OneDrive Files On-Demand helps gain access to all the files in OneDrive without needing to download them and waste device storage. You will never lose your files, and they won’t even take up any space on your hard disk. What could be more convenient than that? So, if you aren’t already onboard the OneDrive train, here is a guide to help you find your way through OneDrive Files On-Demand. You need to have Windows 10 v1709 or beyond and add your account to sign in with.
OneDrive Files On-Demand helps gain access to all the files in OneDrive without needing to download them and waste device storage. You will never lose your files, and they won’t even take up any space on your hard disk. What could be more convenient than that? So, if you aren’t already onboard the OneDrive train, here is a guide to help you find your way through OneDrive Files On-Demand. You need to have Windows 10 v1709 or beyond and add your account to sign in with.
OneDrive Files On-Demand in Windows 10
On turning on Files On-Demand, you will have all your files in the File Explorer. You will also get new info about every file. The files you create online or on some device other than the one you are accessing them from, will not take any storage space on the device. With an active internet connection, you can access and edit every file as if they were on the device. All changes will be saved, they can even be shared, but they won’t take up any hard disk space. The only files that will take up hard disk space are obviously, only the ones you created or downloaded on the device.
How to enable OneDrive Files On-Demand
You may or may not have Files On-Demand active on your Windows 10 PC. Here is how to turn on OneDrive Files On Demand if it isn’t already enabled:
This way you would have enabled the Files On-Drive feature to use files without downloading them while the internet is on and have the option to download them for offline mode as well.
Cannot find OneDrive Files On-Demand
If you can’t find the Files On-Demand option even after installing OneDrive, it is because:
Following these steps will ensure Files On-Demand is available for use.
Files On-Demand settings are saved device-wise and not account-wise. So you will need to do this on every device you want to access your OneDrive Files On-Demand from.
Mark files for offline or online use in OneDrive Files On-Demand
With OneDrive Files On-Demand you can choose to use some files or folders online only and some in offline mode as well. That means you have the option to download some and keep some on the Cloud alone. This is how you can do it:
Right-click the file or folder you want to specify the action for.
Select “Always keep on this device” for offline use or ‘Free up space’ to keep it on the drive.
With the ‘Always keep on this device’ option, new files and folders will be downloaded and saved on the device for offline use. Even an ‘online-only’ folder can have individual files that are always available.
Hide a folder on OneDrive
Here’s how to hide your personal files and folders on OneDrive:
How to sign into OneDrive
When you add a new account or download OneDrive for the first time on your desktop, you will need to sign in. Here’s how:
OneDrive Files On-Demand Quick facts
Here are some quick facts that you might want to know about OneDrive:
Now that you know almost everything about the Windows 10 Files On-Demand, you can get started.