What is OneDrive? - OneDrive Tutorial

- [Instructor] OneDrive is Microsoft's cloud-based file storage service that allows you to sync and share files between your computers and mobile devices so you can access them from anywhere you have an internet connection. You can also share files with other people via OneDrive making it easy to send and receive documents, photos, or any other type of file, which is especially convenient if you have either a very large or numerous files to share. For example, OneDrive makes it easy to share photos with other people instead of having to worry about attaching files to emails and wondering if you'll go over the size limit for attachments, you can simply send a link to your photos on OneDrive. OneDrive is similar to other cloud-based storage systems you might have heard of like Dropbox or Google Drive, and that it allows you to access your files from any computer or mobile device. It can act as a backup device to keep your files safe. You can share and collaborate with others on the same file and OneDrive offers some other advantages, especially if you use other Microsoft products. For example, OneDrive is built directly into Windows 10 and later, so you can access your files without having to install additional software. Working with files stored on OneDrive looks and feels exactly the same as working with file stored locally on your computer, except the changes you make are instantly saved online as well as locally. Now, if you're on a Mac you'll need to install the free OneDrive app to get similar functionality to Windows, but we'll take a look at how to do that as well. And speaking of free, just to be clear OneDrive is free for all users who have a Microsoft account. If you're not sure if you have a Microsoft account here are some ways you might have created one. If you have an Xbox and have signed up for Xbox Live you have a Microsoft account. If you have a subscription to Microsoft 365 you have a Microsoft account. Or if you have a Hotmail or outlook.com account you have a Microsoft account. And if you're using Microsoft Windows 8 or later you might have created a Microsoft account that you use to sign into Windows, which you can also use with OneDrive. Just be aware that OneDrive no longer syncs with Windows 7 or 8. You have to be running at least Windows 10 to get full functionality. But if you have one or more of these types of accounts you'll use the same username and password to sign into OneDrive. Next, you might be wondering how much storage space you get with a OneDrive account. Currently, as I'm recording this video all free users receive 5 gigabytes of storage space. If you subscribe to Microsoft 365 personal or family that gets upgraded to a full terabyte of space. There's also a Microsoft 365 basic subscription that gives you 100 gigabytes of storage space. And as you might imagine, Microsoft is happy to provide more space at an additional cost. You can find out more about pricing plans and options by going to onedrive.com and clicking the see plans and pricing button here. And this is the best way to get the most up-to-date information as Microsoft has changed prices and storage plans in the past. Now, if you're a business user, you can take a look at the business options, in which case you might want to check out our OneDrive for Business course. But in this course we'll be sticking to the personal OneDrive features.