Display shared OneDrive folders in Windows Explorer

[@paphitisn]

For anyone facing issues with this feature and can not see the Sync button, please look at the following check list: 1- This feature is not available for Personal OneDrive, only for business or work school education accounts. 2- make sure you go to files shared with you 3-Make sure to FIRST open the folder you want to sync by clicking on it. So if you want to sync the folder Finance then in OneDrive click to open the folder Finance, the Sync button will be available

[@Schnapsbrennor]

Any according method to use on single files, that are being shared with me? Don't have a sync button there. Would love to not have a local "student1 - Finance" folder, but just "student1", which contains everything from that person, that I chose to sync.

[@paphitisn]

​@@Schnapsbrennor what you are describing could be resolved by you generating a folder with folders for each person inside. Share each individual folder with the appropriate person and that way you will have all the files that they add and they can only see their folder. On there end they can use the sync feature to easily access their folder your have shared with them. You on the other hand, as the created of the parent folder will have direct access from your OneDrive. Does that make sense? If you are doing this with students then this is already created through Class Teams and i can direct you to the tutorial that explains this as all the folders are already created for you in Teams.

[@Schnapsbrennor]

@@paphitisn Thanks for confirming. The collaborators are not working with me that closely or regularly, meaning they won't alter their folder structure just so I can sync. Neither are they allowed to share the parent folder of the single files, that they share with me. For example project XY has a folder, and most of the files are confidential. Only certain files will then be shared with me.

[@paphitisn]

@@Schnapsbrennor A bit of a difficult one. If you want to have quick access to the files then from OneDrive online, go to shared with me and you will see all files shared with you. From their find the files you want to access quickly and copy the link to the file. You can now generate shortcuts in a local folder so you can simply clink on the file you want to access and it will open and of course it will be synced. It will open the document in the online version but from there you can easily choose to open in the app.

[@ackack4066]

I was trying do from Onedrive personal account. Now got to know this features is not available. How can i do then?

[@PedroLuisBacelardosSantos]

Excellent video! I would just recommend doing it more straight to the point

[@paphitisn]

Thank you for leaving your feedback. I am glad yo found the tutorial useful. Some viewers are new to OneDrive or are still learning which is why i try to cover all aspects with respect to the tutorial i am creating. I will add a timestamp to the description for anyone that wants to jump ahead.

[@TimRiener]

Really helpful. Our company recently migrated to OneDrive from another cloud service and while I am glad we are now using OneDrive, there were some frustrating issues to be resolved -- including how to "Display shared OneDrive folders in Windows Explorer." I *knew* there had to be a way to do this, but neither our IT department nor any/many/most of the other internet-posted "solutions" worked or were even understandable. Mr. Phaphitis' explanation was clear, concise, and -- get this! -- it was correct and it works! Will be subscribing to his channel.

[@paphitisn]

Thank you for your feedback, kind words and of course the subscription 😀 Glad it helped

[@MrXUndeadNinja]

This worked beautifully as a backend for document viewer on SharePoint! Our users can sign PDF documents from a shared OneDrive and managers can view these signed checklists from SharePoint without any heartache or headache! Thank you!

[@paphitisn]

Thanks for the feedback. That is a great way to use this feature.

[@fiblondenacci9916]

this is what i wanted. they shouldve made this option a lot easier to accessed!

[@paphitisn]

I agree. there are many such functions buried away

[@muselinoiv]

Great vid - Just takes untilabout min 7 for main feature, may be timestamp it if one is in hurry to find it ;)

[@uwemeyer1688]

Thank you, Sir. Just what I needed.

[@paphitisn]

I am glad you found this usefull.

[@terracooper9763]

the "sync" button is no longer an option? what do i do???

[@carnellmickens6935]

This has solved a problem I've been dealing with for MONTHS!!!!!! Thank you

[@paphitisn]

I am so glad it helped. It really is a great feature. Thanks for the feedback.

[@krumejankoski]

I would just recommend doing it more straight to the point, thank you

[@paphitisn]

I get your point, but some people are new to cloud storage and sharing folders so i make sure my tutorials contain detailed explanations so that people new to concepts like OneDrive or shared folders able to follow and understand. I am an educator so it is what i am used to doing. I do provide time stamps in the description so you could use those to jump to the solution.

[@luclevesquephd]

Extremely useful video. Thank you for making this!!

