download documents from OneDrive to computer

Question

How do I download documents & pictures from OneDrive to my computer.

Answer 1

You have two options here -

If you still want your files to be backed up to OneDrive, you can turn OnDemand OFF.

Basically selet all folders in OneDrive folder, right click and choose "always keep on this device".

This will turn all files actual local copies, but also sync to OneDrive. You can still access them while offline, and the changes will sync when connected back to internet.

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Otherwise, another option is to turn off OneDrive's auto sync of your user shell folders altogether.

1. Right click on the OneDrive cloud icon on the lower right on your taskbar to go to Settings.
2. On the "Sync and Backup" tab, click on "Advanced Settings" to expand that section. Then under File On-Demand, click on "Download all files".
3. Give it plenty of time to allow the files to be downloaded from the online cloud. On your computer's file explorer, you can observe the OneDrive folder and its folders/files inside. You want all of the green checkmark icon to turn solid green with a white checkmark. Depends on how many files you have, this process can take a while, so please be patient.
4. Once all of the folders and files turn into the solid green icon with white checkmark, you can go back to OneDrive Settings. Very important - click on "Manage Backup" button, then turn off all folders listed there.

Restart the computer. Now your files are locally saved ONLY. If you have any files you want to back up to OneDrive, you manually move them from say Document folder (as an example) to any folder inside OneDrive folder so it can sync to OneDrive.

Answer 2

My goal is to have access to all my files on my computer when there is no internet or access to OneDrive.

I understand that you must first download all your OneDrive files to computer. I have only have 4g of data on OneDrive and my computer has a 1T hard drive basically empty.

I am considering:

1.      Office 2024 from Groupon on my computer.

2.      WPS

3.      Microsoft Free

I bought a new windows 11 computer with Microsoft 365 in 2024. I primarily use only Word & Excel.

Is it all or none with OneDrive? It appears that I cannot store a newly created document to both OneDrive & my computer.   I would like the option of selecting future Office files on my computer for back-up to OneDrive. Microsoft 365 might be great but I prefer the old way of creating on your computer & periodically backing up.

Answer 3

Hi da Woo,

You can download your documents and pictures from OneDrive to your computer in a couple of ways.

Option 1: Download from the OneDrive Website

1. Sign in to your OneDrive account.
2. Select the files or folders you want to download.
3. Click Download from the toolbar.
4. The selected files will be downloaded to your computer, typically to the Downloads folder.

Option 2: Copy files to Your Device Using the OneDrive App

If OneDrive is already set up on your PC:

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Select OneDrive in the navigation pane.
3. Locate the files or folders you want to store locally.
4. Copy them to your local drive.

If you're unable to download your files, please let me know:

• Your Windows version (Windows 10 or Windows 11).
• Whether you're using a personal or work/school OneDrive account.
• Any error messages you receive.

I will be glad to help further.