Just let Time Machine do backups for ~/Library/CloudStorage/ when files and folders are always kept.
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OneDrive Mac Users Unhappy With Buggy Update That Removes Ability to Keep Local Copies of Synced Files
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Yes, not enough testing, lacking communication and no reminder all contributed to this disaster.
The change was really made starting with 12.0 and was covered at WWDC last year when it was announced that the old extensions were deprecated. It's not unusual for deprecated features to be removed in subsequent subversions.
I may be oversimplifying this, but your comment was good up until the "Typical."
iCloud Drive seems to have figured this out fine. Apps cal live solely in Cloud until I need one locally. It downloads a local copy and keeps it in sync with the Cloud version. Granted, it would be nice to have a way of offloading the local copy on demand instead of waiting for MacOS to identify dormancy and need for local storage space.
didn't realize microsoft would be pushing an auto-update to this new API via the app store. big oops!
iCloud Drive > OneDrive
Make the jump folks! You won't be disappointed, plus you'll get the HKSV (HomeKit Secure Video) and other benefits of iCloud+
Make the jump folks! You won't be disappointed, plus you'll get the HKSV (HomeKit Secure Video) and other benefits of iCloud+
It’s weird that the release notes phrase it like this, but OneDrive definitely did not use a kernel extension. Mac App Store rules would not allow it and after installing OneDrive you would have to manually enable the kernel extension in the Security section of System Preferences and restart the Mac (like you have to do with drivers, hypervisor software etc.). You never had to do that with OneDrive.
Alternatively, it could have been a 1st party kernel extension made Apple that Dropbox and OneDrive used to be able to hook into and that is now being removed from the system. That’s the only plausible explanation for Apple phrasing it like they did.
Fortunately for me the removal of local copies and them forcing the online state initially doesn't impede my workflow.
The most annoying part of us is the effect on Autosave. As users on Reddit pointed out, if you open a file from OneDrive online or from within an already open Office app it still works. But even if sync'd when opening a file from Finder it is treated like a local copy with autosave disabled. This will require adjustments and disrupt collaboration on shared files.
Our organization has a lot of investment in Microsoft and we're generally required to use OneDrive. After years of building up user confidence in using OneDrive this kind of thing erodes their trust in the tool and in our technical teams.
The most annoying part of us is the effect on Autosave. As users on Reddit pointed out, if you open a file from OneDrive online or from within an already open Office app it still works. But even if sync'd when opening a file from Finder it is treated like a local copy with autosave disabled. This will require adjustments and disrupt collaboration on shared files.
Our organization has a lot of investment in Microsoft and we're generally required to use OneDrive. After years of building up user confidence in using OneDrive this kind of thing erodes their trust in the tool and in our technical teams.
The main reason I moved to OneDrive was because my iCloud Drive was constantly not syncing files. That was some years ago, though, so maybe they've improved. However, I think it's silly that they jump from 200GB to 2TB in their plans with no 1TB option. I'm not paying $119.88/year for 2TB iCloud Drive when I already get 1TB of OneDrive storage included with my $69.99/year Microsoft 365 subscription (which of course includes the Office apps as well).
theres no way MS would do something that stupid. like, seriously?
my wild guess is they couldn't figure out easy way to reliably move local data from old service into new one, so they decided to nuke it, move everything online, and add option to redownload everything later.
my wild guess is they couldn't figure out easy way to reliably move local data from old service into new one, so they decided to nuke it, move everything online, and add option to redownload everything later.
Initially I was having all sorts of issues with this update, but it seems to be stable now. Here's the main difference now as far as I can tell. When you tell OneDrive to always keep a file or folder on your Mac, it downloads those files to a hidden cache on your local drive, but then you need to additionally "download" them from the cache to the sync root (~/OneDrive, which is an alias for ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive) in order to preview them with Quick Look. Previously, you didn't have to do that 2nd step.
In fact, it mostly just downloads from the cache (original files) right after OneDrive is updated, although it would still take hours or even days to finish.
