Windows 11 All-in-One For Dummies

Chapter 5

Storing in OneDrive

IN THIS CHAPTER

Introducing OneDrive

Working with OneDrive through File Explorer

Running OneDrive on the internet

Files On-Demand

Sharing files and folders on OneDrive

Let’s start with the basics: OneDrive is an online storage service, sold by Microsoft, which has some features woven into Windows to make it easier to work with your files stored on Microsoft’s servers in the cloud. (Cloud is another word for the web or the internet.) “In the cloud” is just a euphemism for “stored on somebody else’s computer.”

If you have a Microsoft account (such as an Outlook.com ID, or Hotmail ID, or any of a dozen other kinds of Microsoft accounts — see Book 2, Chapter 5), you already have free OneDrive storage space, ready for you to use.

OneDrive has many competitors — Dropbox (which I used for this book), Google Drive (see Book 10, Chapter 4), Apple iCloud, SugarSync, Box, and many others. These competitors all have advantages and disadvantages — and the feature ...