OneDrive item statuses explained – and how to change them

If you’ve used OneDrive on your PC, you’ve more than likely ran into its various status icons for folders and files. As you may have guessed, they are not there just to look pretty. Each one tells us something different about its associated file or folder. Due to this, we’re able to easily change them. And in this post, that’s exactly what we’re going to be helping you with. 

Status Icon Status meaning 
Person File/folder has been shared with others 
Blue cloud File/folder only available online 
Partial green tick Locally available 
Green with white tick Always available (will auto update when online) 
Padlock File/folder isn’t allowed to be synced 

In this post we’ll be discussing how you can make each status icon manifest, as well as what each one means and when you’ll want to change them. 

Quick links: 

We’ve also created a video to show you what the status icons mean:

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Sharing a OneDrive file/folder with others 

This will cause the person status icon to appear 

Step 1 – Navigate to your OneDrive file/folder’s directory 

  • This can be done online or on your PC, but for simplicity, we’ll be doing this on a PC. 
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Step 2 – Click share from file/folder’s context menu 

  • First select your file/folder by left clicking it. Follow up with a right click to access the context menu. From there you can select Share, with the OneDrive cloud icon prefixing the option name. 

Step 3 – Add users to share the file/folder with 

  • Enter the names or emails of the people you’d like to share your file/folder with. You also optionally grant the edit permissions, provide a message with their link, or configure your link to work for only specific people. 

Step 4 – Confirm your changes took affect 

  • Have a look at your file/folders indicator and check if it changed. Please be aware it may take a minute or two for your changes to take effect. 

Making a OneDrive file/folder available exclusively online 

This will cause the blue cloud status icon to appear. 

Step 1 – Navigate to your OneDrive file/folder’s directory 

  • This can be done online or on your PC, but for simplicity, we’ll be doing this on a PC. 

Step 2 – Click Free up space from the file/folder’s context menu 

  • First select the file/folder with a left click, continue with a right click and finish by selecting Free up space 

Step 3 – Confirm your changes took affect 

  • Have a look at your file/folders indicator and check if it changed. Please be aware it may take a minute or two for your changes to take effect. 

Making a OneDrive file/folder available locally 

This will cause the partial green status icon to appear 

Step 1 – Navigate to your OneDrive file/folder’s directory 

  • This can be done online or on your PC, but for simplicity, we’ll be doing this on a PC. 

Step 2 – Toggle Always keep on this device from the file/folder’s context menu 

  • First select the file/folder with a right click, pair it with a left click now and select Always keep on this device. Now repeat this step once more. 

Step 3 – Confirm your changes took affect 

  • Have a look at your file/folders indicator and check if it changed. Please be aware it may take a minute or two for your changes to take effect. 

Making a OneDrive file/folder available all the time 

This will cause the green with white tick status icon to appear 

Step 1 – Navigate to your OneDrive file/folder’s directory 

  • This can be done online or on your PC, but for simplicity, we’ll be doing this on a PC. 

Step 2 – Select Always keep on this device from the file/folder’s context menu 

  • First select the file/folder with a right click, pair it with a left click now and select Always keep on this device

Step 3 – Confirm your changes took affect 

  • Have a look at your file/folders indicator and check if it changed. Please be aware it may take a minute or two for your changes to take effect. 

End note 

Recap 

In this post we’ve learned about OneDrive’s various status indicators, what each one means and how are actions and configurations can alter them. I personally have not learned to not tweak them for aesthetic purposes. 

Farewell 

As usual, this section is dedicated to thanking readers for their support. We’d be pleased to know you found this post useful and/or informative. If you have any more Office 365 related queries, please consult our related articles (listed below). However, if you have other queries, consider looking at the rest of the site. We’re frequently posting new stuff each week and may just have the guide or troubleshooting tips you need. Regardless, we wish you a good day/night. Farewell readers. 

Our related articles: 

  • A complete guide to using OneDrive to transfer files to a new computer – OneDrive is a cloud storage platform offered as part of the Microsoft 365 suite. With it, your various folders and files may be stored online and downloaded for use from anywhere with an internet connection. As such, OneDrive is very useful if you’re looking to get files from one computer to another without wanting to mess around with storage devices. 
  • A complete guide to fixing OneDrive sync issues on Mac – OneDrive sometimes has issues, and many users have claimed that OneDrive isn’t synchronizing on their Mac OS devices, however, there are solutions available. In this blog, we will cover the most effective approaches to help users fix sync issues on their OneDrive devices. We will address some of the causes of why OneDrive won’t sync correctly and what users can do to help resolve these issues. Use the guide below to see how you can resolve OneDrive sync issues on Mac OS devices. 
  • How to move OneDrive for Business files between users – The question for today is how can you move OneDrive for Business files between users? What is the best approach and how will it affect users who attempt to move files across users who use our method? 
  • How to fix “access to the cloud file is denied” OneDrive error – The prevailing issue that will be addressed here is the concerns surrounding the error “Access to the cloud file is denied”. This error comes when a file a user tries to access has been denied due to an underlying fault within the file. There are multiple reasons why this can be caused — for instance, the file is not on the cloud but still showing on the Drive. 

Jack Mitchell

Jack Mitchell has been the Operations manager at telecoms and MSP Optionbox for more than 4 years. He has played a crucial role in the company, from marketing to helpdesk, and ensures that the IT requirements of over 300 clients are continuously met. With his innate passion for technology and troubleshooting and a particular interest in Apple products, Jack now delivers the most comprehensive tech guides to make your life easier. You can connect with Jack on LinkedIn.

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