OneDrive

Overview

Eligibility

OneDrive is part of Microsoft 365 and is available to all staff and students. 

OneDrive allows you to store files in the cloud and access them on various devices, whether you’re on campus or working remotely. It’s the storage behind Microsoft 365 web apps, allowing you to create, edit and share documents directly from your web browser. Anything you create in the web apps will be saved to OneDrive. 

You can access Microsoft 365 apps, including OneDrive, on your work computer, personal device or mobile. Learn how to access Microsoft 365 apps.

Key features

• all University managed Windows laptops* have OneDrive installed. Anything you save in your desktop, documents and pictures folders are automatically backed up in OneDrive
• save and open OneDrive files directly in Microsoft apps, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint. OneDrive is the default save location when using Microsoft 365 apps
• keep track of changes to your document and revert to an older version (up to 30 days)
• make files available for when you don't have an internet connection

*Managed laptops using Azure have Microsoft 365 installed as standard. Find out how to tell if your laptop is managed by Azure.

Storage limits

Staff have 100GB of OneDrive storage and students have 20GB. Find out how to manage your OneDrive storage and what to do if you run out.

Guidance

Before using OneDrive, please consider the following:

• OneDrive should only be used for work documents which others do not require access to. We do not recommend sharing documents in OneDrive. Instead use shared Google Drives as this ensures documents are accessible even if the original creator leaves the University 
• Google Drive is the University of York’s primary cloud service and provides much greater storage capacity
• exported documents will not capture all the information in the original document such as previous versions
• you need an internet connection to access documents, unless you’ve previously downloaded them
• OneDrive offers good access and security but may be unacceptable in some very specific cases (eg highly sensitive research data)
• the University of York’s OneDrive content is stored within the United Kingdom. Learn more about data privacy and protection

Working with sensitive data

If you're using sensitive data supplied as part of a research contract, please ensure: 

• you’re aware of the requirements of the data provider, who may not agree to datasets being stored or shared via OneDrive
• data on OneDrive is tied to an individual and will be deleted as and when you leave the University  

To find out more about handling sensitive information, see our Microsoft usage guidelines. 

Support

Support from IT Services

• Moving files from OneDrive to Google Drive
• Moving files from Google Drive to OneDrive

Help from Microsoft

• Troubleshoot common OneDrive issues (Microsoft)
• What do the OneDrive icons mean?
• Restore your OneDrive (Microsoft)
• Restore deleted files or folders (Microsoft)
• Restore a previous version of a file stored in OneDrive

Looking for further support?

Search OneDrive help on the Support Portal.

Our Commitments

Your responsibilities

We expect you:

• to manage your documents, deleting any that are no longer needed
• to manage the ownership and sharing settings of your documents to keep them secure and only available to people authorised to access them
• upon leaving or changing roles, to transfer ownership of documents that will continue to be needed to a colleague

Access OneDrive

You can access Microsoft 365 apps, including OneDrive, on your work computer, personal device or mobile. Learn how to access Microsoft 365 apps.