Permissions, sharing and synching for OneDrive for Business

Question

Permissions, sharing and synching for OneDrive for Business

Anonymous

We've been using OneDrive for Business in the IT department and have decided to begin bringing in other groups. We've piloted with two other groups and have come across various issues which I hope can get resolved.

When sharing the root OneDrive folder, we can give ownership but the folder does not show up in the "Shared with me" folder. The only way to navigate via a web browser is to know the link or go through Delve and click on the folder (assuming files have been uploaded or created).
1. When giving ownership we have to give permissions user by user. Adding a user to a security group and then giving that group permissions does not allow the users to access the folder.
When sharing a regular folder, some users can see it in the "Shared with Me" folder and others cannot see it even though permissions were granted at the same time.
Multiple issues with the OneDrive for Business sync app. Some users have a "One Drive for Business" shortcut created in their favorites under Windows Explorer and others get a "SharePoint" shortcut created instead. Sometimes the link appends our Business name and sometimes not.
1. Once we use the website and click "sync" to sync a shared folder which already has folders then nothing syncs until new files have been created in those folders.

I don't know if there's some settings that need to be changed or if we're doing something wrong, but it's been confusing our users when the process isn't the same even though we create the permissions for all the users at the same time and they all have the same rights.

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8 answers

Answer 1

Hi JoeR530,

For the various issues you came across, I reply as below:

For the "sharing the root OneDrive folder", please confirm whether you are sharing the OneDrive for Business library. If so, it won't show up under Shared with me, which is by design. You may use the link to get into the library.

a. Please confirm whether the folder is a folder in the OneDrive for Business. And check if the user can access the folder via the link of the folder or library. Moreover, you may check the user's permissions to see if he can access the folder.

To check the user's permissions for the folder in the OneDrive for Business library: Select a folder in the library>Click the ellipses(…) beside the folder>Click **SHARE>**Click **Shared with>**Click ADVANCED>Under PERMISSIONS,clickCheck Permissions **>**Input the user's name( who can't access the folder) and click Check Now. And you may provide a screenshot of the result for further investigation.

Note: To upload screenshots, you can click Use rich formatting in the forum and then click the icon of Insert/Edit Media.

"Shared with me" is a view to see the files other users shared with you individually. When we share a folder in a library with a security group, the users in the group are not able to see the folder under Shared with me. And if we share the folder with the users directly, the users can see the files under Shared with me**.**Please check whether you input the group name and other users' names at the same time when you share the folder.
For the shortcut, I need to explain that:

If you synced OneDrive for Business, the library appears in File Explorer as either OneDrive - Contoso or as OneDrive for Business.

If you synced a team site library or other user's OneDrive for Business library, the library is listed in your Favorites in the SharePoint folder.

a. For the synced folder, please check if the issue happens to other users.

Moreover, documents you place in OneDrive for Business are private by default. If a document is a collaborative effort related to a project, then saving it to a team site might be a better choice. This article provides some guidelines to help you decide which route to go for your reference.

If anything is unclear, please share feedback.

Thanks,

Felix

Answer 2

Anonymous

Once we forced the synch and added files, they were finally able to see all the files. I will have to address this if it comes up again but I have another issue which I'm going to create a new thread for.

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Answer 3

Anonymous

Hi JoeR530,

May I know if you need further help? Could you provide the information above for our investigation?

Thanks,

Lingyu Sun

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Answer 4

hi joer530,

for the "shared with me", when we share the folder with users individually and directly, the folder will show up under "shared with me". and the "teacher1","teacher2"and "teacher3" are under the "school" as you mentioned above, they won't appear under "shared with me" even though you have shared "school" with users, and you also need to share them with users to let them show up under "shared with me", which is by design. and you may let users access the "school" folder to view the teacher folders in it.

for the synced folder, it may be related to a temporary network connection. and you may try to sync a new folder manually and check if it would appear.

to sync the folder manually: on the right bottom of the screen, click the hide taskbar> right click the onedrive for business icon and select sync now.

![](http://fud.community.services.support.microsoft.com/Fud/FileDownloadHandler.ashx?fid=58c2ec53-a5c8-44cb-8cbc-baeca536faba)

and then click the onedrive for business icon to make sure it is up to date.

![](http://fud.community.services.support.microsoft.com/Fud/FileDownloadHandler.ashx?fid=64e8be05-1178-4b77-972d-5bb0f19527df)

before the users sync the new folder, please check the users' permissions for the folder : select a folder in the library>click the ellipses(…) beside the folder>click **share>**click **shared with>**click **advanced>under permissions, clickcheck permissions >**input the user's name and click check now. you may let us know the result.

thanks,

felix

Answer 5

Hi Felix,

It looks like #1 is expected behavior so that should be okay.

We created the folder and shared the folder to the users individually at the same time, yet they couldn't see all the folders in their "Shared with me." For example, we would create a folder "School" and give permission to 3 teachers. Then under "School" we would create folders, "Teacher1", "Teacher2", "Teacher 3". All 3 of the teachers should have permissions to all of the folders we just created. I would assume "School" should show up in their "Shared with me." Instead, Teacher1 might see the "Teacher2" folder, Teacher2 might see the "School" folder, and Teacher3 would see the "Teacher3" folder.
We did not setup a team site or use another library. We created the folders similar to what I mentioned above in #2 and some say "OneDrive - [Company]", some just say "OneDrive for Business" and others are in the SharePoint favorites link. This isn't a major issue, but it's not consistent so it frustrates the users.

3.a. This has happened to almost all the users. We were targeting about 30 people and almost all of them experienced this issue. The only way I got files to show up in the local synched folder was to login via the website and create a blank document. Then folders and files usually came through.

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Permissions, sharing and synching for OneDrive for Business

8 answers