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Deleting files from PC without losing them on Onedrive

Anonymous
2019-12-05T19:48:40+00:00

Hello, I'm trying to figure out how to delete files from my PC without losing them on Onedrive. I leave Onedrive sync on at all times but my goal is to free up some space on the small SSD installed in my computer. In the past when I have deleted files from the PC it also deletes it from Onedrive cloud. Thank you.

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  1. Brian Tillman [Outlook MVP 2007-2019] on Movate 21,710 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2019-12-05T20:04:16+00:00

    Hi, I'm a OneDrive advisor and a OneDrive user like yourself.

    The whole idea of OneDrive is to mirror the OneDrive folder on your PC with the OneDrive allocation in the Microsoft cloud so that anything you do on one is replicated on the other, including deletions. The only way to stop that is to unlink your PC from your OneDrive cloud in Settings>Accounts. If you wish to update the cloud, you can do so in a browser session at https://onedrive.com/. That way, what's in the cloud can differ from what's on the PC, but copying new files to the cloud will be a manual process.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-12-05T20:34:58+00:00

    You do not need to keep your documents on OneDrive as well as on your PC.>Open File Explorer>Click on the Blue OneDrive icon>Right click on any folder or file>In the menu click on 'Clear Space'.  This will remove the folder or file from your computer.  If you open the document later you will need to use clear space to remove it again.

    PS you can do the same using OneDrive on the taskbar.

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  3. Craig Long 16,390 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2019-12-06T06:20:36+00:00

    Hello, I'm trying to figure out how to delete files from my PC without losing them on Onedrive. I leave Onedrive sync on at all times but my goal is to free up some space on the small SSD installed in my computer. In the past when I have deleted files from the PC it also deletes it from Onedrive cloud. Thank you.

    You said the magic words "free up space".  If you have Files On-Demand enabled just right click the folders and files that you want to become cloud-only and select "Free Up Space".  Even when you free up space your files will stay in sync.

    Check out this video: 

    https://support.office.com/en-us/article/save-disk-space-with-onedrive-files-on-demand-for-windows-10-0e6860d3-d9f3-4971-b321-7092438fb38e

    I hope this helps.

    298 people found this answer helpful.
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