Today at SharePoint Conference 2019 (May 21-23), we announced new innovations for to better connect you to all your files in Microsoft 365, from any device. We’re making it easier to share and work together in real-time while using the power of artificial intelligence to help you be more productive. And we're introducing new technology to sync faster and across more user environments.

Planned OneDrive Fluent Design user interface (UI) updates and new features - showing Recommended files, golden folders and a more intuitive way to create shared libraries.

OneDrive connects you to your individual and shared files in Microsoft 365 aggregating access to files from Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and Outlook – across Web, desktop and mobile. You can easily share files inside and outside your organization and work together on them at the same time. Optimize how you work as a team by organizing files with metadata and coordinating workflows to streamline business processes. Intelligent search and recommendations help you find files quickly, so you can spend more time getting things done rather than recreating work. And, as part of Microsoft 365, your files are protected from accidental loss and malicious attacks – backed by enterprise-level security, compliance and manageability. ​

[note: for all, newly disclosed features, we have corresponding new items on the Microsoft 365 Public Roadmap. Each item has a roadmap identification number that directly links to that item on the roadmap and provides an estimated Targeted Release roll out start date. It may take a little bit for them to appear as we just un-embargoed these items to correspond with SharePoint Conference 2019 announcements disclosure.]

OneDrive is the files app for Microsoft 365

Use OneDrive on the Web to upload files and folders, access and manage files from throughout Microsoft 365, discover files based on recent activity and trending motions, and get back to your recent files, shared files and the files you’ve saved for later.

“ The company migration to OneDrive increases collaboration and productivity in direct support of our corporate digitization strategy, which is to create a frictionless experience for our customers, partners, and employees. ”

—Prakash Kota, Chief Information Officer – Autodesk [read the full Autodesk case study]

There is a lot to do and learn about what is happening around you… let’s look at the latest innovations for OneDrive on the Web that were disclosed at SharePoint Conference 2019:

Recommended files view on web [roadmap: 49094]

Leveraging Office’s new intelligent services, Recommended files appear right at the top of your Files view, showcasing relevant files based on how you work and collaborate with others. This view brings attention to important files you may not want to miss, based on actions like a recent edit from a fellow collaborator, highlighting a file you recently opened, and general file activity trends. Get intelligently back in the action.

[note: see the first screenshot above that showcases the coming Recommended files experience]

Intelligent on-hover file card updates [roadmap: 49092]

You can now see important information about a file, like how long it would take to read in full – we call this “time to read” – plus a quick summary of what’s inside – an AI-powered table of contents to get an at-a-glance look inside before you commit to opening it.

Visibility of all file activities per file is key, and now on-hover you’ll see a plethora of visual information about your files. Across OneDrive and SharePoint, the updated file card helps keep track of activity for all files (not just Office). Life cycle signals such as checked-out/in, malware, DLP and missing metadata will also be reflected; the same signals you would see throughout the library (and lists) now come through within the on-hover card experience. You’ll also see activity of guests and anonymous file access in the activity list.

File cards show important, intelligent information like “Inside look” and activity highlights alongside name, views and more.

Save for later [roadmap: 49095]

Like how you can save a SharePoint site or news article to review later, now you can save documents for later. Simply click the Save for later bookmark icon on files and folders from your OneDrive or files in shared libraries so you can more easily get back to them and share them with others. You’ll see an aggregate view of all saved files and news articles under the Saved for later section of SharePoint start page (previously referred to as SharePoint home in Office 365; it will now be accessible when you click My SharePoint off of your company SharePoint home site).

Select a file and click the bookmark "Save for later" icon on the item or up in the library action bar. The item will then appear in the "Saved for later" view on the main OneDrive user interface (UI).

Full-fidelity shared libraries in the OneDrive user interface (UI) [roadmap: 49093]

Not only can you sync shared libraries from SharePoint and Microsoft Teams to your PC or Mac using OneDrive, you can now view shared libraries with full fidelity from within the OneDrive UI on the web. This means you can create new documents, pin important ones to the top, create views, manage metadata, share and more. We are also updating the Create new shared library with a streamlined experience backed by an Office 365 group, allowing you to specify the people you want to share with – and the new shared library appears immediately as a new content collaboration space for your team files.

See your team files in OneDrive on the web. Under Shared libraries, select a group to open it. (If you do not see the group listed, click More libraries)

Learn more how to find team files from your shared libraries from within the OneDrive user interface.

