OneDrive Known Folder Move: Sync Desktop and Documents Automatically
Ask most small businesses where their files are and they’ll say “in Microsoft 365”. Then a laptop dies, and it turns out half a team’s work was on the desktop or in a local Documents folder that never left the machine.
OneDrive’s Known Folder Move fixes that quietly. Here’s what it does, how to switch it on, and what it doesn’t do.
What Known Folder Move does
Windows has a handful of “known folders” that people save to without thinking: Desktop, Documents and Pictures (with Screenshots and Camera Roll inside Pictures). Known Folder Move redirects those folders into the user’s OneDrive. People carry on saving to the same places, but the files now sync to Microsoft 365.
Microsoft’s name for it has changed over the years. Administrators still call it Known Folder Move. In the OneDrive app, users see it as folder backup, under Manage backup.
What that gets you:
- A dead or stolen laptop no longer loses work. The files are already in OneDrive.
- New laptops are quicker to set up. Sign in, and the person’s desktop and documents appear.
- People can reach their files from anywhere, on another PC, in a browser or on their phone.
- Nobody has to change their habits, which is the main reason it works where “please save everything to OneDrive” doesn’t.
The Downloads folder isn’t included, so it’s worth reminding people that Downloads is a temporary space, not a filing cabinet.
How to turn it on for one PC
On Windows, with the OneDrive app signed in to a work account:
- Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area, then the settings icon, then Settings.
- Go to the Sync and backup tab and select Manage backup.
- Switch on any folder marked Not backed up, then select Save changes.
On a Mac, folder backup covers Desktop and Documents. It needs the standalone OneDrive sync app (not the Mac App Store version) and Full Disk Access turned on for OneDrive in the Mac’s privacy settings.
If the option is greyed out on a work account, your administrator may have controlled it centrally, which is usually a good sign.
How to turn it on for the whole company
An administrator can use Group Policy or Microsoft Intune to:
- prompt users to move their folders
- silently move them, with no action needed from the user
- stop users turning it off once it’s on
Microsoft recommends this for larger organisations and notes that smaller businesses may find it useful too, but “you need some experience configuring policies”. In practice, the silent option plus “prevent users from turning it off” is what most small businesses want, so everyone is covered without relying on each person to remember.
Things that can trip it up
Most moves go smoothly, but a few things can block or complicate one. Microsoft’s support article lists them. The common ones:
- Very long file paths. The full path and file name must be under 260 characters.
- Huge files. OneDrive can’t sync files over 250GB.
- Outlook data files (.pst). These don’t belong in OneDrive, and an open .pst file can leave OneDrive stuck on “Processing changes”. Move them out first.
- Open files. Files that are open can’t be moved, so close everything before you start.
- Folders already redirected elsewhere, such as to an old server share or another organisation’s OneDrive. These need sorting out first, or users can end up with an empty desktop.
- Blocked file names. Names can’t start with a space or contain characters such as
\ : / * ? < > " |.
On a new laptop, it’s simplest to turn it on before the user starts saving files.
Don’t confuse sync with backup
This is the part that catches people out. OneDrive keeps your files in sync. That means if a file is deleted, overwritten or encrypted by ransomware on the laptop, the change syncs to OneDrive too.
OneDrive does give you some safety nets. Deleted files stay in the recycle bin for 93 days on work accounts (unless your administrator has changed that), and you can roll your whole OneDrive back to any point in the last 30 days. Those cover most accidents. They don’t cover an account being deleted, a problem noticed too late, or an attacker with admin access.
So treat Known Folder Move as step one: it gets files off laptops and into Microsoft 365. Step two is backing up Microsoft 365 separately. Our guide to building a backup strategy explains how, and our post on where deleted files go covers what the recycle bins do and don’t keep.
Getting it set up properly
Known Folder Move is one of the simplest changes a small business can make, and one of the most useful. If you’d like it switched on for everyone, alongside a properly configured Microsoft 365 and a separate backup, that’s part of our cloud services work. For the backup side, see backup and disaster recovery.
Questions people ask
Which folders does OneDrive Known Folder Move cover?
On Windows, Desktop, Documents and Pictures (including Screenshots and Camera Roll). On a Mac, Desktop and Documents. The Downloads folder isn’t included.
Is OneDrive folder backup the same as a backup?
No. It syncs your folders to OneDrive, so deletions and changes (including files encrypted by ransomware) sync too. The recycle bin and “Restore your OneDrive” help, but you still need a separate backup of Microsoft 365.
Is Known Folder Move the same as AutoSave?
No. AutoSave is the switch in Word, Excel and PowerPoint that saves your changes as you work on a file stored in OneDrive or SharePoint. Known Folder Move decides where files are stored in the first place. They work well together.
