SharePoint and OneDrive. Why bother?
The first in our series of how-to articles
There are two reasons to learn how to use SharePoint and OneDrive.
The first is that it will revolutionise the way you write documents, particularly when it's more than just you doing the writing and approving. The second is that it drastically reduces the risk that someone will accidentally open an obsolete copy of a document, because version control is a thing of the past.
The first is that it will revolutionise the way you write documents, particularly when it's more than just you doing the writing and approving. The second is that it drastically reduces the risk that someone will accidentally open an obsolete copy of a document, because version control is a thing of the past.
The old way
In the bad old days, our Word and Excel files would live on a hard drive somewhere in the same way that books sit on a library shelf. To use one, we’d need to ‘check it out’, as you would in the library. The trouble is that while you have it checked out it is effectively locked to the rest of us. We can read it, or save a new copy, but that’s not much good if we need to make a change in the document. We’re forced to wait until it’s checked back in. And to date, no one I know has been issued with a late return fee.
The checked-out files get zapped around by email, then put back in the same folder – or a different folder entirely. There are multiple versions with suffixes like FINAL and LB_edits and FINAL_FINAL. You can never be sure whether what you’ve found is the latest version.
Scenario: I write a report, save it to my computer, then email it to two colleagues for feedback. They each save the document to their own drive, make their edits, then both email it back to me …
The checked-out files get zapped around by email, then put back in the same folder – or a different folder entirely. There are multiple versions with suffixes like FINAL and LB_edits and FINAL_FINAL. You can never be sure whether what you’ve found is the latest version.
Scenario: I write a report, save it to my computer, then email it to two colleagues for feedback. They each save the document to their own drive, make their edits, then both email it back to me …
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This ‘simple’ feedback process results in there being at least seven versions of the original document – some identical, some with edits, others not, with different file names, living between my computer, theirs, or inside an Outlook message (both inbox and sent). If all goes well and we keep a close eye on which cup the ball is under … err, where the current version is, then no problem. But the probability of getting it wrong is rather high. The more people who receive a document by email, the higher the number of versions floating around out there.
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Here's another problem with the old way: contradictory feedback.
We've all been faced with this, and it takes hours to resolve.
The new way
In a OneDrive environment, we can all read and edit a single document at the same time. (More on the distinction between OneDrive and SharePoint later.)
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In OneDrive, there only ever needs to be one version.
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Check this out. In the screen grab below you can see that my colleague Donna is editing a document I’m working on right now. I can even see what she’s typing. It’s because the file is living in the OneDrive cloud, live for everyone to see. (Well, not everyone. You can restrict access in just the same way as you can with any file in the cloud.)
Real-time co-authoring
Below you can see that there are two people working on the same document. The feedback process becomes complementary, not contradictory.
Real-time authoring means that there’s very rarely the need to ‘save as’ a document. The one and only version lives in a state of virtual immortality, like Doctor Who. And just like Doctor Who, it might regenerate from time to time but it’s still the same person with a very good memory. Or whatever.
Version history
You might think that having a single doc that evolves over time deprives you of being able to see earlier versions. But in fact, you can see just about every change that’s ever been made and, if you like, restore an earlier version for your own records.
When your document is open in Word, click on the down arrow next to the name of the file (top, centre) and choose Browse Version History. A panel will open on your sidebar with every revision that’s happened. Ever.
When your document is open in Word, click on the down arrow next to the name of the file (top, centre) and choose Browse Version History. A panel will open on your sidebar with every revision that’s happened. Ever.
It’s like Netflix. You can re-watch old episodes any time you like.
Of course, there are still lots of scenarios that will call for discreet versions of a document, each filed and stored sequentially as updates are made. These can live on a hard drive, if you like – there’s no suggestion that you need to switch entirely to cloud storage. Think of the hard drive as a warehouse, and OneDrive as a busy office where each of you can work on a job together.
Of course, there are still lots of scenarios that will call for discreet versions of a document, each filed and stored sequentially as updates are made. These can live on a hard drive, if you like – there’s no suggestion that you need to switch entirely to cloud storage. Think of the hard drive as a warehouse, and OneDrive as a busy office where each of you can work on a job together.
