Apple has let you sync folders on your Mac with iCloud Drive for nearly two years, and now Microsoft is adding such convenience and protection via its OneDrive cloud service. With Windows 10 ( ), you can now automatically sync your Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders with OneDrive, which not only makes the contents of said folders easily accessible from any Internet-connected device but also adds a layer of protection should your PC go belly-up. This folder syncing is available for all personal, work and school OneDrive accounts.

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Set up OneDrive folder sync

To start syncing folders with OneDrive, you need to get into settings for OneDrive. There are two ways to do this:

1. Click the OneDrive clouds icon in the system tray, click More and then click Settings.

2. If you're using OneDrive's Files On-Demand feature, then you can open File Explorer, right-click OneDrive and choose Settings.

With the OneDrive settings window open, click the Auto Save tab and then click the Update folders button. This opens another window that shows you that your Desktop, Pictures and Documents folder are being synced. You can click Stop protecting to stop syncing any of the three.

Enlarge Image Screenshot by Matt Elliott/CNET

OneDrive sync caveats

According to Microsoft, Outlook PST files and OneNote files can't be synced with OneDrive. Also, OneDrive can't sync files larger than 20GB.