Why does my Desktop say OneDrive?
Find out whether your Desktop and Documents live inside OneDrive, and how to check using a file's path.
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Before you go on, think back to the third question at the start: can something you saved to your Desktop be in the cloud, without you setting anything up? Now you'll see why it can.
OneDrive has a folder backup feature. When it's on, your everyday folders (Desktop, Documents, Pictures and others) are moved inside your OneDrive folder, and from there they sync with the cloud. The strange part is that nothing changes on screen: you still see "Desktop" and "Documents," right where they always were.
On a work computer, you're often not the one who turns it on. Microsoft documents that IT can move those folders to OneDrive without the person doing anything, and that people keep working in the folders they already know. That's why so many people only find out the day they spot a cloud icon on their Desktop.
The Desktop you see
same name, same place
Desktop folder inside OneDrive
on your computer
Your OneDrive in the cloud
Check it with the path
The way to know for sure is the one you practiced in module 1: look at your Desktop's path and read it left to right. If a OneDrive folder shows up between your user folder and the Desktop, your Desktop lives in OneDrive. If the path goes straight from your user folder to the Desktop without passing through OneDrive, it's a regular folder on your computer.
With a work account, that OneDrive folder carries your organization's name. Microsoft's help uses a made-up company, Contoso, whose folder is called OneDrive - Contoso. Yours will have your company's name: on a La Tapatía laptop, it would be something like OneDrive - Papelería La Tapatía. If you also use a personal OneDrive, Microsoft says its files show up in a separate folder from your work one. Pick your system:
- Open your Desktop in File Explorer.
- Press F4: the address bar gets selected and shows that folder's path.
- Look for OneDrive in the path.
Microsoft describes your work OneDrive, in File Explorer's left pane, as a folder with the OneDrive cloud icon and your organization's name. If your Desktop sits under it, now you know where it lives.
- Open your Desktop folder in Finder.
- Choose View > Show Path Bar, like in module 1. The bar at the bottom shows the folders it goes through.
- Look for a OneDrive folder in that bar.
Starting with macOS 12.1, Microsoft moved the OneDrive folder: it used to sit right in your user folder, and now it's in Library > Cloud Storage. In the old spot it left an alias, a shortcut that takes you to the new location, and the OneDrive folder shows up in the Finder sidebar under Locations. With a work account, the folder carries your organization's name, like OneDrive - Contoso.
See which folders are backed up
The path tells you where one folder lives. OneDrive's settings show you which folders are backed up, all at once. Just look for now: don't change anything yet.
- Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area, next to the clock.
- Select the Help & Settings icon, then Settings.
- Go to the Sync and backup tab and select Manage backup.
You'll see your standard folders, like Desktop, Documents and Pictures. A folder that isn't backed up says so: "Not backed up."
- Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the menu bar, at the top right.
- Click the three dots to open the menu and select Preferences.
- Go to the Backup tab and select Manage backup.
On a Mac, backing up your Desktop and Documents requires the OneDrive app you download from Microsoft's website, not the one from the App Store. If you use a work account, your IT department may have it turned off.
Warning: Stopping it isn't a harmless button
If you stop backing up a folder, Microsoft makes you choose between two options: keep the files only in OneDrive, removing them from your computer, or keep them only on your computer and remove them from OneDrive. Either way, the files leave one of the two places. On a work computer, check with IT first.
What changes when your Desktop lives in OneDrive
Having your Desktop in OneDrive isn't a bad thing. Often it's what saves you when your laptop dies. But it changes three things worth keeping in mind:
- Whatever you do there happens in the cloud too. If you delete a file from your Desktop, it's also deleted from your OneDrive in the cloud and from your other devices. The next page is all about that.
- Your Desktop follows you. Microsoft explains that once your Desktop is backed up, its items roam with you to the other computers where you run OneDrive. If you ever see your Desktop files on another computer, that's why.
- A Desktop file can be cloud-only. Like any OneDrive file, it can have the blue cloud and refuse to open without internet. The icons page shows you how to spot it.
There are naming rules, too. For backup, Microsoft requires each file's full path, name included, to be under 260 characters, and names can't start with a space or contain these characters: \ : / * ? < > " |. If OneDrive complains about a file on your Desktop, check its name and how deeply it's nested first.
Try it
On your work computer, check the path of your Desktop (or Documents) and look for a OneDrive folder in it. Then open OneDrive's settings and see which folders are backed up. Do the two answers match? If the path confuses you, paste it to your Maestro and read it together. Take out anything you'd rather not share, like your company's name.