Microsoft is starting to roll out a new offline mode for OneDrive on the Internet for users of corporate and educational versions of the service. This is part of the OneDrive update, which also includes improvements to the user interface, folder colors, and more.
The new offline mode of OneDrive will allow users of the web version of the service to open files that have been marked as available offline, as well as navigate to favorite files and the OneDrive home section without an Internet connection. Files can also be renamed, sorted, moved, and copied, and will be synchronized when an Internet connection is available again.
Offline mode also improves performance even when you have an internet connection. Microsoft claims that when you view or interact with files in OneDrive on the web or from the OneDrive app in Teams or Outlook, downloads are up to three times faster.
«Offline mode uses your device’s local storage to store certain file information, such as file name, size, author, last accessed date, etc.», — explains Andrey Esipov, General Manager of Microsoft Products. «This is made possible by OneDrive Sync, which intelligently stores a cache of your file metadata locally».
Offline OneDrive on the web won’t be available to consumers just yet, but those with a Microsoft 365 enterprise or school account can already set up the new feature. To do so, you’ll need the latest OneDrive sync app for Windows or macOS. Then, all you have to do is sign in to OneDrive online in Chrome or Edge, and the «service will initiate an automatic one-time offline setup for».
Source: The Verge