Martin is an accountant. One of his clients sent him an email with a link to a OneDrive folder
containing a couple of dozen files. Martin can open this folder and see these files.
Martin wants to copy ALL these file to his own computer in ONE operation. So he selects all the
files and tries to drag them. But only one file is copied. This behaviour is quite different to
copying a group of files from a connected file system such as USB disk or NAS disk where the
drag-n-drop would copy all the selected files.
Clearly Martin can copy each file individually - tedious and he might miss one. But if there were
many more files - perhaps several hundred - that would be impractical. Is there a way to do this,
bearing in mind that Martin's client is even less computer-literate than Martin himself?
Martin is an accountant. One of his clients sent him an email with a
link to a OneDrive folder containing a couple of dozen files. Martin
can open this folder and see these files.
Martin wants to copy ALL these file to his own computer in ONE
operation. So he selects all the files and tries to drag them. But
only one file is copied. This behaviour is quite different to copying a group of files from a connected file system such as USB disk or NAS disk where the drag-n-drop would copy all the selected files.
Clearly Martin can copy each file individually - tedious and he might
miss one. But if there were many more files - perhaps several hundred -
that would be impractical. Is there a way to do this, bearing in mind
that Martin's client is even less computer-literate than Martin himself?
You can:
 - Individual files(i.e. more than one)  <===
 - Select all files in a folder
 - Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
 - the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current file extension.
...winston wrote:
[snip]
You can:
- Individual files(i.e. more than one) <===
- Select all files in a folder
- Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
- the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current file
extension.
Thanks. I see that this minimises internet bandwidth usage.
But for the inexpert user (that's most of the users I see) it's yet
another needless Microsoft confusion. The user's normal way to copy
multiple files is select - drag-n-drop; so to have to remember a
different mechanism for no good reason that is apparent to that user is troublesome.
It's what gives computers a bad name!
OneDrive is a sync/backup tool. It is not a global file manager that >operates across multiple hosts possibly running different OSes.
That would require the destination device(Martin the accountant) to
setup OneDrive on his device with the client's Microsoft Account(username/password) to sync anything down to Martin's(the
accountant) device.
 - If Martin the accountant asked for that from the client, the client should find a new accountant!!!!
Chris wrote:
Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:
...winston wrote:
[snip]
You can:
  - Individual files(i.e. more than one)  <===
  - Select all files in a folder
  - Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
  - the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current file >>>> extension.
Thanks. I see that this minimises internet bandwidth usage.
But for the inexpert user (that's most of the users I see) it's yet
another needless Microsoft confusion. The user's normal way to copy
multiple files is select - drag-n-drop;
Not in a browser-based view of sharepoint.
so to have to remember a
different mechanism for no good reason that is apparent to that user is
troublesome.
Then they should "sync" the onedrive folder to their desktop. But that's
likely more complicated than is necessary for simply copying some files.
That would require the destination device(Martin the accountant) to
setup OneDrive on his device with the client's Microsoft Account(username/password) to sync anything down to Martin's(the
accountant) device.
 - If Martin the accountant asked for that from the client, the client should find a new accountant!!!!
Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:
...winston wrote:
[snip]
You can:
 - Individual files(i.e. more than one)  <===
 - Select all files in a folder
 - Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
 - the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current file >>> extension.
Thanks. I see that this minimises internet bandwidth usage.
But for the inexpert user (that's most of the users I see) it's yet
another needless Microsoft confusion. The user's normal way to copy
multiple files is select - drag-n-drop; so to have to remember a
different mechanism for no good reason that is apparent to that user is
troublesome.
It's what gives computers a bad name!
OneDrive is a sync/backup tool. It is not a global file manager that operates across multiple hosts possibly running different OSes.
On Fri, 19 Jul 2024 02:26:58 -0500, VanguardLH <V@nguard.LH> wrote:
OneDrive is a sync/backup tool. It is not a global file manager that
operates across multiple hosts possibly running different OSes.
So not like Dropbox, then?
Graham J wrote:
...winston wrote:
[snip]
You can:
  - Individual files(i.e. more than one)  <===
  - Select all files in a folder
  - Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
  - the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current
file extension.
Thanks. I see that this minimises internet bandwidth usage.
But for the inexpert user (that's most of the users I see) it's yet
another needless Microsoft confusion. The user's normal way to copy
multiple files is select - drag-n-drop; so to have to remember a
different mechanism for no good reason that is apparent to that user
is troublesome.
It's what gives computers a bad name!
It's not confusion. It's more like protection.
The ability to drag and drop from one device owned by one person to
another device owned by another person(and obviously without the same Microsoft Account) was never going to be an option for a cloud service.
