I'm currently using OneDrive to create shortcuts to SharePoint document libraries in File Explorer for easier access to job folders. However, we're facing some serious sync issues, especially with users attempting to sync very large document libraries. One particular user is trying to sync nearly an entire SharePoint site, which is leading to performance problems and sync errors with the OneDrive client. I know that Microsoft advises against syncing excessively large libraries, but in cases where users need access to numerous job folders, what's the best way to handle this?
5 Answers
Ideally, users should be accessing their files through Teams or directly via the SharePoint web interface. I've found that using Teams for file access is much smoother than syncing. If Teams isn't an option, consider other tools like Egnyte, which are designed for handling large files better.
You might want to look into configuration settings that keep SharePoint libraries online-only instead of allowing full downloads. This way, you can avoid those syncing issues, but make sure your users are informed about accessing files online.
Good point! Even with online-only settings, if there are too many files, OneDrive can still struggle to sync.
I totally relate; I deal with this kind of issue in a lot of client environments. Everyone seems to want to sync everything down to their desktops, which is just a recipe for chaos. Honestly, I think there should be a limit on syncing from SharePoint—if it exceeds a certain number of items, it shouldn't even be an option, but here we are.
Absolutely! It’s frustrating. Restructuring how we work or using tools outside of SharePoint might be the way to go.
One alternative could be splitting the SharePoint site into smaller, more manageable sections. It might not be ideal, but it could help with those sync issues.
Honestly, the best approach is to train users to access their files via a browser. Trying to sync a lot of files is just asking for trouble. Sync might work for smaller libraries, but once you hit around 150K items, OneDrive starts to freak out.
Yeah, we’ve switched a few clients to Egnyte, and it seems to work a lot better than SharePoint. It’s hard to tell the higher-ups that syncing the whole library is a bad decision when they’re set on it, though.