OneDrive has the ability to allow you to send and receive large files or data quickly and seamlessly. This guide will show you how to utilize OneDrive to accomplish this goal. Currently, OneDrive allows you to store up to 1TB of data in your account. Microsoft has introduced a send and receive limit of 250GB per share link. You can learn more here.
Prepare OneDrive or MS SharePoint to send or receive files
Before you can send or receive files with OneDrive or Microsoft Sharepoint, you'll need to prepare the files for transfer and upload the files to OneDrive or a Microsoft SharePoint site.
For the purposes of this guide, we'll be using a personal OneDrive to send and receive files.
To begin, you'll want to ensure OneDrive is currently running on your machine. This can be quickly identified by heading up to the menu bar in macOS and locating the OneDrive clouds. If you see the clouds, click the clouds and you'll see OneDrive is up to date message:
If you don't see this icon (clouds) in OneDrive Clouds in the Menu bar, you can launch OneDrive from a Finder Window > Applications Tab > OneDrive
Sending Data with OneDrive or MS SharePoint
Once you have finalized what files or data you need, you can either add them directly to OneDrive as a specific folder or upload the files as a zipfile to OneDrive.
NOTE: IT highly recommends you send your files as a zip file or compressed file. You can compress the folder with your files by right clicking the folder, then selecting Compress.
Once you have initiated a compress of the folder or data, you’ll see OneDrive start the sync up. Depending on how much data you are compressing will determine the time. More data = longer wait. No way IT can speed that up unfortunately. Your upload will go faster over a hard line ethernet connection vs WIFI. Consult IT more about this if you have questions.
Once the files are uploaded, you'll see OneDrive indicated everything is up to date which indicates files are ready to be shared.
Within your Finder Window > OneDrive tab (located on the left side under locations), find the file or folder you'd like to share. Once you've located it, right click the file or folder to share. You will see a variety of options. You'll want to locate the section that has the OneDrive icons. These are how you can quickly manage files and folders in your OneDrive.
Select "Share" from this list.
A new send link video will appear for your file or folder. Here you can adjust the level of sharing and any permissions you'd like to enable for recipients. Similar to sharing a Microsoft Office document, you’ll get options on how you’d like to share your files. Go ahead and select the “People in your organization with the link can view” to adjust settings.
Here, you can select what level of sharing you’d like to enable. If you are sharing files with external clients or vendors, select the option for “Anyone who has this link”. You can also set an expires date with a password for extra security if the data is more sensitive.
NOTE: If you password protect the link, DO NOT EMAIL the password!! This defeats the purpose of password protecting it. Call the recipient and share the password. Consult with IT if you have questions regarding this.
After selecting Apply, you can either email it directly to people by entering their email address, or you can select the “Copy Link” option. The Copy Link option provides greater flexibility as you can send it with a crafted custom message to the recipient.
That’s it! You can send your email or send your link to whoever needs it and they can receive files. All the recipient needs to do is select the link, and select Download in the window to start the download process. Below is a screenshot of what the recipient(s) will see:
Receiving Data with OneDrive or MS SharePoint
Need to receive files from an external contact? OneDrive can help you out.
In your OneDrive folder, you'll want to create a new folder. Call it something descriptive as everyone (Clients/Vendors/Etc) will see the name. As an Example, I called this demo folder WDT Project Files. Next right click the folder and select Share
This window might look familiar. You’ll want to select the box where the “People in your organization with the link can view” to alter properties of the link.
Here you can adjust the properties of your link for your upload. I think a standard option is to select “Anyone with the link” to upload AND select “Allow Editing”. Otherwise sender won’t be able to upload anything.
NOTE: If you password protect the link, DO NOT EMAIL the password!! This defeats the purpose of password protecting it. Call the sender and share the password. Consult with IT if you have questions regarding this.
Click Apply once you’ve finalized settings. You can either directly email the link with the built in send option or copy the link to append it to a custom email to your contact.
Once you have the link copied, you can append it to your email and send. Its as simple as that!
Once the sender receives the link, they can click the link to upload or download documents within this folder. Below is a an example of what that looks like.
It’s that simple. If you have any further questions regarding this or need further assistance, please let IT know and we can help you out!
-Nate