Autodesk AutoCAD DWG file previews [roadmap: 33414]

In partnership with Autodesk, we’ve recently begun bringing rich, new file formats like AutoCAD (DWG files) – enabling view and use right in the browser. And in one click, you can edit a DWG file with the powerful, integrated AutoCAD web app – knowing the file remains in OneDrive throughout view and edit actions.

See rich previews of Autodesk AutoCAD DWG files, and then open them in the browser from SharePoint or OneDrive directly into the AutoCAD web app (web.autocad.com).

Preview AutoCAD files in the OneDrive file viewer, along with the ability to add comments on non-Office files (like this DWG file).

Learn more about new integrations with Autodesk AutoCAD for Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint.

360° image previews [roadmap: 49516]

2D is so 2018. 2019 is all about visualizing in 3D. OneDrive supports previewers of over 320+ file types - and now add to that 360° images. Once your 360° images are uploaded into OneDrive, you get a rich, interactive preview of the images without leaving OneDrive, and without requiring additional software or apps.

Interact with 360-degree image .jpg previews inside OneDrive in Office 365, alongside it’s file information, activity and comments.

Learn about all supported previewers. As the common files experience rolls out to OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams and Outlook – the previewer capability is one of the important, consistent usability benefits.

Powerful sharing options to control how you share your files and folders

OneDrive is the files app for Microsoft 365, and it is a powerful sharing tool, too. Sharing can be managed and customized by broad or granular policies that apply to all or specific shared libraries. You can easily share files inside and outside your organization and work together on them at the same time (co-authoring FTW!).

Microsoft is bringing a consistent sharing experience consistent wherever you share from. Today, this includes OneDrive, Office desktop and mobile apps, SharePoint document libraries, desktop Windows Explorer and Mac Finder – with Microsoft Teams coming on board soon. As much as we are rationalizing the files experience across Microsoft 365, we, too, are working to ensure the sharing experience and rich set of sharing options are consistent across devices and platforms.

This is the common sharing experience pop-up you see in OneDrive, Office desktop and mobile apps, SharePoint document libraries, Microsoft Teams, desktop Windows Explorer and Mac Finder.

“ When we met with the Chevron’s leadership to discuss strategy, the one thing we were asked to focus on was improved collaboration – even with our third-party business partners. Working in OneDrive for Business helps us meet this goal to keep all our partnerships productive and successful. ”

—Randall Rasicot, End User Solutions Lifecycle Manager – Chevron [read the full Chevron case study]

There is so much to share about sharing… let’s look at the latest innovations for sharing that were disclosed at SharePoint Conference 2019:

Requests files from others [roadmap: 27020]

You may want to receive documents from others and with our new Request Files feature, it's easy and safe. You simply select a folder you want the recipient to place documents into and click Request Files. Fill in the name of the folder, and then type in the email of the person you want to request files from. The recipient clicks on the link, picks her or his files, and uploads - only able to see the files they upload. The original requestor will get an email when new files are added - seeing the new files with the name of the person who uploaded them. Files requested - files done.

Right-click on a folder in OneDrive will now have the option to Request files from a recipient, and they only see the files they upload.

Send a request for files as a link in an email, or simply copy/paste the link into a chat or as a link on a site.

Microsoft Teams file sharing integration in chats and conversations [roadmap: 27016]

Users of Microsoft Teams will be able to see and configure OneDrive link sharing settings right from within Teams. This new file sharing experience lets you choose what kind of sharing link you want in 1:1 chats and within the conversations tab. When typing your message, simply click the paperclip Attach icon, select OneDrive, choose the file you wish to share, and click the Share a link button; you can also copy/paste a sharing link and Teams will properly format it to look nice within the discussion. The initial sharing settings adhere to the default of your OneDrive or of the shared library where the file comes from, and you can change the sharing setting by clicking the drop-down arrow of the file that now appears in your message. This brings up the Link settings card – the same, consistent sharing experience you use throughout Microsoft 365. And after you’ve shared a file, automatic sharing reminders are sent after seven days to help you and your colleagues stay on top of things even if you missed the original notification.

Share. Remind. Collaborate. Done.

The new files sharing experience in Microsoft Teams makes items look good and you can adjust how you wish to share with the same experience as you find throughout Microsoft 365.

Sharing files with easy-to-read links in Outlook Web App (OWA) [roadmap: 51541]

The industry is moving away from attaching files to an email, rather working to enable best practices about giving permissions to view and/or edit a file – as links – to keep it in one place. This is the single source of truth approach versus multiple copies in everyone’s email inboxes and outboxes. And now, when you copy/paste a link to a file stored in OneDrive, Outlook Web App (OWA) will reconcile the file name as a hyperlink instead of the pasting the full URL. You, too, have the option to keep the default sharing mechanism from where the file came from or change it to meet the needs of how you want your recipient(s) to view and/or work with the file.

