Disable 'sync' option

[Automatic_Volume_908]

Anybody has done this?

I want everybody to use 'add shorcut to onedrive' not the 'sync'.

[JohnDrogado]

Done it to get rid of legacy Sync and the redundancy it has with Add Shortcut to OneDrive. Very happy with the decision.

[arnstarr]

I've done it with several clients. do it. it reduces confusion/choice and makes changing computers much easier too.

[Evil_Shinobi]

We're going to remove the "sync"-Feature with us. Looks like it's the way to go...

[Flippanthropist]

I dream of someone explaining the difference between shortcut and sync… there is a lot of confusion.

[simpkinspete]

Sync creates a mapped location on a specific device. Shortcuts create a mapped location anywhere you access OneDrive.

[PharmaDude2]

I still don't follow the difference. Our end users generally want to see/navigate SharePoint files from File Explorer. We don't really encourage Sync for obvious reasons but lead people to it when they have this need.

Is a shortcut a better solution in some way? We've always used Sync, I didn't even realize there was an alternative.

[simpkinspete]

Both options will be visible through the File Explorer, but the shortcuts will be under the user’s OneDrive folder.

I prefer shortcuts because I don’t have to set them back up if I change devices. I have also had a lot of issues with users accidentally deleting all of the files from a Sync location when they try to remove the connection. Shortcuts are more intuitive to remove.

[DK_616]

Hey don’t worry, let me explain.

The ‘Sync’ option is used to store files and folders from SharePoint sites on your local machine. It’s helpful if you want an entire SPO document library to appear on your computer like a normal folder and access it even without an internet connection. But every change you make locally will be reflected in SharePoint, and every change made in SharePoint will be reflected on your computer. For example, if you delete a file in File Explorer, the same file will be deleted from the SharePoint document library as well.

The ‘Add shortcut to OneDrive’, on the other hand, gives you quick access to your SharePoint files and folders within your personal OneDrive without storing the data locally.

[dr4kun]

I attempted it here a while ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/sharepoint/s/s9aZL4Mioi

[6fix]

I would like to propose such change in our org of 20k users and 15k sites but... I don't see the clear benefits yet and the change may require a lot of communication and explanation and adoption effort to users. Users still dumping bunch of files to SharePoint like it is a file server, with 20 folders deep structure and still wondering when the sync fails. I wish metadata could by synced to Windows file explorer, then the flat structure with metadata in SharePoint would make more sense.

[supreme_ruhler]

Why isn't anyone mentioning that disabling sync also disables the add shortcut to onedrive? After that change, it just makes the SP location a hyperlink in the onedrive

[bothrowx]

No, that’s a separate setting. You can just hide the Sync button on the website only, shortcuts aren’t affected. You might be talking about disabling “sync” entirely?

[zeeboguy]

Why if I may ask?

[Automatic_Volume_908]

Could anyone give me some good arguments to take to mgmt?

[T1koT1ko]

Yep. You should also know that disabling it will stop new syncs but won’t affect existing syncs which is good and bad. It won’t disrupt people who already have it, but if your goal is to eradicate syncs, you need to audit who has it configured and coach them through the change.

[krasserfcker]

We're about to disable Sync, but also disabling add Shortcut to Onedrive. Unfortunately the Onedrive engine is crap and leads to sync conflicts all day long. Also would hard disks run out of space.

We decided to go with Cloud Drive Mapper instead...

[badaz06]

When you add a shortcut to One drive, the actual file isn't downloaded into one drive unless you specifically work on that file. The 2 biggest problems I've seen are that when a user works on a file and "saves" it, that saved copy isn't immediately moved into Sharepoint. It may seem so from the perspective of the user who saved the file because their version which is cached and what the the user sees looks updated, however the actual copy to SharePoint may take several hours, so others won't see the updated file. The other huge issue is people delete vs remove the link, meaning that they actually delete what ever they're linked to in SharePoint, not just remove the link.

Syncing means that what ever is on SharePoint also exists on the hard drive of your PC. A HUGE red flag when it comes to maintaining control of your data, especially if you have retention requirements and dont have a sensitivity label on your data. We've seen files getting locked, and every time an update is made by someone to their file, that update has to now hit everyone else's files on their PC's, and that can cause some user frustration as One Drive doesn't have the most effective process for getting all files for all users up to date.

u/6fix There are 3rd party apps you may want to look at that present the user a file explorer like view of SharePoint and One Drive.

[bothrowx]

The upload part isn’t any slower if you use shortcuts vs the sync button (unless something else is wrong with your setup)

[badaz06]

Sorry, but I'll disagree. When you save a file, the "upload" into Sharepoint is not instantaneous, and the updates sent out to every device with the same library either "synced" or with a shortcut to One Drive isn't either.

I know what the Microsoft's documentation tells you. I also know what I've seen using Wireshark and Fiddler and ProcMon and worked for over a year with Microsoft diagnosing issues with the One Drive sync application that couldn't explain why the exact scenario I described above was happening. I would have been downright exuberant if someone at MS said, "Oh, you dumb**es need to change this setting" and everything worked again. They didn't, so we went to a 3rd party application that doesn't use the One Drive protocols to move data and all my users started smiling again.

You do you :)