[@360372969]

starts at 6:50 with clicking Sync INSIDE the folder on OneDrive in the browser, the same way Teams folders can be shared

[@thisisnotcliff]

I have spent soooo much time trying to figure this out, and your video expertly answered and explained it! Thank you! Does anyone know if you can add multiple shared OneDrive folders into Windows Explorer?

[@paphitisn]

Glad this helped you out and thanks for the feedback. Not sure what you mean by adding multiple folders. You can add as many as you like but you have to do it one by one. Sub folders are automaticlly added when you add the parent folder.

[@sameeramk5223]

thank you so much for this video. i was struggling because i did not now this and everytime i have to reshare my file on drive and copy to explorer , so much confusion. now i am at peace...lol

[@paphitisn]

That's awesome. Glad it helped. Thanks for the feedback.

[@AbdulrahmanWaseem]

Thank you. Very helpful

[@paphitisn]

Thanks for your comment

[@MohdAaqib-rt4or]

Anyone who's is facing sync option not appearing I have figured out a way to get that. You just have to switch your onedrive view to classic then you'll see sync option after opening the shared folder.

[@paphitisn]

Thank you for sharing

[@priyanshu.831]

Thanks mate! This worked.

[@wansirijrusw3865]

Can you explain how to do that ?

[@jubayerahmed1726]

very helpful. Needed this information. Thanks!

[@shlomiyakobi2629]

I don't see the sync button and I have a 365 subscription why?

[@paphitisn]

Not availae for personal 365 accounts. Only business and academic licenses.

[@wizteezy]

Excellent video! Thank you!

[@flawless1237]

thank you so much. now I can run my python games between to machines as long as there's a python interpreter in the files

[@paphitisn]

Awesome, thats great. Thanks for sharing

[@SuperMekanika]

Hello Nicos, I just accidentaly click the "add shortcut to My Files" after start "sync" the shared folder. Now the "sync" feature are temporary disable because i have activate the 'shortcut', can I remove the shortcut and back to sync option? thankyou

[@paphitisn]

Right click on the shortcut From Windows Explorer and select Remove Shortcut that should remove the shortcut and allow you to sync

[@shermainebx3187]

Thanks so much, been looking for the solution long time, you saved me

[@paphitisn]

You ate welcome. Glad it helped

[@kenmugabi4153]

thank you sir

[@paphitisn]

Gald it helped. Thanks for your comment.

[@laracroft-an]

Thanks you so much for this helpful video.

[@paphitisn]

You are welcome. Thanks for the feed back

[@barendwessels6522]

Thank you Nicos, this saved me. One question, if I want the entire "library" or folder containing all my Shared folders to automatically sync to my file explorer (without opening the link in the email and going onto the web to click "Sync" each time for each new shared folder). How do I do that?

[@paphitisn]

You can't , as the 'shared with me', section is not a folder. Each file that is shred with you has different permission levels, which are set by the person sharing a file or folder with you. Best suggestion i can come up with if you want a central location with edit rights for you, and the person sharing is for you to create a shared folder which others can place items inside. We use this method with departments, so a head of department creates the shared folder and shares it with the rest. All files and folders for that department are placed in that folder.

[@nancyrosenberg986]

Thank you so much - this worked beautifully.

[@paphitisn]

That's great!

[@jukkapapinkivi8882]

New Web UI doesn't show sync button any more. Is it a paid feature?

[@paphitisn]

Please read the pinned comment

[@homeexperiment7682]

Really Helpful, Thanks!

[@ryonadcock]

Thank you for the video! Well done and well thought out!

[@paphitisn]

Thanks

[@NBSTL68]

Thanks! Very helpful. 1 question. When I click sync, is it literally going to sync, aka, download all the files from the folder the other account is sharing, onto my computer? I ask because, while I want to have it visible like this in my file explorer, the folder in question is very large and I do not have enough disk drive storage for all the files to sync down to my machine. I want to see the folder and files in file explorer as you describe, but do not want the files to actually download, but rather to stay in the cloud.

[@paphitisn]

They are foles synced from someon else's onedrive so they will not all download as local copies bjt instead as you use files it will download. Windows will manage your storage to protect itself. If you feel it is taking up too much storage then you can always unsync.

[@user-vb1vz9ec5b]

cant see the sync option on the new microsoft....

[@paphitisn]

Make sure to open the folder first

[@GhostEleven11]

I shared a folder but not showing in share with me option. This issue arise when I share folder from business account to personal account

[@paphitisn]

The shared with me folder shows the folders others have shared with you, not the ones that you have shared.

