I'm looking for ways to configure OneDrive via Group Policy to ensure that all files are stored only in the cloud and not locally on users' desktops. My team works with large files, and I want to prevent local storage entirely. I've seen many guides on disabling OneDrive, which isn't what I want—I just want to make local storage a non-option. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
It sounds like you’re hitting a wall here. OneDrive does have to work with local files for functionality, but ensuring that the correct policies are in place can minimize local storage use, even if you can't avoid it completely. Just be sure to educate users on saving directly to the cloud to keep their local storage lighter!
It seems like you might be aiming for a setting that just doesn’t exist in OneDrive. Users will have to download files locally to access them, especially if they're using Office apps instead of the browser. A workaround could be setting up a script to clear out local files regularly, but it doesn’t solve the basic issue of needing access to files initially. Maybe look into making sure users are aware of using online versions instead.
You might want to look into implementing Known Folder Move through an Intune Policy. This can automatically sign users into OneDrive, move their important folders like Desktop and Documents to OneDrive, and lock down the sync settings so users can’t turn it off. It's a decent middle ground, but it won't stop local copies entirely. Here's a guide that might help you set it up.
That sounds useful, but will it really prevent local copies? Files seem to have to be stored locally to even open them.
While it's a challenge, you should definitely check out the Group Policy to control OneDrive settings. You can definitely drop files into the cloud and manage where files are stored, but users will always have some local caching happening when they use OneDrive. There’s a page from Microsoft that might give you more insights into the potential policies you can use.
Unfortunately, OneDrive needs to download files locally when you want to open them. It's built that way. If you're really looking to limit local storage, you might need to remove user permissions for local write access, but that’s a huge step up from just configuring GPO settings. Have you thought about making users work through the OneDrive website instead? That’s what we did in my last job—it was more reliable that way!
Yeah, but still, they’ll need those files on their local for a bit before they can open them. Just makes it tricky.