File Storage: Stop Syncing Teams and SharePoint Files & Remove Document Library (PC)

How can you removed syncing without risking loss of the root SharePoint data?

YSU is opting to remove synced SharePoint and Teams files and replacing them with file shortcuts instead.  To remove syncing on SharePoint and/or Teams files follow these direction. NOTE: Failure to following these steps in the order may result in unrecoverable data loss.
 

Stop Syncing

From the Taskbar on a PC (the black bar at the bottom of the screen)  ​​​​​OR From the desktop Finder options on a Mac (located in the upper right corner):

1. Click the OneDrive Cloud icon.
                  

1. At the top of the OneDrive maintenance window, click Settings (gear icon).

2. In the drop-down window, select Settings (PC).
                     

3. The Microsoft OneDrive window will open .

   1. All synced folders will appear in the Account tab. The example below shows the user’s OneDrive and three SharePoint document libraries.

4. Locate the SharePoint document library you wish to stop syncing and select Stop Sync to the right.

5. The following window will appear confirming you wish to stop syncing the document library. Select Stop Sync. 

Remove the Document Library from File Explorer (PC)

Once a library is no longer synced, it can be removed from the File Explorer.

1. Right-click on the library.
2. Click Delete in the drop-down window.
3. Select Yes to confirm you want to delete the library.

Add A Shortcut¹

1. In OneDrive or Teams, find the folder you want to add and click the circle in the folder's tile to select it.

2. Select Add shortcut to My files.
   

3. Or you can right-click the folder, and then select Add shortcut to OneDrive.
   

Tip: In a shared library in SharePoint or Microsoft Teams, you can select Add shortcut to My files to add a shortcut to the entire library as shown above (Step 2) or select the specific folder you want to add, and then select Add shortcut to My files.

Important: The Add shortcut to My files option isn't available when:

• You've already added the folder to your OneDrive, or you have more than one folder selected. (You can't add multiple folders at the same time.)
• The item you're trying to add isn't a folder. (Add shortcut to My files isn't available for individual files or for collections of files such as albums.)
• If you add a shortcut to a SharePoint folder that you were already syncing, the folder you were syncing will stay where it is in File Explorer, and you won’t see the new shortcut in your OneDrive folder. This is a limitation of the Public Preview which will be addressed by general availability in September 2020.

¹Referenced articles:

 Microsoft. (2024, March 19). Add shortcuts to shared folders in OneDrive for work or school. Retrieved from here.

 University of Maryland. (Stop Syncing a Document Library). Retrieved from here.