[@GhostEleven11]

I shared a folder from my business account to my personal account, but when I see in my personal account than no file showing in share with me option

[@paphitisn]

@@GhostEleven11 that will not work. Your business account can not authenticate the account info of your personal account. For this to work, both accounts must be on the same tenant.

[@tumpanglaluu7494]

I have a question, what if the folder is not shared but just the files in the folder are shared. then where will the file will appear? is it still in the folder or it will be outside the file? i hope you understand my questions

[@paphitisn]

it will only work with a shared folder not a file as it is synced in windows explorer. If you look in the left navigation window of windows explorer you only see the folder structure, you do not see any files. you see the files in the right window after you click on a folder. it is the same concept. The shared folder is synced in the navigation pane and the contents is displayed in the right window.

[@tumpanglaluu7494]

@@paphitisn thankyou very much for the explanation!

[@ronwatkins5775]

Ive been watching video after video, no-one has explained yet how to get OneDrive to show-up in File Explorer in the first place. I only see my files in the browser, they are not showing up in file explorer.

[@paphitisn]

Send me an email at [e-mail] and i will help you.

[@ViskeyTV]

Looks like OneDrive must have removed some features. The "sync" and "add shortcut to my files" are no longer options. Do you know of another way to get the shared folder to show up in my files section? Thanks

[@paphitisn]

It should be there. Make sure you follow the instructions. Open OneDrive and then go to Shared with me, then you need to open the folder shared with you. You can not sync a file, only a folder. If someone has shared a file with you then you cannot sync it. They need to place the file in a folder and share the folder with you.

[@ViskeyTV]

@@paphitisn It's not there, they must have changed something. What's wierd is that I've done this before and it worked and I'm still using a shared folder like this today. The one I set up previously works but now, trying to do it again, those 2 options are not available.

[@paphitisn]

@@ViskeyTV that is odd. I will look into it and see if i can replicate the issue. If i have any news i will update you.

[@ViskeyTV]

@@paphitisn I appreciate that! Thank you!

[@Wild_Dragonfly]

@Nicos Paphitis @@ViskeyTV I'm having the same issue as you. HOwever, I clicked on the new "Add to my OneDrive" option and it seems to work. It doesn't have the nice directory tree that Nicos showed on his video.

[@mister38-vi3hw]

Thanks for an informative video. :-) Now I'm curious on how to do it with personal Onedrives br Flemming

[@sublime9525]

I can see the "Sync" button on all of the other shared folders except the one that I want to sync. Is it because the person who shared it with me shared it through a personal (non-business) One Drive account?

[@paphitisn]

yes

[@virom956]

​@@paphitisn how to get access from FileExplorer to such personal OneDrive folders?

[@paphitisn]

@@virom956 you can't

[@virom956]

@@paphitisn ok. in fact I just want to copy file from my local to my personal folder, I can do it by uploading or via drag and drop to onedrive. How can it be possible via command line, or any automation?

[@marekwalczak892]

Thank you for your help! :)

[@paphitisn]

Thanks for your comment. Glad this helped

[@alaahusban3187]

Many thanks. I have a question please about synchronizing a single file from the folder. I mean sharing a single file from the folder from device#1, and the receiver is being able to sync that exact file on device#2. Because the sync option only appears when it is a whole folder not a file.

[@paphitisn]

The only way is to add that 1 file in a folder and share that folder. The sync only works with folders as the folder is part of the directory tree. It is the same as when you go to explorer you only see the folder structure. The files are in the right window which essentially opens the folder and displays the files and filders inside.

[@alaahusban3187]

@@paphitisn Noted. Many thanks for the valuable information, sir.

[@abhijeettodkari490]

I have 2 onedrive account, device 1 has 365 active subscription but device 2 dont have 365 sub...., is it possible to share folder from device 1 so i can access on device 2 which dont have 365 sub...

[@paphitisn]

No. You can generate dmshare links but you will not be able to have the shared folder displayed in Explorer. These are accounts which are in different domains so the one domain is not able to authenticate an account on another. This is why you can only create share links with no authentication with accounts on other domains. The most you can do is to create a share link with password so that only the intended participants can access the files.

[@user-qf8wo9mr9c]

thank you , save my life

[@paphitisn]

Glad this helped you

[@money201141]

Thank you so much and t his has been really useful!