The new files sharing experience in Outlook Web App (OWA) makes items look good and you can adjust how you wish to share with the same experience as you find throughout Microsoft 365.

Popular around me is a new intelligent view within Shared with me [roadmap: 49510]

Don’t get lost when looking through all the files that have been shared with you. Now you can find important, relevant content at the top of the Shared with me view in OneDrive.

AI highlights relevant content. “Popular around me” appears at the top of the Shared with me view of OneDrive in Microsoft 365 to call attention to important shared files.

Get direct links to individual PowerPoint slides (web only) [roadmap: 51537]

Focus your sharing to the benefit of others. Get a link to an individual slide and share it with recipients. Help others land on the most relevant information without having to seek and find what you were trying to show them. Save time and share with a purpose.

To do this in PowerPoint Online, go to the slide you wish to share, right-click on the slide's thumbnail and choose Link to this Slide. You can adjust the link settings using the consistent sharing experience – and when the recipient clicks on the link, they’ll be taken directly to that slide with preferred or enforced sharing settings intact.

Using PowerPoint Online, go to the slide you wish to share, right-click on the slide's thumbnail and choose "Link to this Slide."

Learn more about sharing OneDrive files and folders.

Improvements coming to the OneDrive sync client

What do you sync? We hope lots of documents, photos, and other files – taking the important ones with you while having visibility across all. Using the OneDrive sync client, you can back up and protect your Windows desktop using Known Folder Move (KFM), access and share all your files directly from your desktop in Windows File Explore or macOS Finder and save space on your PC or Mac with OneDrive Files On-Demand.

“ With Known Folder Move, we don't have to change our teams’ behavior, they can keep working on their documents in the ways they’re used to, while we seamlessly move their data to OneDrive, where it’s safer and accessible from any device. ”

- Jason Remaley, Director of Product Planning, Cox Automotive [read the full Cox Automotive case study]

There are many ways to stay in sync and take your work with you… let’s look at the latest innovations for the OneDrive sync client that were disclosed at SharePoint Conference 2019:

Differential Sync saves time and network utilization [roadmap: 33412]

Differential sync brings the ability to sync only the parts of large files that have changed, not the entire file. This makes the file synchronization process faster for these files. Currently OneDrive supports differential sync for Office 2016 files. Later this year, we will bring the ability to leverage differential sync to all file types stored in OneDrive and SharePoint.

The OneDrive sync client will only synchronize the changes that you make to your files. Note the number in parenthesis represents the actual amount of the file that is being synced - not the whole file.

OneDrive allows you to work with your files directly within File Explorer on Windows 10 and Finder on Mac, and to synchronize files so that you can work with files locally and when you are disconnected from the network. The coming differential sync will greatly reduce sync time and bandwidth utilization.

Windows Virtual Desktop (VDI) updates [roadmap: 27027]

Windows Virtual Desktop (WVD; public preview) is a cloud Desktop-As-a-Service platform service offering on top of the Microsoft Azure. You get infrastructure service benefits such as brokering, web access, load-balancing, management and monitoring. It also gives you access to the new Windows 10 Multi-User (EVD) Operating System – optimized for the sake of Office 365 ProPlus services, such as Outlook, OneDrive (Files On-Demand and per machine install), Microsoft Teams and more.

Windows Virtual Desktop, running Windows 10 multi-session with Office 365 and the full-featured OneDrive sync client, shown here on macOS.

With OneDrive Files On-Demand plus WVD, you minimize the User Profile Disk (UPD) storage needs (avoiding duplication of content). And with Microsoft’s recent FSLogix acquisition, the integrated technology enables sync to run seamlessly in this virtual environment. The WVD service is currently in public preview with OneDrive Files On-Demand, along with Known Folder Move, provides a scalable environment for your Virtual Desktop users.

Support OneNote files during Known Folder Move (KFM) [roadmap: 49421]

Until now, the OneDrive sync client has not supported automatic conversion of local OneNote notebooks to cloud notebooks. Feedback shows that it's critical to migrate OneNote files as any other - thus we're introducing the ability for the OneDrive sync client to help migrate local OneNote notebooks when leveraging Known Folder Move (KFM) to move your primary known folders (Desktop, Documents and Pictures) to the cloud.

Now what do you sync about sync?

