Disabling Delete permissions on OneDrive shared folder seems to prevent renaming of created files and folder

Dear @Wisani Maluleke

Thank you for posting your question in the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Based on your description, you asked whether disabling Delete permissions on a OneDrive shared folder also blocks renaming, and how to allow renaming while preventing deletion.

You're correct, in OneDrive (and SharePoint), renaming a file or folder is treated as a “move” operation, which requires delete rights on the original item. When you remove delete permissions, you effectively block renaming because the system cannot complete the move without delete capability

Here are some workarounds:

1. Use SharePoint with Custom Permission Levels
   • Move the folder to a SharePoint document library.
   • Create a custom permission level that includes Add and Edit but excludes Delete.
   • Assign this custom level to the users. This is the recommended enterprise approach.
2. Practical Workaround
   • Communicate the limitation to users and manage renames centrally by the owner.
   • Alternatively, allow full edit rights but use version history to recover accidentally deleted files.

I hope information above helpful, if you have any other questions, please feel free to reach out.

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