Microsoft's SkyDrive storage service gets a facelift

SkyDrive, Microsoft's cloud storage service, has gotten a 'more modern' make-over.

Microsoft officials took the wraps off the latest update to SkyDrive on August 14, the day before Microsoft is set to start rolling out the official Windows 8 RTM bits to developers, IT pros and volume licensees. The changes to SkyDrive.com were detailed in a post on the new "Inside Skydrive" blog.

In addition to a new user interface for SkyDrive.com, Microsoft also has made bug fixes to Windows and Mac OS X Skydrive client apps, and is introducing a new SkyDrive for Android phone app that will be coming in "just a few weeks." The new SkyDrive.com will roll out over the next 24 hours, officials said.

Read more at:
Microsoft's SkyDrive storage service gets a facelift | ZDNet

See also:
A new modern SkyDrive.com, updated apps, and Outlook.com at 10 million users

 

[pparks1]

t-4-2:

I'm not actually uploading my pictures, I was using it as an example. If I don't want to use the Skydrive app to sync a local folder on my hard drive, going via the website is my only real choice. However, since you can only upload "files" and not folders, it makes it really cumbersome to use in this method.

All of my pictures, documents, videos and such are all stored on a file server at my house and I have mapped drives for each file type to my workstations. I don't want to install Skydrive on my server, and I don't want to make a secondary copy of all of this stuff on my local PC either. And if I did copy to my PC's skydrive folder, I cannot later remove the files from C:\skydrive to reclaim the space, as it would then remove the file from the cloud drive.

What I really, really, really want is the ability to use something like robocopy and say robocopy X:\pictures\* \\skydrive\picture-backup /MIR and have it just mirror what I have on my X drive with what I have in the cloud. First copy takes a long time, subsequent copies are only changes. This way i can control WHEN i snap my backups to the cloud. Thus, an accident on my end, wouldn't necessarily wipe out my cloud secondary copy unless I had done my robocopy already.

 

[t-4-2]

t-4-2, that's via the computer not the website.

Figured out how to do it from the browser, hold CTRL and select multiple folders and it uploads them - but only if they're less than 300MB. If they're more it won't (if you're using the free storage, which I am. I guess the limitation is raised with the paid storage?) Otherwise you have to load everything up via your PC.

By the way, the "Share" option in the various Office file pages are incredibly misleading, maybe useless. If they are useful it is designed horribly because I cannot find a way to upload files via "File" to SkyDrive, and the implication is that you can.

You cannot upload folders to skydrive.
My method stated is from computer to Skydrive in the web site.
Open Skydrive first > select the folder for uploading > click Upload at the toolbar > now drag and drop.

 

[t-4-2]

t-4-2:

I'm not actually uploading my pictures, I was using it as an example. If I don't want to use the Skydrive app to sync a local folder on my hard drive, going via the website is my only real choice. However, since you can only upload "files" and not folders, it makes it really cumbersome to use in this method.

All of my pictures, documents, videos and such are all stored on a file server at my house and I have mapped drives for each file type to my workstations. I don't want to install Skydrive on my server, and I don't want to make a secondary copy of all of this stuff on my local PC either. And if I did copy to my PC's skydrive folder, I cannot later remove the files from C:\skydrive to reclaim the space, as it would then remove the file from the cloud drive.

What I really, really, really want is the ability to use something like robocopy and say robocopy X:\pictures\* \\skydrive\picture-backup /MIR and have it just mirror what I have on my X drive with what I have in the cloud. First copy takes a long time, subsequent copies are only changes. This way i can control WHEN i snap my backups to the cloud. Thus, an accident on my end, wouldn't necessarily wipe out my cloud secondary copy unless I had done my robocopy already.

Sorry, I did not know what you were driving at.
I suppose Skydrive will not serve your purpose.

t-4-2

 

[Kat]

You kind of need to set up a file structure within Windows first. Or, you can set one up within SkyDrive. It's a tad tedious, but the overall arching point is the fact that files are accessible from your SkyDrive are available on any other PC you use. Or better yet, you can have YOUR PC and its contents as your SkyDrive of sorts.

But in one fell swoop, I can copy some folders from my Libraries over to the SkyDrive directory and have it upload the way I left the folder structure as.

Got one of them, funnily enough.Set it up
myself....20-odd years ago, originally.

Points to all my HARDWARE-based backups.

On 4.5 TB of PHYSICAL hardware.

The cloud?

NO way. Not gonna happen, ever. Not
on MY systems, any road.

Sorry (well, no, not really).

