Why can't I deselect folders to sync in My Documents for Onedrive?

Question

Is there a way to deselect specific folders within My Documents for sync to OneDrive? In settings, the folders and subfolders are checked and greyed out so they cannot be unselected. I have games for example that place files in My Documents - some of these are hundreds of MB - I don't want to waste space or bandwidth backing those up.

It looks like it's an all-or-nothing on folders like My Documents, Photos, Music, etc. and that seems crazy to me. Let me decide what I want to back up.

Answer 1

The Manage Backup settings is the only way to stop the Documents folder from syncing to OneDrive.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/back-up-your-folders-with-onedrive-d61a7930-a6fb-4b95-b28a-6552e77c3057

Answer 2

Hi! OneDrive doesn't have this option natively. If you only want to sync certain folders, you can disable syncing with the Documents folder, copy only the desired folders to the OneDrive folder, and then create a shortcut to that folder in Documents or on your desktop.

To disable syncing for a folder, click the ^ in the taskbar > Cloud icon > Gear icon > Settings > Sync and backup > Disable syncing for the Documents folder or the desired folder.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, it is not possible to choose which local folders will be automatically synced to OneDrive, including specific folders within My Documents. OneDrive syncs the entire My Documents folder as a whole, and the options to deselect specific subfolders are not available. This can be frustrating if you have large files or folders that you do not wish to back up.

As a workaround, you could consider using a symlink, which allows you to create a link to a local folder and upload files to OneDrive without syncing the entire My Documents folder. This method can help you manage what gets backed up more effectively.

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References:

• Can you only sync the folders one drive gives you? - Microsoft Q&A