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For Business
November 12, 2014

10 tips to help you get the most out of OneDrive



If you’re a Lumia lover, you’re probably well aware of the many great features that you have access to on your phone. One of these great features is OneDrive, one of the most useful apps that you can get your hands on.

OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service, which lets you upload and sync files and then access them from a variety of devices such as laptop, smartphone, and Xbox. It’s perfect for keeping your files so that you can get to them whenever you need, without taking up space on your devices. So if you’ve never given OneDrive a try, here are a few of our tips to help you get the most of it!

OneDrive screenshot

1. Make the most of the huge storage capacity

All OneDrive users automatically start out with a respectable 15 GB of free storage. You can get even more free storage in a number of ways, such as referring people, activating your camera roll, and joining Bing Rewards (a country specific perk, sadly). If you need a little more than that, you can get either 100 or 200 GB by choosing a plan that costs just a few bucks per month. Those that need upto 1 TB should look into Office 365 or OneDrive for Business.

OneDrive plans

2. Upload big files

Microsoft has recently increased the maximum size of files that you can upload from 2 GB to 10 GB, making it easier to be sure that you can access every file that you need to. Larger files like videos can be uploaded from your desktop, mobile, or web. Hooray!

3. Share files with others

It’s incredibly easy to share documents and photos, all you have to do is select the share option and choose the recipient. OneDrive supports real-time collaboration after you share a document, letting multiple people edit at the same time. This is great for co-workers, friends, families – you name it.

4. Pin important folders to your start screen

I think we all love the high level of start screen customization that comes with owning a Nokia – all your important stuff is right at your fingertips when you need it. The ability to pin OneDrive folders is perfect for people that need to open up certain folders quickly. To pin a folder, just press and hold the folder. Where you put it on your screen is up to you!

OneDrive pin

 

5. Integrate with Office

If you use any of Microsoft’s Office suites, OneDrive can become an indispensable tool for getting the most out of them. Office 2013, Office 365, and Office Online all cooperate with OneDrive so that you can access your documents, spreadsheets, and slides from anywhere. You can even get 1 TB of OneDrive storage space per person or up to 5 TB per household when you sign up for Office 365.

6. Don’t forget about the smaller features

Smaller features like ‘Sort by’ and ‘Search’ often get forgotten, but they can be real time-savers, especially if you’ve got lots of files stashed away. ‘Sort by’ is great for finding recently used files and ‘Search’ is perfect for, well, searching.

7. Restore deleted files from the recycle bin

When you delete something from OneDrive it goes into your recycle bin and can be restored if you decide you want to keep it. Recycled files don’t count as part of your storage capacity, but they are permanently deleted after a minimum of 3 days and max of 60 days. If your recycle bin exceeds 10% of your storage limit, it will start deleting the oldest files first. This feature is great for recovering files that you’ve accidentally deleted or changed your mind about, and if you’re feeling brave, you can even use the bin to temporarily store files.

OneDrive Recycle bin

 

8. Upgrade to OneDrive for Business

While OneDrive is great for personal use, businesses should consider upgrading to OneDrive for Business for extra security and features. While it has all the features available in OneDrive, you and your co-workers will also get auditing and reporting, advanced administration for granular control, SSO/ADFS/Directory sync support, and built in standards compliance. The 1 TB of storage space is also pretty nice.

9. Use your Xbox to access OneDrive

You won’t be able to open documents, but you can view your photos and videos on the big screen if you download the OneDrive app on your Xbox 360. This is perfect for making house guests look at your vacation photo slideshow. Xbox One users have more options, like capturing in-game screenshots via Game DVR and easily sharing them with friends, and unlocking achievements.

3_XboxOneDrive-Root

 

10. Read the Code of Conduct

This is a biggy, because you don’t want to lose your Microsoft account and all of your stored files. Read up on what types of files aren’t permitted here.

 

We hope that these tips will help make OneDrive a more efficient and enjoyable experience for you. Naturally, there are tons of more tips where these came from, so we’d love to hear from you the ways in which you get the most from OneDrive. Let us know in the comments!

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