Improvements coming for the 4.5 star rated OneDrive app plus a new files experience in Outlook mobile

Work does not solely revolve around an office space. You can easily create, scan, annotate, edit and co-author documents with your peers, across departments or an external vendor outside your organization – directly from mobile device, with a consistent experience with respect to web and desktop.

Our top-rated mobile apps give people access to all files while on the go – adhering to Fluent Design. OneDrive is an important app from Microsoft, deeply integrated with Office – and so it should feel seamless as you transition to and from OneDrive with other Office apps.

“ With sync replication and mobile apps, we can access documents posted to OneDrive from our computers or mobile devices, giving us more flexibility to do work anywhere. ”

—Justin Litherland, Vice President of IT Stores - Lowe’s [read the full Lowe's case study]

There is a lot to do while on the go… let’s look at the latest innovations for the OneDrive mobile app that were disclosed at SharePoint Conference 2019:

New files experience in Outlook app (iOS) [roadmap: 27015]

Sharing a link to a document from Outlook while on your mobile device should be a delight, not a chore. We are bringing an improved file picking experience to Outlook mobile. Not only will it be easier, it will be more consistent to the OneDrive file sharing experience you find within Outlook web app. When you go to attach a file (share a link), you’ll see recent files, your files, frequent shared libraries – with the ability to navigate and browse all your files and libraries.

See recent files, your files, frequent shared libraries when attaching a file (sharing a link) from Outlook mobile.

Updated recent view for mobile apps includes PDFs and scans [roadmap: 49083]

Getting back to your recent work – quickly – is helpful no matter where you are. And when on a smaller screen with limited time, it’s even more important. We’ve been working on improving the recent files experience in the OneDrive mobile app - that same experience you see in all Office end points. And on mobile, the recent list now includes scans and PDFs created from OneDrive.

The recent view within the OneDrive mobile app shows recent documents of all types - and now includes PDFs and scanned items.

Updated annotation options when marking up PDFs [roadmap: 49084]

With PDFs, either as a native PDF file uploaded into OneDrive or when you scan an item like a whiteboard, receipt or business card, you can annotate the PDF to circle items or add notes for you and others. We are updating the user interface when you go to add your annotations, to give you more options and for it to be more user friendly. Mobile markup made easy.

You will see an updated design palette when annotating native PDFs or scanned items that have been converted into the PDF format.

Learn more and stay engaged

As you can see, we continue to evolve OneDrive as a place to access, share, and collaborate on all your files in Office 365, keeping them protected and readily accessible on all your devices, anywhere.

By leveraging Microsoft's industry-leading investments in artificial intelligence we have made OneDrive and SharePoint the smartest place to store your content. In fact, Microsoft is recognized as a leader by Gartner in both their Content Collaboration Platforms Magic Quadrant and Content Services Platforms Magic Quadrant reports, as well as Forrester in both their cloud and hybrid Forrester Wave™: Enterprise File Sync and Share Platforms report.

You can start realizing these benefits and more by moving your content to OneDrive and SharePoint today just as Fortune 500 customers MGM Resorts International, Walmart, Johnson Controls International, and Textron have.

You can stay up-to-date on when all these features start rolling out by reading our bi-weekly Message Center recap on the OneDrive Blog. Also be sure to check out the following resources:

Thank you again for your support of OneDrive. We look forward to your continued feedback on UserVoice and hope to connect with you at Ignite or another upcoming Microsoft or community-led event.

-Mark Kashman, senior product manager – Microsoft (OneDrive & SharePoint)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Where should I store files in Microsoft 365?

A: If you’re working on a file by yourself, you should save it in your individual library in OneDrive. Your individual library is private by default, but you can share files with others, which is particularly useful if you haven’t created a team yet. If you’re already working as a team —in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, or Outlook—you should save your files there, because OneDrive connects you to all your shared libraries too. ​​

When you need a new shared location to store team files, create a shared library right from OneDrive, add members, and start working together. These libraries are accessible within Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Outlook. And it’s easy to copy and move files between your individual library and shared libraries.

Q: What is the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint?

A: OneDrive is the files app for Microsoft 365 giving you access to your individual work files as well as files shared with you directly by others or through teams you are working on. OneDrive provides a consistent, intuitive files experience across all your devices, including web, mobile, and the desktop of your Windows PC or Mac. ​

Behind the scenes, SharePoint provides the content services and storage for all files in Microsoft 365, including files you work with in Teams, Yammer and Outlook. SharePoint is always there, helping manage and protect your files, and powering content collaboration across Microsoft 365. ​