I don’t synchronize this folder to my workstation because it contains large book files. However, if you use the OneDrive sync client to synchronize both OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online folders and then add a OneDrive shortcut to a folder in the same document library, it creates a sync issue.įigure 1 shows a SharePoint Online folder in a document library. Everything works well if you create OneDrive shortcuts and then set up synchronization with SharePoint Online. Which brings me to the synchronization problem with OneDrive shortcuts which stop me using shortcuts. Synchronization Problems with OneDrive Shortcuts
The OneDrive sync client makes sure that changes made by authors on Windows and Mac workstations synchronize with SharePoint Online. These and other files for the book are stored in a SharePoint Online document library. The Office 365 for IT Pros eBook team depend heavily on the OneDrive sync client to synchronize changes made to the source Word documents used for book chapters. Interestingly, while the OneDrive sync client takes care of synchronization for non-Office files, to enable features like autosave and co-authoring, the Office apps perform the synchronization when actively working on documents. The original OneDrive sync client (Groove.exe) wasn’t very good, but a rewrite to create a new client fixed the problems and the current client is very stable. The sync client synchronizes files from cloud folders to local copies, and that updates made to the local copies synchronize back to the cloud. The OneDrive sync client is a critical component for users who keep files in the cloud. When OneDrive shortcuts first appeared, I thought they were pretty good and used them for a while, but then I ran into a problem that still lingers today. The shortcuts might be to folders in SharePoint Online document libraries or other OneDrive folders.
Originally launched in 2020, OneDrive shortcuts are a useful way to add pointers to folders that users commonly access so that they appear in OneDrive for Business. People who don’t currently have access to the shortcut won’t be able to access its content but can rename or remove the shortcut.” OneDrive Shortcuts However, something obviously changed since November because MC317147 explicitly states “ when moving a shortcut to a folder into a shared folder, the short cut does not change its sharing permissions. The original announcement limited movement to private folders, and this is also the case in Microsoft 365 roadmap item 82166. The change is described in message center notification MC316147, first published on January 19 and updated on March 4. Perhaps Not the Biggest Problem for OneDrive to Solveįeatured in the set of OneDrive announcements at the Microsoft Ignite conference in November 2021, the ability to move a OneDrive shortcut from the Files root to a public or shared folder is now rolling out.
Synchronization Problems with OneDrive Shortcuts.Perhaps Not the Biggest Problem for OneDrive to Solve.