Accessing Sharepoint in File Explorer without saving to local hard drive

Question

My company is transitioning from Google Drive to SharePoint. I've been tasked with moving 300GB of data over and would love to be able to access all these files using File Explorer. But for obvious reasons, I don't want to save 300GB of data to my computer's hard drive. Does SharePoint have the ability to view and save files in File Explorer without saving locally?

What I am going for is something similar to Google Drive File Stream, where you can have all your files visible in File Explorer and selectively choose which ones you have access to offline and which ones will download from GDrive everytime you open it.

Answer 1

Hi Jon,

You may need a Windows 10 computer with Fall Creators Update to use the Files On-Demand feature in the new OneDrive sync client to save all files online not locally.

For your reference: https://support.office.com/en-us/article/learn-about-onedrive-files-on-demand-0e6860d3-d9f3-4971-b321-7092438fb38e

Thanks,

Cliff

Answer 2

How about for Windows 7?

Answer 3

If you have the Google Drive app set up and create a network location for your SP instance,  you may be able to drag files from GD to SP. Network  locations are by far the easiest way to work with SP without incurring the overhead of the dysfunctional OneDrive sync client.

Be prepared for a loooong process - SP is notoriously slow....300gB could take several days/weeks.

Answer 4

Hi Jon,

Thanks for your updates.

The Files On-Demand feature in the new OneDrive sync client is now only available on a Windows 10 computer with Fall Creators Update in Windows. I suggest you vote here as it is a direct way for product developers to know users’ requirements and improve our products.

Thanks,

Cliff

Answer 5

If you create network locations you don't need the incorrectly named "files on demand". You can access all files directly from SP and only download what you need to access offline. Simpler and more efficient. And no need for Windows 10.