OneDrive in Microsoft 365 overview

OneDrive is a cloud storage platform designed for small businesses, enterprises, and everything in between. Most advanced enterprise features are available across all subscription types, so your organization can adopt OneDrive in a way that works best for you.

Key features

The following features address common compliance requirements, security concerns, and productivity scenarios.

Files On-Demand

OneDrive Files On-Demand lets users browse, search, and interact with files stored in OneDrive directly from File Explorer — without downloading everything to the local device.

Files not yet downloaded show a cloud icon.
Downloaded files show a green checkmark.

To make a file available offline:

Right-click the file in File Explorer.
Select Always keep on this device.

To free up local disk space:

Right-click the file in File Explorer.
Select Free up space.

For more information, see Learn about OneDrive Files On-Demand.

Modern attachments

OneDrive integrates with Microsoft Outlook so that OneDrive files appear as familiar email attachments while storage remains centralized in the cloud. This enables real-time collaboration on a single file instead of circulating multiple versions by email. Sharing permissions can be configured directly from within Outlook.

[!TIP] You can control whether Outlook attaches a copy or a link by default. See How to control default attachment state when you attach a cloud file in Outlook 2016.

Files Restore

The Files Restore feature lets users roll back their OneDrive to any point within the past 30 days.

OneDrive presents a histogram of file activity to help users identify the right recovery point. After selecting a point in time, all changes made after that point are reversed.

[!NOTE] The activity histogram also serves as a quick way to review a file’s modification history.

For more information, see Restore your OneDrive.

Recycle bin

Deleted files are moved to the OneDrive recycle bin rather than being immediately removed.

Account type	Retention period
Work or school	93 days (default)
Personal	Configurable

For a walkthrough, see Restore deleted files or folders in OneDrive.

Known Folder Move

Known Folder Move automatically syncs commonly used Windows and macOS folders — such as Desktop and Documents — to OneDrive. You can enable this feature during initial OneDrive setup or at any point afterward.

For setup instructions, see:

Sync clients and mobile apps

While OneDrive is accessible from any web browser, the best experience comes from the dedicated sync apps and mobile apps.

Platform	Client
Windows / macOS	OneDrive sync app
iOS / Android	OneDrive mobile app

For deployment guidance, see Plan file sync for SharePoint and OneDrive in Microsoft 365.

Manage OneDrive settings

Configure OneDrive for your organization from the SharePoint admin center. The following table summarizes the available settings.

Setting	Location	Description
Sharing	Sharing	Set organization-level sharing permissions.
Sync	Settings > Sync	Require domain-joined computers or restrict file types.
Storage limit	Settings > Storage limit	Set default storage for licensed users.
Retention	Settings > Retention	Define how long data is kept after an account is deleted (default: 30 days).
Access control	Access control	Restrict access from unmanaged devices or by network location.
Compliance	Compliance	View compliance and risk management solutions in Microsoft 365.
Notifications	Settings > Notifications	Configure user notifications.

For more information about sharing settings, see Manage sharing settings.

Get help with OneDrive

If you encounter issues, the following resources are available.

Known issues: Fixes or workarounds for recent issues in OneDrive
Getting started: Get started with OneDrive | Employee file storage (video training) | Why use OneDrive to store your docs
Microsoft Support: Contact Microsoft for help troubleshooting, configuring, or deploying OneDrive.

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