[@paphitisn]

I am glad. Thanks for the feedback

[@anoobgamerNG]

How to get files in Onedrive - Personal?...I am asking this bcoz i have already used shared file in windows explorer in onedrive - personal for almost 2 years now..but suddenly i stopped showing and syncing shared with me folder in my explorer... I already tried these : 1. unlink and relikng account. 2. uninstall and reinstall onedrive. 3. relaunching onedrive. 4. restarting PC. 5. after uninstall i removed all local files and reinstalled still no use. 6. windows is up to date . i already checked. 7. one drive is up to date. 8. revoking access and giving access again but no use (here i also tried doing uninstallation, relink etc.). PLz help.....

[@chrisbaczynski4456]

What if user one did not share a folder but only a file?

[@paphitisn]

in that case you will not see the SYNC button at the top as this only appears after you open a folder and it will sync the folder. The explorer navigation pane only displays the folder structure so you can not sync a file in the navigation pane of Explorer, just like you can not display your files in the navigation pane of explorer. Best solution is to ask the person to share a folder with you and place files in that folder.

[@Lorgayle1]

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! Do you know how much time I spent in a Google search for this answer?? Very easy to understand and follow. 🤩

[@paphitisn]

You are welcome. Thank you for leaving your feedback

[@crossthreadaeroindustries8554]

Not good. I just upgraded to Family plan from Personal and the Sync is not available, defeating the reason I upgraded in the first place.

[@paphitisn]

I am sorry to hear you upgraded to Familly to access this feature. I did post a comment just before yours explaining this feature is only available for business or school accounts.

[@crossthreadaeroindustries8554]

@@paphitisn Your vid is great, it was I just found out I made a big mistake assuming I could randomly use the 6T in the family plan. When I found your vid I, of course, was elated. then the big letdown...

[@lacyp5530]

Thank you!😉😊👍

[@paphitisn]

you are welcome

[@danieltanner518]

what can I do if I don't have "sync" at the top of the web page at 5:53 video?

[@paphitisn]

Please see the pinned comment. The feature is only available for work school accounts and business. Not available for personal accounts

[@moisestatis5418]

Great video. And for most people it has worked. It is unfortunate that for me is not working. I opened a O365 basic corporate account on free-trial to test this with my existing O365. I shared a FOLDER from the new account to existing, but I do not see in the latter the folder in the section "shared with me". I understand that there is no need to open the link received by email. Do not know what I can be doing wrong. I followed the steps of this video.

[@paphitisn]

are you using two 365 accounts on different domains? This feature is only available for business and education accounts and works with accounts on the same tenant.

[@moisestatis5418]

@@paphitisn thanks Nikos for your kind reply. Unfortunately, yes I'm talking of two diferent domain. Understood now the MUST be email accounts of same tenant. Is there a way around that? If not, what is the purpose of allowing to register externals in the access options?

[@paphitisn]

@@moisestatis5418 i dont think different domains can share in this manner but not 100% sure. Are both accounts business accounts with E3 or E5 license ? If not then defiantly will not work. I think the reason why it only works with accounts managed by the same tenant is because authenticating the users can only be done by the tenant. So tenant 1 can not authenticate the credentials of user on tenant 2. Only if both domains are managed by the same tenant. Or at least that is my take on it. Externals can be added so that they can see users in the tenant for sharing purposes by the 365 tenant can not do the authentication of the external.

[@moisestatis5418]

Nicos, thanks for all your patience and orientation. It has been a good Learning experience. Hopefully, these inquires and replies will help others as well.

[@paphitisn]

@@moisestatis5418 always happy to help. We are always learning so better to do it together by sharing. You never know, what you are trying to do may become a future feature, lets hope. Its been great chating. 👍

[@GokoSmileski]

Sync button missing, any help with that. Cant find anything in settings.

[@paphitisn]

Please read the pinned post

[@GokoSmileski]

@@paphitisn I did was working fine just till few days ago. Not sure why it stopped. This account from office 365 family subscription

[@paphitisn]

@@GokoSmileski make sure you open the folder you want to sync first.

[@PawelGB-fl9ci]

@@GokoSmileski I've had the same thing since Friday :/

[@GokoSmileski]

@@PawelGB-fl9ci any solution ?

[@Anon-he5tq]

I don’t have the option to sync the shared folder depicted at 6:54 ☹️ What should I do ?

