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
    2017-09-19T20:18:00+00:00

    I think you're confusing something.  The "Location tab" we're talking about is only found when you right-click a system shell folder and open the Properties dialog.   The Properties dialog will only show a Location tab if the folder is a registered shell folder, something special like "Pictures" or "Documents".

    If you want to actually move something into the OneDrive folder, just regular drag-and-drop it there, no right-click at all.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-19T20:08:59+00:00

    Sept 18, 2017 and I have the same question. I have Windows 10 Pro 64 bit. When I right click on a folder or file, I don't see an option to click on Location and select move to get it into the OneDrive folder.  Is Windows 10 different?

    K.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-09-10T21:25:24+00:00

    Dear Shawn, thanks for the fast reply and advice. The root of the problem was the long filenames. Copying to the OneDrive folder adds another 9 characters and certain files that were on the edge, viz. 246 characters in the path, failed to copy over. This aborts the whole change-of-location process, but is only apparent right at the end, after a whole 50 GB or so of data is transferred! Anyway, I fixed the long filenames and paths and now all is fine. As you say, the My Documents folder in This PC is now empty, makes sense. Regards John

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