Onedrive - Attachment and Scans folders endlessly creating automatically

Question

Hi, recently my Onedrive account has begun to automatically created two folders named Scans and Attachments directly. Every time I delete them, they reappear a day later - they are always empty. I do not use my Outlook email for anything and use Onedrive merely to save Word and Powerpoint documents. My writing is stored in a lot of specific folders so having two empty useless ones constantly present is frustrating. All answers online point me toward settings options that don't exist on my laptop or mobile, or community posts in which someone describes an issue similar to mine but not the same.

How do I stop these folders from creating themselves on my account?

Answer 1

How do I do this on a Mac?

Answer 2

Dear DiJGit

Thanks for raising your concerns in Microsoft Community.

We understand that you are facing the problem of two folders being automatically created in OneDrive. I understand your feelings and this problem is indeed troubling.

We need to confirm some details with you so that we can provide you with the appropriate solution.

• Do you use Outlook?
• And what folders are backed up by OneDrive?

First of all, this is a normal situation for OneDrive. These default folders are indeed automatically created. This is not a malfunction.

The Attachments folder in OneDrive is created by Outlook to store email attachments. This feature allows you to access your email attachments from any device through OneDrive. Unfortunately, there is no direct option in Outlook to stop creating this folder.

This is in the earlier Microsoft storage changes, which moved Outlook's attachment storage to OneDrive. So it automatically creates an attachment folder for each Outlook/Hotmail account to create it.

If you do not want to display the folder, we can try to manually cancel the folder:

• Right-click the OneDrive system tray – click [Settings] – go to the [Account] tab – click [Select Folder] – uncheck the [Attachments] folder.

If there is no [Attachments] folder in the list, we can disable the folder display in the following way:

Note that following this method may cause an error window to pop up in some cases, and it will also affect the normal use of the backup function. However, since you mentioned that you backed up Word and PowerPoint documents, you can consider trying it.

• Find the root OneDrive folder on your computer. By default, it's located in C:\Users\Onedrive.
• Right click on it and open properties, go to [Security] tab, click [Advanced].
• Click [Add], then click [Select Subject].
• Type [Everyone] in the box, then press Enter or click [OK].
• Change [Type] to [Deny]. Change [Apply to] to [This folder only].
• Uncheck all Basic permissions and click [Show Advanced Permissions].
• Select [Create Folder/Additional Data] and click OK.
• Click Apply and then select OK.

Go to the OneDrive folder on your computer and try to create a folder. If you receive an [Access Denied] error, the operation was successful. The OneDrive app is running on your user account and has been denied permission to create a folder.

You can refer to the above information first, I hope it will be helpful to you. We also look forward to your reply and will continue to provide you with assistance. If there is anything unclear, you can reply at any time.

Your understanding and patience will be greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

Tracy - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 3

Dear

We notice you have not replied to Tracy's reply, what is the current situation?

Please reply to share with us an update on your issue and we will continue to assist you.

If there are any questions, yea feel free to reply.

Best Regards,

Yujun.F-MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist

Answer 4

Dear DiJGit

We haven't heard from you for a while. How is your problem going?

We look forward to your reply and will continue to provide you with assistance. If there is anything unclear, you can reply at any time.

I sincerely wish you a nice day and all the best!

Best Regards,

Tracy - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist