Using One Drive to automatically back up My Documents folder

Anonymous
2014-05-28T20:37:52+00:00

Hello 

I would like to automatically sync the My Documents folder to One Drive. What is the best way of achieving this ?  The online information on OIneDRive does not make this clear 

Tony

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Files, folders, and storage

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@CmdrKeene 90,631 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2014-05-29T03:22:52+00:00

Perhaps the easiest way is to set the Documents folder to be saved inside your OneDrive folder.

  1. If you don't already have one there, create a folder named "Documents" inside your OneDrive folder.
  2. Right-click the original Documents folder (not the one created in step 1), and choose Properties
  3. On the Location tab, click Move, and choose the Documents folder you created in step 1.
  4. Confirm that you want to move your Documents folder.

You'll still see a Documents folder inside your C:\Users\Tony folder, but it's actually become a redirect -- anything put there will actually be inside OneDrive (both on your hard drive and, of course, synced up to OneDrive cloud).  You can even do this for your Desktop folder and other special shell folders that have a location tab on their properties.

Windows 8's Internet Explorer already syncs your bookmarks, but if you have a PC using 7 or older, this is also a great way to sync your bookmarks (Favorites).

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@CmdrKeene 90,631 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2014-05-30T21:58:38+00:00

The "Restore Default Location" button won't be available, but you will certainly be able to put Documents back to the proper location if you decide to do so later.  That warning is actually a bit of a stretch.

It's possible (although incredibly unlikely), that you would have to go set the Documents folder path correct in the registry, but even that is actually pretty quick and easy if you needed to.

In the registry, this value controls which folder is considered the "documents" folder.  It's under HKEY_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

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  1. @CmdrKeene 90,631 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2018-06-13T03:50:49+00:00

    Glad to help. I even still do that today.

    Back in January I was out of town for a week. But being a typical nerd, you may not be surprised to know that I sometimes install software from questionable sources, or even trustworthy sources but beta and test software that has serious bugs and problems. 

    At my hotel I totally crashed my PC. But no worry, I ran a quick factory reset. That took about 15 minutes, plus another 15 or so to install office and my favorite web browser and such. But before I could get a pizza delivered, my computer was back and running fine, nice and clean, and all my files were still in OneDrive like they never left. I don't know if I would consider myself average, but I have about 300 gigabytes of files in my OneDrive. About 12,000 of those files are pictures, another 500 or videos, and pretty much the rest is documents dating all the way back to Junior High School. So while it is technically not a backup service, it handles the job for me as if it were.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-06-13T03:20:33+00:00

    Hello Shawn 'Cmdr' Keene,

    Many thanks for the explanation – yes, what a handy back-up for Documents and Pictures folders built in to Windows 10!

    Also, belated gratitude for your simple instructions (maybe three years back now) on how to sync and set the Documents folder to be saved inside their respective OneDrive folders.

    May you be showered with good fortune!

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  3. @CmdrKeene 90,631 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2018-06-12T20:49:48+00:00

    If you login to a new computer with the same account, the files will indeed to that computer. That's the beauty of it. 

    You can also reach the files anytime from your phone with the app, or from any other computer by going to the OneDrive.com site.

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