OneDrive for Business

OneDrive for Business is a cloud storage service that is provided by Microsoft as part of the College's Office 365 subscription. It enables faculty, staff, and students to store, sync, and share any type of file to numerous other people and devices within the EFSC community.

When your OneDrive account is provided by your school, it is often referred to as OneDrive for Business, and it shares many similarities to other services you may already use or know about, such as Dropbox and Google Drive; however, OneDrive for Business is approved for use throughout the College.

All the files that you store in OneDrive for Business are private unless you decide to share them. You can share files and folders with your co-workers and other students. Faculty can share learning materials with their EFSC students. This allows the EFSC community to collaborate on projects and share resources.

For further information about using OneDrive and its benefits, visit the OneDrive video training web page from Microsoft Support.

Frequently Asked Questions about OneDrive

Accordian Table

How much space do I get?

Your OneDrive for Business account comes with 1 TB (terabyte) of storage. There is a file size limit of 15 GB. Although you can store a file of that size, remember that interacting with a file of that size may seem slow or cumbersome simply due to the network traffic generated. 

Can OneDrive be used to store EFSC files?

Yes! You can store EFSC files, projects, and data as long as they meet the guidelines and do not include any personally identifiable information. Please be careful and do not store any files that might contain ID numbers, grades, Social Security Numbers, or banking information.

Can OneDrive be used to store personal files?

Please do not store personal files on your EFSC Microsoft OneDrive. In the event of a public records request, your personal data may get swept up in the request. Also, upon your separation from the College, you may find that you no longer have access to those cute photos you took of your new puppy. 

How do I access the OneDrive application?

Sign into your Microsoft 365 account, or from within your Outlook student or employee email account, click or tap the app launcher at the top of the page then select OneDrive. The App Launcher is the icon that is nine small dots. Once the drive is open you can create a new document using any of the Microsoft applications in the dropdown or use the Upload function to add files or folders.

If you have any issues, contact the IT support desk.

Can I access my files from anywhere?

Yes, that is the benefit of cloud-based storage!

Please be aware that when working on documents directly from OneDrive your updates are saved in the cloud version and the latest version will be available to access across your devices.

If you download the materials directly to your device and make changes in the version stored on your device, those changes will not be available from all your devices through OneDrive. You can download a file from OneDrive to your device, make changes to the file stored on your device, and when done upload the updated version to OneDrive. You will be prompted to replace the original version or to keep both versions if the file is named the same thing.

How can I back up my computer files with OneDrive?

Visit this Knowledge Base article to learn how and also details on the importance of backing up your files, plus a couple of methods available to protect your information.

Can OneDrive for Business be used with Canvas?

Yes! Faculty can store learning materials for their students in OneDrive; and EFSC has put that connectivity in place. While students will be asked to sign in to get to the learning objects, once they do that, they should have no issues. This will allow faculty to store those critical materials in a place that can easily be reached by both faculty and students.

Can OneDrive be used to share files within the EFSC community?

Yes! You can share files with your co-workers or fellow EFSC students to work collaboratively on projects, or you can share documents and resources.

I have the app and I've stored a document, but I can't find it. How do I search?

That's simple! OneDrive has its own search functionality. Simply use the search bar at the top of the main OneDrive page and it will search all your documents for that elusive search term you've entered.

Search Files on OneDrive

Can I use OneDrive on my Mac, iPad or iPhone?

The OneDrive app is available on iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch devices.

Download the OneDrive app for iOS.

To sign in to OneDrive on the iOS app:

  1. Open the OneDrive app and tap the person icon at the top of the screen

  2. Tap "add OneDrive"

  3. On the sign-in screen, enter your College email address and the password you use to log in to the College network

Can I use OneDrive on my Android devices?

The OneDrive app is available for most Android tablets and phones.

Download the OneDrive app for Android.

Sign in to your Google account to download OneDrive to your device.

To sign in to OneDrive on the Android app:

  1. Open the OneDrive app and tap "sign in" at the bottom

  2. On the sign-in screen, enter your College email address

  3. Select "sign in to OneDrive for Business"

  4. Use the password you use to log in to the College network

Can I create new documents right in my OneDrive folder?

Yes. Simply log in to Office 365, launch OneDrive from within the App Launcher (the nine-dot icon), select the "new" button at the top of the ribbon and choose the document type you want to create. Once you create your document and save it, it is automatically saved in OneDrive. 

Create a Document in OneDrive

Can I turn on versioning for a document?

Yes. Simply go to OneDrive in a web browser, select the file in your library and select the version history from the ribbon. 

Versioning in OneDrive

I deleted a file. How do I get it back?

OneDrive has a recycling bin that stores your deleted files for 30 days. After that, it is gone forever. The EFSC IT department has no way of recovering your file after 30 days in the recycling bin.

My OneDrive account appears to have stopped syncing, what can I do?

This will occur primarily if your password was recently changed. Try signing in again with your email address and new password to begin syncing again. Restarting your device may be a solution. In all cases, a stable internet connection is also required. If these steps do not resolve the issue, check out this Fix OneDrive sync problems web page from Microsoft Support.