I am not seeing this behavior on my two Macs, on Intel, one M1. Files opened from Finder are still auto-saved.
This is correct, and I think the root of the issue. Microsoft introduced a new icon here, so there are now two icons next to every file/folder with similar, but not the same, meaning.
This is described in their support article here.
Choosing "Always keep on this device" will cause the grey check box to show up - and it happens for me without downloading the content again from the cloud after updating the app - as the files are still in the local cache. Clicking the Download cloud icon does just what @usagora says above - "downloads" the file from the cache to the Sync Root. This is a stupid, two step process now that is particularly a pain in my personal OneDrive folder where I can't select everything at the top level like I can with synced Sharepoint libraries, however I think it was necessary for OneDrive to keep the option of living in alternate locations like an external drive.
Thanks!
Fun fact: that appears if you go System Preferences → Apple ID → iCloud but does NOT appear if you go System Preferences → Internet Accounts → iCloud, which otherwise has the same set of iCloud options to choose from.
This doesn't work for me if the file are added on a different machine and not yet accessed on the machine being backed up. This is true even if the containing folder is pinned (marked as "Always Keep on This Device").
I learned just recently, from help on another thread (a thread you started), that the file in the directory you mention has zero size on disk until it's accessed there. For me, Time Machine doesn't even show the existence of that zero sized file. However, since the parent directory is pinned, the full file will be present in the "cache" directory, a folder under ~/Library/Group Containers for my configuration. For that folder Time Machine will capture the history of the file even if it's never accessed from the machine being backed up.
rezenclowd3
macrumors 65816
This is why I host my own "cloud", I get to choose how I want it to work per device/folder.
Syncthing is quite good and easy to setup.
Syncthing is quite good and easy to setup.
My company uses Microsoft 365, and so OneDrive is used extensively on both Windows PCs and Macs. This change hasn't affected the Office apps, they still auto-save even if they are solidly mediocre in every other respect. Many employees use the web versions of the apps exclusively, they won't notice a thing.
If I were still traveling, I could see how this would be a problem. But since I'm still working from home (700 days!) it is fortunately much ado about nothing. I don't have to worry about offline access, but if I did this would be a huge drag.
Microsoft did a poor job of communicating, and frankly as a company with their resources it is embarrassing that they couldn't do a better job. Then again, this is the company that makes Word and PowerPoint, so quality isn't really their thing.
FWIW, I have Dropbox and iCloud as well. iCloud is by far the most reliable at this point, but it's irrelevant for my work.
If I were still traveling, I could see how this would be a problem. But since I'm still working from home (700 days!) it is fortunately much ado about nothing. I don't have to worry about offline access, but if I did this would be a huge drag.
Microsoft did a poor job of communicating, and frankly as a company with their resources it is embarrassing that they couldn't do a better job. Then again, this is the company that makes Word and PowerPoint, so quality isn't really their thing.
FWIW, I have Dropbox and iCloud as well. iCloud is by far the most reliable at this point, but it's irrelevant for my work.
Seriously. I've had OneDrive for Mac for years and I got this update a couple days ago. This whole uproar is a nothingburger.
All you need to do is right-click on the folders and files you want to keep offline and choose "Always Keep on This Device." It works exactly the same as it did before the update.
I haven't had time to figure out exactly how this affects me (OneDrive is my primary cloud storage), but not better be fixed soon. The one thing I have noticed is that PDF files created on one Mac and placed into OneDrive cannot be opened with Preview on another Mac (though they can be opened with Word and from the OneDrive web interface). But the big issue is if it is true that they are removing local files, and there is no way to easily keep MS from doing so, that is a BIG problem. Even bigger if if files are already in the cloud and cannot be reliably restored locally.
Error message I get trying to open these PDF files with preview: The file “abc.pdf” could not be opened. It may be damaged or use a file format that Preview doesn’t recognize.
The best use of cloud storage is if you have multiple editors of the one document.