Save disk space with OneDrive Files On-Demand for Windows (2024)

FAQs

Should I use OneDrive file on-demand? ›

Save space with OneDrive

With OneDrive Files On-Demand, you can: Save space on your device by making files online only. Set files and folders to be always available locally on your device. See important information about files, such as whether they are shared.

In Settings in the search bar lookup 'Storage' and after that click on 'Change how we free up space...' then scroll to OneDrive, you get a dropdown that says 'content will become online only if not opened for more than:' and choose the minimum time. So it'll take space for a day but then be moved to the cloud.

You also each get 1 TB of free cloud storage for your email attachments, files and photos in OneDrive. You can check your storage usage and quotas by checking the Microsoft storage area of your account dashboard.

The disadvantages of OneDrive are limited sharing options, limited file management, and limited desktop synchronisation settings.

If you're working on a file by yourself, save it to OneDrive. Your OneDrive files are private unless you share them with others, which is particularly useful if you haven't created a team yet.

Actually, there are some reasons for OneDrive taking up space on hard drive, just take it for reference: Disabled Files On-Demand. You downloaded all files and folders to your computer, to be precise, it's the C drive(C:\Users\ailsa\OneDrive). OneDrive cached files.

ITS recommends that all users keep the Files On-Demand feature enabled. Files On-Demand is turned on by default and is recommended for all users with access to a stable high-speed internet connection.

Click the OneDrive taskbar/menubar icon and open OneDrive > Settings > Account > Choose folders to make sure you don't sync any unwanted to your computer. Once the sync is complete, right-click the files and folders you want to be online only and choose Clear space to remove the files from your computer.

Click the OneDrive cloud icon up in your Menu bar, click the three dots to open the menu, and select Preferences. Go to the Preferences tab. Under Files On-Demand, select either Download files as you use them or Download all files now.

For most subscription plans, the default storage space for each user's OneDrive is 1 TB. Depending on your plan and the number of licensed users, you can increase this storage up to 5 TB.

What is the limitation of OneDrive? ›

Performance issues can occur if you have more than 300,000 items, even if you are not syncing all items. Additionally, the maximum file size (individual file) that can be uploaded to OneDrive for Business is 250 GB. If you exceed this limit, you will receive an error message.

Easy File Sharing

Sharing a file is simple with OneDrive. Users can share files simply by right-clicking on a file and specifying an email address to share with. It is a more secure and efficient form of sharing as compared with email attachments and is not restricted by the same size limitations, etc.

OneDrive Files On-Demand enables users to view, search for, and interact with files stored in OneDrive from within File Explorer, without downloading all the files to their device. The feature provides a seamless look and feel for both OneDrive and local files without taking up space on the local hard drive.

Click the OneDrive cloud icon up in your Menu bar, click the three dots to open the menu, and select Preferences. Go to the Preferences tab. Under Files On-Demand, select either Download files as you use them or Download all files now.

OneDrive is built in to some versions of Windows and can't be uninstalled. But you can hide it and stop the sync process, so it stays hidden. To do this, turn off all the OneDrive settings and remove the OneDrive folder from File Explorer. Unlink OneDrive.