Cancel "Add shortcut to OneDrive"

Question

Hi,

I have a user who has clicked "Add shortcut to OneDrive" in a load of SharePoint document libraries to the extent that it is now trying to sync >350k files to his OneDrive! Does anyone know of a way of cancelling the requests to "Add shortcut to OneDrive" so that OneDrive stops trying to sync them? We've tried deleting one of the shortcuts from his OneDrive, but that doesn't seem to affect the sync.

Thanks,
Mark

Answer 1

Dear Mark,

Good day!!

As per the description shared, I understand your concern and to my knowledge, when we remove the shortcuts of the folders in the SharePoint Online site document libraries to the OneDrive for Business, the shortcuts which are synced to the device should be disappeared from the OneDrive synced folder.

Since you have mentioned removing the shortcut from the OneDrive for Business doesn’t remove the shortcut from the OneDrive synced folder, I would like to suggest you try resetting the OneDrive sync client on the problematic user device and check the outcome: Reset OneDrive - Microsoft Support

If still the same problem happens, I would like to request you to remove all the shortcuts added to the user OneDrive for Business via browser and then re-setup the OneDrive account on the user problematic device:

Step 1: Remove the shortcuts added on the user OneDrive for Business (Open the OneDrive for Business in the browser> Right-click on the shortcut and click on Remove Shortcut).

Step 2: Click on the OneDrive icon on the Windows taskbar> Click on the Help & Settings> Settings> Account> Stop sync and unlink this PC.

Step 3: Open the File Explorer> C drive> Users> Folder with the user profile having the problem> AppData> Local> OneDrive> Move the Cache folder to Desktop> Go back to Local folder path> Go to Microsoft folder> OneDrive> Move the complete folders to Desktop location.

Step 4: Restart the device> Setup the user account on the OneDrive sync client again but make sure to choose new location instead of selecting Use this folder.

Moreover, I have done some search where we can only disable Add Shortcut to OneDrive feature on the complete tenant using the PowerShell command: Set-SPOTenant -DisableAddShortCutsToOneDrive $True

Appreciate your patience and understanding. Have a great day!!

Best Regards,

Sophia

Answer 2

Dear Mark,

Thanks for writing back and updating with us.

Glad to hear the steps provided by me helped to resolve the problem and I would like to request you mark the reply by voting the options under "Was this reply helpful?” as you can see here:

This way, you bring the answer to forefront of your thread, providing better visibility and aiding other users in finding valuable guidance.

Thanks a lot,
Sophia

Answer 3

These steps resolved the issue, thank you :)

Answer 4

It's better to stop the sync completely. Then remove shortcuts from the cloud.

Once you have cleared the OneDrive from all the shortcuts, sync again.

Answer 5

Hi Sophie,

Many thanks, we will give these options a try.

Thanks,
Mark