OneDrive is a part of Microsoft365 Microsoft 365 (formerly Office365Office 365, or “Microsoft Office”), just like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, etc. OneDrive is an internet-based service that can be accessed directly on your computer by installing the OneDrive App. OneDrive can also be accessed through a web browser if you are using someone else’s computer. OneDrive is compatible with Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. If you are using a Linux computer, like a Chromebook, you can access OneDrive through the browser as there is no official app for Linux. OneDrive is included in the university’s subscription to Microsoft and every university member has 5TB of cloud storage available to them.
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Faculty, staff, and students who were at UConn prior to 2023 are likely familiar with the P Drive and the Q Drive. These drives are different than SharePoint OneDrive because they existed on campus. In the UConn datacenters, there were specialized computers, full of hard drives, that acted as personal and shared storage (the P and Q Drives respectively). Whenever someone signed into a university computer on campus, that computer would reach out to the datacenter and link them with their files. This allowed users to begin their work on one computer, and then continue their work on another.
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OneDrive allows for multiple, simultaneous editors in Microsoft365 files (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). Unlike the legacy P Drive system, OneDrive can recognize when multiple users have the same file open and will allow multiple users to edit the file at the same time. This means a user typing in a Word document will see their coworker typing along with them. This allows users to divide the work and to collaborate in real-time. If you have used Google Docs in the past, this is a familiar experience.
When you share/email a OneDrive file, you’re giving access to a file, you’re not sending the file itself. The recipient of the share will have a link that they use to access your file; the updates they type are saved to the file in your OneDrive. This, along with real-time collaboration, solves the issue of sending files and creating discrete copies in the process. When it is time to revoke access, their access link stops working, and they no longer have access to the file. In the past, when emailing a file to someone, they would have a copy on their own computer that would not update your original file. When it was time for them to send their updates back, you would then have two copies of the file. However, if needed, you can also include your file as an attachment and the recipient will receive a discrete copy that is not connected to your OneDrive.
OneDrive is a part of our university Microsoft accounts, which means your user-presence is tightly integrated with your UConn account that you use every day. Sharing files with another university member is as easy as knowing their name. If sharing with a university member, their name will appear in OneDrive share fields. However, if you’re sharing with someone outside of the university, you simply need to know their email address.
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*Depending on the computer system, the values above are expressed as either 1,000 or 1,024. This does not affect your usage of OneDrive or your computer.
Is my data safe?
SharePoint OneDrive offers an encrypted file storage solution. Your files are encrypted during travel (downloading / uploading) and while at rest (you’re not interacting with it). But what does it mean to be encrypted?
You can compare an encrypted file to a secret message you are sending to a friend. Beforehand, you both decided on a cypher that you will use to scramble your secret messages. Now, when you are finished writing your secret message to your friend, you scramble all the words letters using the cypher. When they receive the letter, they use that same cypher to unscramble, or decrypt, the message. If anyone were to intercept the letter, they would have no idea what it says.
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On the other side of this coin, what if a user makes a mistake on a file? SharePoint OneDrive keeps up to 500 versions of each file. This is called Version History. Every time someone opens a file (for example), an invisible copy of the file is saved. If needed, you can restore the file to this invisible copy. Let's say the coworker opens the file and believes you want them to delete an entire column in Excel. They delete the column and then save the file. Next week you discover the mistake, however you do not worry because you know that you can go back into the file’s history (versions) and restore the file to a previous point in time. With the Q Drive, this was only possible with the help of ITS. To learn more about version history and when versions (restore points) are captured, view the guide below when you are done reading this page.
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This is how “Files On-Demand" works. The files appear as if they are on your computer allowing you to double-click them. Once double-clicked, they download to your computer so you can edit them. Once the file goes 30 days without interaction, it silently removes itself from your computer and returns to an online-only state and frees up the space on your storage drive that it was using.
OneDrive Photo Backup
The OneDrive App on your smartphone or tablet can double as a picture and video backup tool. Using OneDrive to back up your pictures and videos protects them from physical damage to your mobile device. This feature of the app is a backup solution, not a picture viewer. To view your pictures/videos, return to the Files section of the app, or visit the Camera Roll folder in OneDrive on your computer. To learn more, visit OneDrive Photo Backup.
Recycle Bin
With OneDrive, all users have access to a Recycle Bin. Users of the legacy P Drive will know that this was absent in that system; those users needed to reach out to ITS to receive help in restoring their files.
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OneDrive - help homepage: Microsoft OneDrive
Sharing files - homepage: Share Files/Folders in OneDrive
Install and “sync”: Set Up OneDrive on a Computer
https://uconn.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/IKB/pages/26228721112/OneDrive+On-Demand
To read about the department version of OneDrive, called SharePoint, visit this guide: What is SharePoint?
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