Two ways to open a document
Unlike old-fashioned Microsoft, when you first open a doc from OneDrive it opens as a new tab in your internet browser – it looks kind of like the Word you’re used to but not quite. This medium is rather unappealing and doesn’t allow you to use many of the features you’ve become familiar with in Word.
Never fear: this ‘view’ is just for making quick text edits. You can choose to unleash Word’s full functionality without losing any of the benefits of the shareability I’ve been talking about.
When a document is open in a browser tab, in the main menu cluster you’ll see an option to ‘Open in Desktop App’. Hitting that button opens the doc as the kind of file you’re used to, in a genuine Word window, with all the bells and whistles (the same goes for Excel and PowerPoint).
Never fear: this ‘view’ is just for making quick text edits. You can choose to unleash Word’s full functionality without losing any of the benefits of the shareability I’ve been talking about.
When a document is open in a browser tab, in the main menu cluster you’ll see an option to ‘Open in Desktop App’. Hitting that button opens the doc as the kind of file you’re used to, in a genuine Word window, with all the bells and whistles (the same goes for Excel and PowerPoint).
The really clever thing is that even though you have it open on your own computer, the document still automatically synchronises with the master version in OneDrive; someone else who’s got the document open can still see you working away inside it and vice versa. The clue is a small difference in the Save button. The circular arrows on the icon – the universal symbol for ‘sync’ – tell us you’re working with a live document.
A OneDrive document syncs rather than saves but it’s effectively the same thing. It happens automatically, virtually constantly, no matter how many of us are using the document at the time. You don’t ever need to click the icon (or Ctrl-S).
Sharing: the review process is so much faster now
We’re used to writing a report, emailing it to our manager for review, waiting for it to return, sending it up the chain for approval, waiting for it to come back again. This is a sequential process, the speed of which is entirely dependent on the workload of the next person in the chain. Worse still, when you send a copy to more than one person, comments come back that are conflicting, leaving you to somehow resolve the problem. There’s often the need for another round of reviews.
This is where OneDrive is a game changer. The minute you have a draft in place you can share the live document with your approver, your manager and your CEO at the same time. They can each burrow into the document, all the time seeing what changes or comments others are making. As author, you can see what they’re doing and respond to comments in real time.
While the usual method of emailing a doc back and forth typically takes a few days, it’s often the case that a OneDrive doc can be approved in a matter of hours.
There are two ways to share a document: from inside the document itself, and from Outlook.
How to do it
This is where OneDrive is a game changer. The minute you have a draft in place you can share the live document with your approver, your manager and your CEO at the same time. They can each burrow into the document, all the time seeing what changes or comments others are making. As author, you can see what they’re doing and respond to comments in real time.
While the usual method of emailing a doc back and forth typically takes a few days, it’s often the case that a OneDrive doc can be approved in a matter of hours.
There are two ways to share a document: from inside the document itself, and from Outlook.
How to do it
- From inside Word, hit the Share button (top-right of screen). Enter an email address, add a message (optional), and away you go. The recipient(s) will have instant access to your doc.
- From Outlook, when you have your new message window up, hit the paperclip icon (attach) and browse web locations. Find your doc’s home inside OneDrive and hit Insert. You’ll be given a choice as to whether you’d like to a) share a link, or b) attach the doc as a copy the old-fashioned way. Option b takes the doc out of OneDrive, which defeats the whole purpose of storing files there in the first place. Of course, it you need to send the doc to an outsider then the reverse is true: don’t invite someone to a collaborative doc unless they’re entitled to be there.
When you share a link, the recipient's email shows a W symbol with a little cloud on it, representing a Word doc that's in the cloud.
If you do ever need to check a file out, away from the safety of OneDrive, you can always drag it back in again, overwriting the one that’s there, so its immortal vigour is restored.
If you do ever need to check a file out, away from the safety of OneDrive, you can always drag it back in again, overwriting the one that’s there, so its immortal vigour is restored.
Security
Just like with a hard drive folder system, you can restrict who has access to the various folders and subfolders in the Team Site. I won't go into that here – just know that it's easy to sort out.
