Storage location What'south it for What to store here
OneDrive Storing content in OneDrive is like storing files on your computer; no one else tin easily access them.
For more info, encounter What is OneDrive for Business?
Concern files that other team members won't demand to collaborate on or access regularly.
SharePoint team sites
Collaboration. When you create a Microsoft 365 group (for instance, in the Microsoft 365 admin centre, in Outlook, or by creating a team in Microsoft Teams), a SharePoint team site is created for that group. Likewise, when you create a new SharePoint team site from the SharePoint home folio or from the new SharePoint admin heart, information technology also creates a Microsoft 365 group. For more info, come across What is a SharePoint team site? and Create a team site in SharePoint Online.
Files that have shared ownership. Nosotros recommend separate team sites for each unit of work in your organization. For example, to proceed personnel and financial documents private to a modest squad, create a separate team site.

Note

SharePoint also has other types of sites you tin use for your business organization. You tin can utilize communication sites in your intranet to publish information for a broad audience. And you can utilize hub sites to connect sites in your intranet.

Start using OneDrive and your team site

Team members can store their own files in OneDrive

Each person in your business concern who has a Microsoft 365 license assigned (and SharePoint Online selected) gets OneDrive cloud storage. They tin can shop concern-related files here for access from any device, and they are only bachelor to that user. For example, they might store a typhoon proposal, their meeting notes, or the script for a demo they're going to deliver.

Employees can also share OneDrive files and folders. If an employee is away or leaves the company, others can access shared files stored in OneDrive (OneDrive squad folder sharing).

Here's how each person on your team can set up OneDrive and share files.

  1. Become to the Microsoft 365 admin eye, and sign in with your user name and countersign.

  2. From the App launcher, select OneDrive.

  3. In OneDrive, team members tin store their own business-related files. Yous tin can share either individual files, or a whole folder. Option a file or folder, right-click, and then choose Share.

    Sharing a folder.

  4. On the Ship Link folio, get out the default option Anyone with the link can view and edit.

    Type names or electronic mail addresses of team members who you desire to take admission to the folder, and add together an optional message.

    If yous want your own copy of the email that will be sent, add together your email address to the list.

    Share a link dialog box showing showing typing and selecting a name.

  5. When you're done entering who yous want to share with, select Send. The email is immediately sent to the people you invite.

    Share a link, showing list of names.

  6. Here'south what the email looks like.

    Email with link to share OneDrive folder.

Upload files to a team site for online collaboration

Team sites come with a identify to store files, chosen a document library.

Hither are the steps to add together files:

  1. On the home page of your team site, choose Documents from the left-hand navigation menu. This will take you to your Documents library.

  2. While y'all're still signed in to Microsoft 365, open Windows File Explorer from your taskbar or other location. Go to the files you want to upload to your squad site.

  3. Select the files yous want to upload to your team site, then drag them to the Document library.

  4. When you're done, the files will exist stored in both your team site and your reckoner.

  5. You lot can delete the files from your reckoner. In the next step, Sync online files with your PC or Mac, you're going to create a new location for these files on your computer.

    If you have numerous files or large files to upload to your team site, read these tips on uploading large or many files to a library.

    If you demand more storage space, see Change storage infinite for your subscription.

Sync online files with your PC or Mac

At present that y'all have files on your squad site, you lot can set them up to sync with your PC or Mac. This fashion, yous can work on your files from your PC or Mac instead of working in Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or another browser. It's also useful to have a version of your files synced on your computer for situations when y'all demand to go to a file and you aren't connected to the Internet.

After you set up up files to sync with your figurer, when you're connected to the Net, they'll be synchronized automatically.

Here's how to synchronize files on your team site with your desktop:

  1. On the home page of your squad site, choose Documents from the left-hand navigation menu. This takes you to your Documents library.

    Tip

    When syncing files on your team site, yous're syncing each file library on the site, not the entire site.

  2. Choose Sync to synchronize all the files. Or browse to the specific folder you desire to sync.

  3. If prompted to switch apps, choose Yep. OneDrive is the process doing the synchronization.

  4. If you and so get a Ready up OneDrive prompt, sign in with your piece of work or school account.

    OneDrive setup screen.

  5. If you lot haven't even so synced your OneDrive, you might see a This is your OneDrive folder screen. Check the path under Your OneDrive folder is here. Choose Alter Location if you want to use a different path, and then select Side by side.

    Change your local folder at this screen.

  6. The files in your squad sites will announced in the left pane of File Explorer under the name of your organisation. The files in OneDrive will appear under "OneDrive - <Proper name of Organization>"

    See what's been sync'd in your local folder.

  7. Test the synchronization by opening a file in the team's folder on your reckoner. Make a change, and so choose Salve.

All-time practices for file storage and sharing

Here are a few tips for getting the most from OneDrive or your SharePoint squad site.

File storage and collaboration recommendations for other types of small businesses

  • Sole proprietorships: Utilize OneDrive to store your own files and share them with customers on a case-by-example basis.

  • Co-ownerships: Both owners utilize OneDrive and share files back and forth.

  • Businesses with external clients or partners who need access to files: Create a new team site to store and share documents intended for a specific client. Set up the site to allow access to only that customer. You then don't need to worry that one client will accidentally get access to information intended for another customer.

Keep individual files individual

When you store a file in OneDrive it'southward only accessible by y'all, unless you lot share it with others. When you share files, you lot can choose to create a link that can be forwarded, or to share with only specific people. You can too create separate folders in OneDrive for dissimilar purposes such as public, personal, or for individual projects. Each folder can be shared with a different person or grouping, or nobody else at all.

For more than information on sharing, also see Share files and folders with Microsoft 365.

Track how much space y'all take left

To see how much storage space you accept left in OneDrive, see Manage your OneDrive for Business storage.

What files can be stored in OneDrive and a squad site?

While you can upload almost all types of files, some file names and characters in file names aren't allowed. For more info, see Invalid file characters and file types in OneDrive for Business organisation.

Enable or disable tertiary-political party storage services

You tin can enable 3rd-party storage for your users in Microsoft 365 so they can shop and share documents using services like Dropbox in addition to OneDrive and squad sites. This can be a great manner to provide services that your users may already be using or prefer to apply for business projects. If you don't desire people in your organization using Function to open files in a 3rd-party service, follow these steps to plough information technology off.

Important

Third-party storage is enabled by default so you need to perform these steps right away if yous don't want it available to your users.

  1. Sign in to to the admin center.

  2. Get to the Settings > Org settings page.

  3. On the Services tab, select Part on the spider web.

  4. Select or deselect the check box to plow third-party storage on or off, and then select Salvage changes.

Side by side steps

  • Customize your squad site for file storage and sharing. This step-past-stride tutorial shows you lot how to yous can take reward of more storage and collaboration features.

  • Set up Role apps on your tablets and phones. You need to do this so you can edit files that are stored in OneDrive and on team sites from your tablet or phone. If you lot don't install the Office apps for your tablet or phone, you'll exist able to view the files but non edit them.

    • Install and set up Role on an Android with Microsoft 365

    • Install and ready Office on an iPhone or iPad with Microsoft 365

    • Ready up Office on Windows Telephone with Microsoft 365

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