 

[burtie]

Sky drive is handy for some things, I mainly use it for easy access to some files I might need while out and about and the odd photo album which I might want to show to a family member or some friends. I use an Android tablet and have that sync some folders with my skydrive accounts (I have a few) with some apps. It does it's job and even though not perfect I certainly would not use it to back up or sync everything...I have 4TB of info on my PC at home so it would be impossible! But's it's all right for a free service and considering I have 25GB of storage on each skydrive account its a lot better than the poor 5GB I get with Google drive!

 

[pparks1]

Sky drive is handy for some things, I mainly use it for easy access to some files I might need while out and about and the odd photo album which I might want to show to a family member or some friends. I use an Android tablet and have that sync some folders with my skydrive accounts (I have a few) with some apps. It does it's job and even though not perfect I certainly would not use it to back up or sync everything...I have 4TB of info on my PC at home so it would be impossible! But's it's all right for a free service and considering I have 25GB of storage on each skydrive account its a lot better than the poor 5GB I get with Google drive!

Yes, I understand. I use Dropbox for those same type of purposes. As soon as SkyDrive gets bandwidth throttling, selective folder sync, linux support, and a deleted items recovery feature I can move from my 4.9GB of free space that I get with Dropbox over to my 25GB that I get with Skydrive.

 

[Vertex]

I've just visited my Skydrive page and yes it did have a makeover. I wish I could change the background from blue to red maybe. They also tried to Metro-fy the Skydrive page.


However, the Skydrive plugin for Windows Explorer isn't that good to me. I've tried it and yet it downloads copies of my Skydrive files into my hard disk so that they could be synced. The purpose I uploaded zip-compressed archives of my files on Skydrive is to get them backed them up away from my hard disk so I don't really want Skydrive to re-put these files into my hard disk to have them synced. I wanted another sort of window to open when I click at the Skydrive link on Windows Explorer that will show something like a web page view of my Skydrive storage that a log-on dialog would first pop up to let me sign in and it would have options to upload files from there and it auto logs-off when I close the computer. This would let multiple people use Skydrive via Windows Explorer on the same machine and would have less risk of other people seeing what's in your Skydrive. They could easily sneak into the Skydrive-sync folder that's in your hard drive. I think that's wrong in their design.

The files that I keep at Skydrive are documents and zip-compressed document archives that don't really hold sensitive data like business information. I also keep backups of hard-to-find MP3 files, my series of artworks done with MS Paint plus a small colection of my photography that I was really able to retrieve away from home when I got into a trip somewhere away that I really need those things posted on the Web.
　
Multiple times that Skydrive has proven to by a lifesaver since I started using it 3-4 years ago. Its my official online backup space for non-sensitive files but sadly, its not being designed in the way I think it should be.

It has its benefits, usually for smaller non-sensitive files but I will never trust it for the most personal data especially on something that relates to money and for larger files.

 

[TerryE]

Sorry to give you bad news, pparks1, but SkyDrive is actually just 7 GB, not 25 GB. Microsoft quietly pared it down a month or two ago.

Now if you want to pay for more, I am sure they wouldn't mind.

I find SkyDrive a handy way to share files with people (you can post a file and share it with just some people, then send those people a link to your file). I can't see that I'd use it for anything personal and not likey ever for 7 GB.

 

[burtie]

Luckily I had a few skydrive accounts before the switch over and was able to change it to 25gb for each one

 

[pparks1]

Sorry to give you bad news, pparks1, but SkyDrive is actually just 7 GB, not 25 GB. Microsoft quietly pared it down a month or two ago.

Nah ,I had it before and ticked the box to get my space upgraded to 25GB. That's what I have.

 

[pparks1]

Hooray, I missed this somehow, but Microsoft updated Skydrive and it's now got a recycle bin to protect against those accidental mistakes.

 

[pparks1]

And i just noticed too that SkyDrive added a selective folder sync option too. Missed this when they added it. Noticed today when I logged into the website that they mentioned it.

 

[Vertex]

Well I just hate the way they designed the use of the Skydrive plugin for Windows Explorer. I still use Skydrive and since I was using an old account and since I took action a few months ago, I retained all 25 GBs of free storage.

I hate the way that Skydrive would automatically download copies of the files stored in your Skydrive web storage to your hard drive in your computer so that they would be synced from there even if they have a selective folder sync option.

My explanation to how I think Skydrive should be designed in on my post on the previous page of this thread.

I only use Skydrive via a web browser, log on to my account and upload files to my web storage from there.