[@paphitisn]

It dows not exist for home version of 365

[@Salam702]

how to sync deferant domain

[@paphitisn]

Not possible

[@ddp2049]

i dont see that sync option on my 365

[@paphitisn]

not available for home 365 account

[@ddp2049]

@@paphitisn thank you for the response Is There a work around for it.

[@paphitisn]

no@@ddp2049

[@benlwyy]

Really helpful. Thank you ☺️ Liked and subscribed 😊

[@paphitisn]

I am glad you found it helpful. Thanks for the feedback, the like and of course the subscribe :)

[@0305SEA]

after a file uploaded is there a way to create a alert notification via email to all sharing members?

[@paphitisn]

you can do this with power automate. Depending on what you want to do and how you are sharing folders, you can accomplish this with the Request Files feature of OneDrive. Here is a time stamp link explaining it kzbin.info/www/bejne/naixYmWcgN2CrK8

[@sachindrad1870]

How the *new* and *upload* link came in web browser, I am not getting it Thank you!

[@needornob]

❤❤❤

[@FLAGGaming]

Definitely useful

[@canaveenkumar7062]

Nice

[@yuvaraj-ci6ev]

Hi Nicos Paphitis, I want to display shared file from one drive shared file to my windows explorer - that is . pbix file with 99mb. Pls help ...

[@paphitisn]

You can not sync a file. You must place the file in a folder and sync the folder which contains the file to your Windows Explorer

[@yuvaraj-ci6ev]

@@paphitisn Thank you so much

[@mirogavalier6471]

Hello, I don't see the link to the desktop, what to do about it? Video Time 6:00 min

[@paphitisn]

please see the pinned post

[@amybonser8479]

this doesnt work for me, it just links me to the online folder

[@paphitisn]

@@amybonser8479 option not available for personal 365 accounts.

[@sounddanezzboiz]

how about personal one drive? just added short cus to my drive??? or any sollution sir???

[@paphitisn]

Sorry no this does not work with personal OneDrive

[@wansirijrusw3865]

Can i just purchase the business onedrive for myself to use sir? Or only the orgainzation can use the business onedrive ?

[@7853SPS]

option not showing

[@paphitisn]

Does not work with personal accounts. Please see pinned comment for a check list.

[@joseperez-vn4gz]

What if you sync a shared folder and dont see the two buildings library on the file explorer?

[@paphitisn]

If you have onedrive installed and signed in with the sMe account, it should appear

[@joseperez-vn4gz]

@@paphitisn Its displayed under user files and folders in a second level, I cant move it to the first level of the list te be listed direcly when you open the file explorer.

[@adarshdhurwey4512]

Thank you so much it's really really really helpful, I'm having a question if you help me it would be life saving, I have a personal onedrive and office onedrive (which I'm not able to login from add an account) they shared a folder in office Onedrive, So can I see that folder in my system without adding an account like the procedure you shown.

[@paphitisn]

No, the permissions are applied to your account so you need to be signed in to sync the folder as the folder suns through onedrive.

[@adarshdhurwey4512]

@@paphitisn ohh thank you

[@AamenIs]

"Add shortcut to my files."

[@plokstele_lt]

There is no sync button

[@paphitisn]

You must have a OneDrive for business

[@spetauskas]

hmm i did same thing but I get totaly different results,. only option that I got with shared file is download. why it has to be so fu....g complicated :D

[@paphitisn]

Have you opened the folder that has been shared with you? Note, you can only sync a folder that has been shared with you. You cannot sync a file. If you are trying to add a file that has been shared with you to explorer you will only get the Download option. The other party must place the file(s) in a folder and share the folder with you. Let me know if that helps or if you need more assistance

[@spetauskas]

I have only that much option when I open shared link with me

[@paphitisn]

@@spetauskas from there open a folder that is shared with you. Click the 3 dots if the sync is not there. Watch the video carefully. After you go to shared with me you eed to open the folder you will sink.

[@spetauskas]

@@paphitisn on three dots I got options manage access , download, copy to and details. on my drive in shared folder, I don't see this file.

[@supportitservices6349]

File mou , euxaristoume

[@paphitisn]

Parakalo

[@smushamsi]

damn microsoft.... option should be availabe to paid customers at least

[@sassy1922]

omg it worked!!!!! You saved me so much work!!!! Thanks a million!

[@paphitisn]

I am glad this tutorial helped you. Thanks for your comment.