News

Microsoft Updating OneDrive with Improved UI and Sharing Options

By Brian Burgess

Updated June 9, 2022

Microsoft today announced a new and improved OneDrive with a cleaner interface and improved sharing options — including Files on Demand.

Microsoft today announced a new and improved OneDrive with a cleaner interface and improved sharing options. The updates will be applied to OneDrive across several platforms. The company made the announcement during its Ignite 2017 conference today. The company is bringing several improvements to OneDrive that will please consumers as well as IT administrators. The most notable improvements are to the web interface and a Files On-Demand feature. Here’s a look at what you can expect when the updates debut on October 17^th with the Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

Updated OneDrive Features

The OneDrive web client UI is getting a makeover which includes new icons and colors. The new interface will be cleaner and more intuitive. It’s also getting a performance boost to make it more responsive.

In addition to the cleaner interface, there will be an improved sharing experience. The new sharing features will be applied to Windows, Mac and the Web for a more consistent experience. It will support external sharing without requiring a Microsoft account. The new sharing pane allows you to share select documents to share with specific people or those within an organization.

Here is a look at some of the other changes to OneDrive the company announced today. For more details on other new improvements, check out Microsoft’s OneDrive blog post.

• We will have full support for workflows via Microsoft Flow in OneDrive rolled out by end of year.
• Self Service Migration Toolkit- We are releasing a migration toolkit for self-service users looking to migrate from share drives or other cloud based services to OneDrive on their own.
• Updates to our mobile client- To make our mobile client even easier to use, we are bringing over some of the great new functionality from our webpage to mobile. You will be able to quickly see what content has been shared with others as well as being able to see who has accessed the content and who has not.
• Support for On-Prem customers with Windows and Android App- We are happy to announce we fully support our OneDrive On-Premise customers on both the Windows and Android platforms.
• Sharing desktop notifications- New mobile and desktop notifications allow you to quickly see when files that have been shared have been opened or changed by the team.
• Zip File Support- Now open zip files in the web view to see what’s inside and, pick and choose the files you would like to extract.
• Integration of sync client into Mac Office- The OneDrive client will now be installed as part of the Office for Mac installation process.
• Support for NGSC (next generation sync client) in SharePoint 2019

It has been quite a while since OneDrive has gotten a big overhaul and this is a big one. In the end, it should make for fast and easier sharing and collaboration between users and improve productivity.

Are you a fan of OneDrive and like the changes that are coming? Leave us a comment below and let us know what you think.