12 Things That You Need to Learn About OneDrive’s Online Storage Account Access (Part 1)

In our previous tutorials, we’ve discussed much about the offline settings for the OneDrive cloud storage feature that is incorporated with every Windows 8.1 computer. OneDrive is one of the best features ever to be included in every Windows machine since Windows 8 and is now going to be part of the most anticipated Windows 10 operating system.

If you have read our past articles talking about the OneDrive folder that is built within the File Explorer feature then you should already know about the changes and tweaks that you can do with it but OneDrive is more than just the offline folder that you see whenever you open File Explorer, this storage extends even to the virtual space and takes the job of protecting your files to the next level!

In this tutorial, we will be showing the steps in working with the online cloud storage access for OneDrive and see what other changes and tweaks can actually be done with it. But before we get into the details, there’s one important thing that you need to create so you can start enjoying the free 30GB of online cloud storage space offered by OneDrive to all Windows users. Here’s what that thing is and how you can create it.

First Step: Create a Microsoft Account

Before you can start using OneDrive in your Windows 8.1 computer, you first need to create a Microsoft account and login to your Windows 8.1 computer with it. Doing this is pretty simple and you can even do it online by signing up for a hotmail, live or outlook account. Once your Microsoft account is ready, simply login to your Windows machine using it instead of logging in with just a local account.

Logging in with a Microsoft account on your Windows 8.1 computer also logs you in to some other Microsoft services such as OneDrive. This means that you can now access your online cloud storage simply by right-clicking on the OneDrive icon found on your computer’s System Tray and on the menu that appears, simply click on the “Go to the OneDrive website” option.

After the option is clicked, the OneDrive website will open on your computer’s default browser and from here, you will simply need to enter your Microsoft account credentials (email and password) into the boxes provided and hit the “Sign in” button in order to access your OneDrive online storage account and view all the files that are saved in it.

1. Adding Files Through the Online Office Apps

You can actually add more files to your OneDrive online storage even without using the offline Microsoft Office applications like Microsoft Word, Excel or Powerpoint. This feature is especially useful if you’re on a mobile device and you need to quickly create a spreadsheet or a simple word document to be sent via email and saved in OneDrive for records purposes.

To do this, simply click on the box button that is found on the top-left portion of the webpage just beside the OneDrive logo and the available Online Office apps will appear. From these apps, simply select the one that you want to create a document with and it will open in a separate tab on your browser.

2. Adding Files Directly to Your OneDrive Online Storage Account

Instead of saving files into the offline OneDrive folder  that you can access through the File Explorer feature, you can actually just save some of your  important files directly into your online cloud storage account. To do this, simply click on the “Upload” button located on top and there will be two options that will appear where you can click whether you would like to upload “Files” or a “Folder/s”.

3. Navigate Through Files Easily

Your online OneDrive account and the way everything is laid out in it looks very much the same as the File Explorer Window. On its left hand portion, you can find a navigation pane that contains links which are labeled “Files”, “Recent docs”, “Photos”, “Shared” and “PCs”. The “Files” section will show all the files and folders that are saved in your OneDrive account. Click on the “Recent docs” link and you’ll be able to view all the files, photos or folders that you have added recently. The “Shared” link would show the files and other stuff that you have allowed to be shared with other Windows users.

4. Access Options for a Certain Folder

Now, while your OneDrive Online Storage account is open on your favorite browser, you can start exploring some options that are available for the folders that are saved in it. To view these options, all you need to do is right-click on a certain folder and there will be some right-click options that will appear.

Now, all of the changes that you do to the files and folders that are saved in your online OneDrive cloud storage account will automatically be synced to the OneDrive folder in File Explorer and to the OneDrive app that is installed on all your other Windows devices where your Microsoft account is logged in.

There’s More to Learn About Your Online OneDrive Account Access in our Next Tutorial

OneDrive is truly one of the awesome cloud storage out there that offers some convenient integration with most of the apps and programs that you can find in Windows but all of the tricks that we’ve shown here are not everything yet! There are still a lot more to learn about this free tool in your Windows 8.1 computer so be sure to catch our next tutorial that will show all the rest that’s remaining.