Microsoft tips: File sharing and storage using Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive

Microsoft offers a wide array of productivity tools for businesses of all sizes in Utah. The Office apps are arguably their most well-known tools, but since Microsoft never rests on their laurels, they’ve built apps to cover the collaboration and file storage needs of their customers, too.

Let’s first take a brief look at what Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive are, then check out a few tips and tricks you can use to make the most of these apps.

What are Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive?

Microsoft developers liken team projects to coins. One side of a coin is a Teams channel, a place where your team members can communicate with one another and collaborate on project files. One of the many things you and your teammates can do on that channel is open an Office file in that same channel and not have to open the corresponding Office app separately.

The flip side of the coin is a SharePoint team site, which contains a common repository or folder for those files. The two apps complement each other to make cloud-based teamwork easy-peasy.

OneDrive, on the other hand, is also a storage facility, but is built for use by individuals instead of teams. It’s like your My Documents folder, but in the cloud. OneDrive is for your drafts and for project files that don’t belong in an existing team site or necessitate the creation of a team site yet. You can share files to other individuals or transfer them to SharePoint when you need to.

If your company is big on teamwork and your staff uses Office apps heavily, switching to Microsoft 365 Business will give you access to Teams, SharePoint, and many other awesome productivity apps! Let our IT experts at [company_short] help you find the right subscription plan for your business.

How do you store files in OneDrive and SharePoint?

Here are a couple of convenient ways to add files to the app of your choice.

In OneDrive

1. Upload to the app
• Open OneDrive.
• Click the Upload button in the top menu bar.
• Pick the folders and files you want to store into your desired location in OneDrive.
2. Drag and drop to a folder
• In the app, select or create a new folder in OneDrive.
• Cut, copy, or drag and drop the files or folders you want onto the OneDrive folder you’ve selected or created.
3. Use the Save As function of MS Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote)
• Click the File tab.
• Click Save As.
• Select the OneDrive account of your choice.

In SharePoint

1. Upload to the app
• Go to a SharePoint site.
• Click the Upload button.
• Choose the files and folders you want to store on that site.
2. Drag and drop to a folder
• Open SharePoint Online and go to your desired site
• Drag and drop what you want onto the destination SharePoint folder.
3. Use the Save As function of MS Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote)
• Click the File tab
• Click Save As.
• Select the SharePoint site of your choice.

If SharePoint sites do not yet appear:

• Click Add a Place.
• Select Office 365 SharePoint.
• In the dialog box that appears, enter your SharePoint account credentials. SharePoint shortcuts will start appearing as Save As options for all MS Office apps.

How do you share and store files on Teams?

Sharing files of any type with your teammates is easy on Teams — all you need is access to these on the device you’re using. These are the files that are:

• Stored on your device
• In SharePoint, OneDrive, or other cloud-based storage
• On the Files tab of your chats and channels on Teams

To quickly share a file with your team, share it in a group or one-on-one chat

The Conversations tab is where you and your teammates will do most of your communicating. Often, sharing files will be necessary, To share a file, you can copy-paste the link to that file, or you can do the following:

• Click the Attach icon (i.e., the button that looks like a paperclip) underneath the box where you type messages.
• Drill down to the file’s location, be it in OneDrive or local storage.
• Select the file.
• Click Open or Share.

Take note that this method might make files difficult to find, as chat threads easily become lengthy. For important files, you’ll want to add them to the Files tab of your Teams channel.

To make your files easy to find on your Teams channel, store them on the Files tab

As previously mentioned, each Teams channel is connected to a distinct SharePoint site. The Files tab of a channel acts as the access point to the main folder of the SharePoint site. Whatever file you upload to the SharePoint site will be accessible on the Files tab, and whatever file you upload to the Files tab will be accessible on the SharePoint site.

There are two main ways to store files on the Files tab:

1. Via the Upload a copy function of the Conversations tab

While you’re on the Conversations tab, do the following:

• Click the Attach icon.
• Accomplish one of the three methods below:
• To pick a file you opened recently, click Recent, then Upload a copy.
• To select from all the files you’re permitted access to on Teams, click Browse Teams and Channels, then Share a link or Upload a copy.
• To choose a file from your private storage, click Upload from my computer or OneDrive, then Open or Upload a copy.
2. Via the Upload function of the Files tab

When you go to the Files tab, you’ll see subfolders (if there are any) and any shared files on the channel you’re in. To upload a file on that tab, follow these steps:

• Select the location you want to put the file in. Open subfolders if you have to.
• Click the Upload button.
• Select File.

Before uploading your file, you may want to create a subfolder first:

• On the Files tab, click New.
• Select Folder.
• Type the name for your new folder.
• lick Create.

We’ve only scratched the surface of what you can do with Microsoft’s amazing apps. To discover more about how your business can benefit from these, talk with our IT specialists at [company_short]! Drop us a line or call us at 801-747-3200 today.