Can OneDrive be Used as a Document Management System?

OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service that provides users with a platform to store, share, and collaborate documents. OneDrive for Business and SharePoint, both in Office 365, are tools that can empower teamwork and seamlessly collaborate across the organization. On this page, we will elaborate on how to use OneDrive for document management with several tips.

What are the Benefits of OneDrive?

Though OneDrive isn't perfect when compared to a professional document management system, it offers a number of advantages. For example:

• Support storing and previewing hundreds of file types.
• Unlimited file access, from any networked device.
• Provide Personal Vault in OneDrive for encrypted and secure access to files.
• Share content across teams easily.
• Flexible storage options, up to unlimited OneDrive storage.
• Tight integration with other Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Teams).

7 Tips on Using OneDrive for Document Management

OneDrive offers a desktop app, a web app, and a mobile app to upload and access online files. You should set up OneDrive on your device before learning full guides on using Office 365 for document management.

If you store a lot of files on your OneDrive and find it difficult to keep track of all content, with the tips in this tutorial, you can easily manage all your files and find anything you need quickly. You will never lose any files again!

Tip 1. Upload Files to OneDrive

Typically, depending on the browser you use, you can upload a single file up to 250 GB in OneDrive. And on iOS and Android devices, you are allowed to automatically upload photos to OneDrive. Here we take adding files to OneDrive on the web as an example to show you detailed steps.

1. Go to the OneDrive or OneDrive for Business website and sign in.

2. Click Upload and select Files or Folder to choose the items you want to sync to OneDrive.

Alternatively, you could directly drag and drop files from your computer to the Dropbox web interface to upload data.

Tip 2. Organize OneDrive Files in Different Views

To make your OneDrive files look organized, it's essential to manage them in a way that works for you. OneDrive provides several views to organize all files, including List, Compact List, and Tiles. It also allows you to sort files by Name, Modified, and File size for easy document management on OneDrive. (For example, select the Modified header, then choose Older to newer or Newer to older.)

You can also rename a file or folder by selecting it and clicking Rename to input a new name. If you want to move a file/folder from one location to another, select it and use the Move to option to get it easily.

Tip 3. Share OneDrive Files with Collaborators

On OneDrive, you can not only share files with users in your organization but also share files with non-members as well as non-OneDrive users, which might be a necessary function when you use OneDrive for document management. Here is what to do:

1. Select the desired files/folders, and right-click it to select Share or click the Share button on the top bar.

2. Select share with link or share by email via by adding email addresses or names.

3. You can set permission to the shared files as Can edit or Can view. If you are on a premium plan, you could set an expiration date and password for the shared data.

Tip 4. Create New Folder on OneDrive

If you want to create a new folder on OneDrive to share and collaborate with, just go on with the following instructions:

1. On the OneDrive website, click on New on the top menu.

2. Select Folder or other options from the drop-down menu. Then, enter the folder name and click Create.

Tip 5. Recover Deleted OneDrive Files

Data recovery is a powerful feature of OneDrive file management system. You are able to recover files from OneDrive within 30 days of file deletion. Also, you could restore your entire account to a previous date to undo all actions that occurred on OneDrive files and folders.

• To restore a deleted file from OneDrive, you could click Recycle bin on the left bar of OneDrive, select the item you want to recover, and click Restore.

• To restore the whole OneDrive account to an old date, please click OneDrive Settings > Restore your OneDrive, then select a date to start the restoration.

Tip 6. Restore Previous Version of OneDrive Files

When you co-edit documents with multiple people, you might find that it is difficult to keep multiple versions of files and refer to earlier drafts. But don't worry. OneDrive version control gives you the ability to view timestamped versions of files and restore an old version.

1. Right-click the file you wish to restore to an old version and click Version history.

2. Tap on the three vertical dots position of the target version and hit Restore.

Tip 7. Access OneDrive Files Offline

While OneDrive is an online storage platform, it enables you to access OneDrive files offline when you are on the go. This is a great feature for desktop and mobile devices when you are using OneDrive for document management.

On desktop:

1. Go to OneDrive Settings on the desktop and turn on Files On-Demand on OneDrive.

2. Open the OneDrive folder. Right-click the file you want to access offline and choose Always keep on this device. Then, it is available for you to view and edit offline.

On mobile phone:

Locate the file, click on the Menu (three vertical dots) button, and select Make Available Offline.

Except for the above tips, OneDrive comes with other features, such as using OneDrive’s search function to find your missing files, letting OneDrive keep files online only to free up local space with Clear space, using OneDrive Personal and Business on the same computer, etc.

Easiest Way to Get More Free OneDrive Storage for Storing Files

When you plan to use OneDrive for document management, enough OneDrive storage is necessary. If not, you will not be able to upload files to your OneDrive and edited files will not be synced. Luckily, there is a free method that can help you increase OneDrive storage, using CBackup to combine cloud accounts.

CBackup is a free cloud backup service designed to sync and backup files to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and its own storage space CBackup Cloud, with 5GB of free space. It comes with a “Combine Cloud” feature that allows you to merge multiple OneDrive accounts as well as merge OneDrive with Google Drive and Dropbox.

Please download and install the CBackup program on your computer, and then follow the guides below to expand your OneDrive storage.

1. Register an account for CBackup and log in to the CBackup desktop app.

2. On the Storage tab, choose OneDrive, and press Authorize Now to allow CBackup to access your OneDrive files. Then, hit + Add Cloud to add all your OneDrive clouds or other clouds to it.

3. After that, hit + Add Combined Cloud, then select all cloud drives you want to combine, and press Next.

4. Specify the cloud order you’d like to save backup files and hit Combine.

Now, you could back up files from your computer to the combined cloud by selecting Backup > Backup PC to Combined Cloud.

In addition, you can use CBackup as a cloud migration tool to sync OneDrive files to Google Drive, Dropbox, and FTP/SFTP, with one click.

Summary

Using OneDrive for document management is an easy and low-cost solution to keep your documents organized and accessible. These given tips on this page can help you make it much easier and clearer to manage all documents on OneDrive. What’s more, we introduce a method for you to gain more OneDrive storage at no cost.