Never Run Out of Space Again: The Ultimate Hack to Automatically Make Onedrive Files Online Only on Windows 10!
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably encountered the frustration of running out of space on your computer’s hard drive. With so many files, photos, and videos to store, it’s no wonder that space always seems to be at a premium. But what if I told you that there’s a simple, automated way to free up space on your hard drive and ensure that you never run out of space again?
The hack is called “Files On-Demand,” and it’s a feature that’s been available in Windows 10 since the Fall Creators Update. When enabled, Files On-Demand automatically makes OneDrive files “Online Only,” meaning that they’re stored in the cloud rather than on your hard drive. This means that you can access them whenever you need them, but they won’t take up any space on your computer.
Enabling Files On-Demand is a simple process. Here’s how you do it:
Open up OneDrive settings by right-clicking on the OneDrive icon in your system tray and selecting “Settings.”
Click the “Settings” tab and check the box next to “Save space and download files as you use them.”
Click “OK” to save your settings.
Once you’ve enabled Files On-Demand, any files that you have stored in OneDrive will be marked as “Online Only” by default. You can change this by right-clicking on a file or folder and selecting “Always keep on this device.” This will download the file or folder to your hard drive and mark it as “Always keep on this device.”
Files On-Demand is a great way to free up space on your hard drive, but it does come with a few caveats. First, you’ll need to be connected to the internet to access your Online Only files. Second, Files On-Demand only works with OneDrive files, so it won’t help you free up space if you’re storing files in a different cloud service.
Finally, it’s worth noting that Files On-Demand is only available on Windows 10. If you’re running an earlier version of Windows, you won’t be able to take advantage of this feature.
In conclusion, if you’re tired of running out of space on your hard drive, enabling Files On-Demand is a simple and effective way to free up space without sacrificing access to your files. Give it a try today and never run out of space again!
On Windows 10, Storage sense is a feature that helps you to free up space automatically when your device is running low on storage deleting temporary files, emptying your recycle bin, and cleaning up the Downloads folder.
Starting with Windows 10 version 1809 (October 2018 Update), Storage sense is getting updated with a new feature that makes unused content stored on your OneDrive folder available online-only to free up space.
The ability to make files online-only has been part of the OneDrive for quite a while as part of the Files On-demand set of features. However, it was a feature that you needed to use manually, and Windows 10 version 1809 is now simply adding a new option to automate the process.
In this guide, you’ll learn the steps to configure Storage sense to make your unused OneDrive content locally stored on your device available on-demand.
How to make OneDrive folder take less local space
If you’re running low on storage space, Storage sense can make content that you haven’t access after certain amount time in the OneDrive folder available online-only, and here’s how:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Devices.
- Click on Storage.
- Under “Storage sense, click the Change how we free up space automatically link.
- Storage sense settings on Windows 10 version 1809
- Under “Locally available cloud content,” use the drop-down menu and select when content should become available online-only. Options available, include:
- Never.
- 1 day.
- 14 days.
- 30 days.
- 60 days.
- Storage sense Locally available cloud content option
- Click the Clean now button.
Once you’ve completed the steps, content that hasn’t been opened on your device in more than time you specified will become available only with an internet connection. However, you’ll still be able to see the files in the OneDrive folder, but you’ll need an internet connection to re-hydrate the file you want to open.
Open Settings.
Click on Devices.
Click on Storage.
Under “Storage sense, click the Change how we free up space automatically link.
Storage sense settings on Windows 10 version 1809
Under “Locally available cloud content,” use the drop-down menu and select when content should become available online-only. Options available, include:
- Never.
- 1 day.
- 14 days.
- 30 days.
- 60 days.
Storage sense Locally available cloud content option
Click the Clean now button.
When using this feature, those files that you selected as “Always keep on this device” won’t be affected.
In the case that you don’t see these settings, it’s because you’re not running a supported version of Windows 10. The OneDrive option appears in the Storage sense settings page starting with Windows 10 October 2018 Update. If you’re running version 1803 or earlier, you can still use this feature, but you need to manually right-click the files and select the Free up space option.