OneDrive vs SharePoint vs Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) is just the new name for the suite of Office products: Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint … You subscribe to Microsoft 365 for an annual fee.
Also inside Microsoft 365 are OneDrive and SharePoint. This diagram I stole from a tech blogger explains (excuse the out-of-date Office 365 label).
Also inside Microsoft 365 are OneDrive and SharePoint. This diagram I stole from a tech blogger explains (excuse the out-of-date Office 365 label).
OneDrive and SharePoint are complementary. They’re two parts of the same system.
OneDrive (OneDrive for Business in this case) is an online document/file storage platform. It’s a place in the cloud where you can store your files, accessing them from any of your devices and sharing them with others. It’s great for storing your own personal and local work files – you can grant access to any one of the files or folders to your choice of colleagues. Every user has their own OneDrive, tied to their user ID. You control whether to keep your folders private or share particular folders and files with others.
SharePoint carries a bit more oomph and is more suited to a larger team. It has all the bells and whistles, and can also store files just like OneDrive (in fact, a OneDrive folder system can live inside SharePoint).
OneDrive (OneDrive for Business in this case) is an online document/file storage platform. It’s a place in the cloud where you can store your files, accessing them from any of your devices and sharing them with others. It’s great for storing your own personal and local work files – you can grant access to any one of the files or folders to your choice of colleagues. Every user has their own OneDrive, tied to their user ID. You control whether to keep your folders private or share particular folders and files with others.
SharePoint carries a bit more oomph and is more suited to a larger team. It has all the bells and whistles, and can also store files just like OneDrive (in fact, a OneDrive folder system can live inside SharePoint).
A work team might have its own SharePoint ‘Team Site’ to house all our working files, though most of us only use the OneDrive folders inside it. The entire team has access to these OneDrive folders, while approvers and other people who need access to specific files can be invited as necessary, and later have their invitation rescinded if that’s called for.
SharePoint is the ‘warehouse’ in which we can store all our folders and files. It’s just that you can access all these folders and files from either SharePoint or OneDrive – whichever app you happen to be working from.
So, in this set of team folders reside most of the docs we need from day to day. Inside the various folders are single versions (hopefully) of docs with sensible file names that we can work on collaboratively, as well as how-to guides and commonly used templates. Everything is in the one place, there are no version control issues, and the files are readily available even when you’re not in the office.
A file framework should be like a virtual department store. You should be able to stand at the entrance of the ‘shop’ and quickly find what you’re looking for from logically labelled signs. The junk should be at the back of the shop, out of site.
If someone needs to ask ‘where is the …’ then you haven’t done it properly.
So, in this set of team folders reside most of the docs we need from day to day. Inside the various folders are single versions (hopefully) of docs with sensible file names that we can work on collaboratively, as well as how-to guides and commonly used templates. Everything is in the one place, there are no version control issues, and the files are readily available even when you’re not in the office.
A file framework should be like a virtual department store. You should be able to stand at the entrance of the ‘shop’ and quickly find what you’re looking for from logically labelled signs. The junk should be at the back of the shop, out of site.
If someone needs to ask ‘where is the …’ then you haven’t done it properly.
Syncing with your PC or Mac
Working with files online is never as smooth as when you’re working inside a local hard drive with a File Explorer window. When you’re online, moving files and changing names always seems to take a bit longer and it’s a bit clumsier than it is when you move files about on PC drives. The good news is that you can synchronise SharePoint and OneDrive sites with your PC Explorer window. It's the same process on a Mac.
- In your browser, find the files/folders you want to sync.
- Click Sync (in the menu list next to New, Upload …)
- Make sure all the folders are ticked, then hit Start sync.
The Explorer/Finder window on you computer syncs like this, and you can access your files the way you're used to. They still remain synced to the cloud.
The little green ticks tell me that the files here have been synced with the masters on the Team Site. If I open a doc through this Explorer/Finder window, it’s really opening it from the cloud. If I change the name of a folder here, or move it, the change is reflected online, and vice versa. (Note that you can’t move a file or change its name if someone else is working on the doc. Message them and ask them to step out for a moment, then re-share.)
The end.
The end.