Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Working with SkyDrive
You can use SkyDrive in place of an external drive for storing backups of important files, or you can view and edit the Office documents you’ve uploaded to it using Office 2013 or the Office Web Apps. Regardless of how you intend to use SkyDrive, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with its folder- and file-management procedures.
To access your SkyDrive:
- In Internet Explorer, FireFox, or Safari, log into your Windows Live or Hotmail, account or go to skydrive.live.com.
- If SkyDrive isn’t the active component, choose it from the component menu in the top-left corner of the window A.
)
The root level of your SkyDrive account appears B. By default, there are three folders: Documents (private), Pictures (private), and Public (accessible by anyone). In addition, you can create other folders as needed.
)
Folder Management
SkyDrive folders can be created and managed to organize your files however you like.
To create a folder:
- Navigate to the level at which you want to add the folder, opening other folders as necessary.
- Choose Create > Folder B from the toolbar.
- Enter a name for the new folder.
A New folder appears C.
)
To navigate among the folders:
- Do any of the following:
- From the root level of SkyDrive, click the icon of the folder that you want to open. If the destination folder is a subfolder, continue clicking folders until the desired folder is open.
- To go up in the folder hierarchy, click a folder name in the path D.
- To return to the root level, click Files in the Navigation Pane, the SkyDrive icon, or your name SkyDrive in the current path D.
- To access folders or files that others have elected to share with you, click Shared in the Navigation Pane.
)
D. The current folder’s name is shown above the file list. To its right is the path to the current folder.
To modify a folder:
- Do either of the following:
- Select the folder by clicking its check box, and choose a command from the toolbar E.
- Open the folder you want to modify, and choose a command from the Folder actions menu F.
- Right-click a folder and choose a command from the context menu.
- Do any of the following:
- Download folder. Download the folder’s files as a .zip archive. in the box at the bottom of the window, click Save to save the archive to your Downloads folder. To save the archive to a different folder, click the down arrow beside the Save button and choose Save as.
- Delete folder. The folder and its contents are immediately deleted. If you chose this command by mistake, you can reverse it by clicking Undo G.
- Rename. In the folder list, click the folder’s check box and choose Manage > Rename E, or right-click the folder and choose Rename. Replace the current folder name with a new name.
- Embed or Embed folder. Make the selected folder and its contents available to others from your blog or a web page H.
- Move to or Move folder to. Move the folder to another location among your SkyDrive folders. Select a destination folder and click Move.
- Properties. Click links in the Properties task pane to add a folder description, share the folder with others, or change the type of material stored in the folder (documents or pictures).
)
)
)
G. After deleting a folder, this dialog box appears, offering you a quick way to reverse the deletion.
)
H. Choosing Embed or Embed folder generates HTML code that you can paste into your blog or web site to make the folder’s contents visible to others.
File Management
File-management actions that you can perform in SkyDrive are similar to those available for your computer’s hard drive and—in many cases—duplicate the previously described folder actions.
To upload files to a folder:
- Open the SkyDrive folder into which you want to add one or more files.
- In the toolbar, click Upload.
- Do either of the following:
- From your Desktop or any open folder, drag one or more selected files onto the Upload pane.
- Click Select them from your computer I. In the Open dialog box that appears, select a file and click the Open button.
- When the upload finishes, click the notification window’s close box J.
The Upload pane appears I.
)
I. You can upload files to the current folder by dragging them onto this pane or by selecting them from an Open dialog box.
The selected file(s) upload to the destination folder.
)
To download files from SkyDrive to your hard drive:
- Open the SkyDrive folder that contains the file(s) you want to download.
- Click the check box of each file to download. In the toolbar, click Download.
- Do one of the following:
- Save. Click Save to download and save the file to the Downloads folder on your hard drive.
- Save as. Click the down arrow beside the Save button and choose Save as. In the Save As dialog box, specify a location in which to save the file, and click the Save button.
A dialog box appears at the bottom of the window K.
){kind=small}
The file(s) download from SkyDrive to your computer.
To delete files:
- Open the folder that contains the file(s). Click the check box of each file that you want to delete.
- Choose Manage > Delete from the toolbar.
- The selected files are immediately deleted. If you chose this command by mistake, you can reverse it by clicking the Undo button G.
To move or copy files to another folder:
- Open the folder that contains the file(s). Click the check box of each file that you want to move or copy.
- On the toolbar, choose Manage > Move to or Manage > Copy to.
- Select the folder into which you want to move or copy the file(s), and then click the Move or Copy button.
- When the move or copy finishes, click the notification window’s close box.
A dialog box appears, displaying the main folders of your SkyDrive L.
)
To rename a file:
- Open the folder that contains the file you want to rename. Click the file’s check box.
- On the toolbar, choose Manage > Rename.
- Replace the existing filename with a new name M.
){kind=small}
Setting a View
Don’t ignore the icons under the toolbar. You can use them to do the following:
- Open the Sort menu to specify a sort order for the current folder. (Choose Rearrange to create a custom sort.)
- Click an icon to set a list or thumbnail view for all SkyDrive folders.
- Click the last icon to open or close the Properties task pane.
)