Imo, to expect OneDrive to function identical to a USB thumb drive or
NAS disk(which are strictly done locally or remote access) is and
probably will always be a pipe dream(and too high of an expectation)
 - the option to drag/drop/copy file to USB drive and give USB drive
to another will always work. Apples to Apples.
Alan wrote:
On 2024-07-19 01:19, ...winston wrote:
Graham J wrote:
...winston wrote:
[snip]
You can:
  - Individual files(i.e. more than one)  <===
  - Select all files in a folder
  - Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
  - the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current
file extension.
Thanks. I see that this minimises internet bandwidth usage.
But for the inexpert user (that's most of the users I see) it's yet
another needless Microsoft confusion. The user's normal way to copy
multiple files is select - drag-n-drop; so to have to remember a
different mechanism for no good reason that is apparent to that user
is troublesome.
It's what gives computers a bad name!
It's not confusion. It's more like protection.
The ability to drag and drop from one device owned by one person to
another device owned by another person(and obviously without the same
Microsoft Account) was never going to be an option for a cloud service.
Imo, to expect OneDrive to function identical to a USB thumb drive or
NAS disk(which are strictly done locally or remote access) is and
probably will always be a pipe dream(and too high of an expectation)
  - the option to drag/drop/copy file to USB drive and give USB
drive to another will always work. Apples to Apples.
It's nothing to do with "protection". It is a current limitation of
the browser-based interface to the cloud-based storage system known as
either "Sharepoint" (general multi-user storage) or "OneDrive" (if
it's a storage space associated with one particular user; a private
storage area).
You can't drag and drop multiple files from the browser, but you can
select multiple files and the select "Download".
It's closer to protection(preventing drag and drop from a protected environment to another individual's device) than confusion with/without
a limitation of a browser in cloud environment.
Going back to OP's comment regarding:
 - the accountant and the client.
While the accountant can't drag and drop 'and' got a link instead of the files.
- The accountant clearly also had no understanding of OneDrive functionality(expected) nor possibly not even considering the obvious
option shown in the OneDrive UI to select/use the Download option.
Alan wrote:
On 2024-07-19 01:23, ...winston wrote:
Chris wrote:
Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:
...winston wrote:
[snip]
You can:
  - Individual files(i.e. more than one)  <===
  - Select all files in a folder
  - Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
  - the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current >>>>>> file
extension.
Thanks. I see that this minimises internet bandwidth usage.
But for the inexpert user (that's most of the users I see) it's yet
another needless Microsoft confusion. The user's normal way to copy >>>>> multiple files is select - drag-n-drop;
Not in a browser-based view of sharepoint.
so to have to remember a
different mechanism for no good reason that is apparent to that
user is
troublesome.
Then they should "sync" the onedrive folder to their desktop. But
that's
likely more complicated than is necessary for simply copying some
files.
That would require the destination device(Martin the accountant) to
setup OneDrive on his device with the client's Microsoft
Account(username/password) to sync anything down to Martin's(the
accountant) device.
  - If Martin the accountant asked for that from the client, the
client should find a new accountant!!!!
As far as I can recall, yu can use the OneDrive software on your PC to
access files that have been shared with you. You don't need the
sharing parties credentials in order to do that.
Not exactly. OneDrive software on a device is MSFT Account specific.
A shared file from a OneDrive user, doesn't require a MSFT acccount to
access the link, nor does it require the recipient email address to be a Microsoft Account.
 Unless both criteria are met...the recipient has a Microsoft Account
and that MSFT Account email was also the recipient....using the OneDrive software on the recipient pc isn't an option. The shared content is accessed in the recipient's default browser.
Alan wrote:
On 2024-07-19 00:26, VanguardLH wrote:
Graham J <nobody@nowhere.co.uk> wrote:
...winston wrote:
[snip]
You can:
  - Individual files(i.e. more than one)  <===
  - Select all files in a folder
  - Select the folder
To:
Download as a zip file.
If you select only one individual file(e.g. txt, docx, jpg etc.)
  - the file will be downloaded as a single file with its current >>>>> file
extension.
Thanks. I see that this minimises internet bandwidth usage.
But for the inexpert user (that's most of the users I see) it's yet
another needless Microsoft confusion. The user's normal way to copy
multiple files is select - drag-n-drop; so to have to remember a
different mechanism for no good reason that is apparent to that user is >>>> troublesome.
It's what gives computers a bad name!
OneDrive is a sync/backup tool. It is not a global file manager that
operates across multiple hosts possibly running different OSes.
The problem is that "OneDrive" is a term that Microsoft uses with two
meanings.
They use it with the software you install on your system to
synchronize cloud files from Sharepoint Online...
...AND they use it as the name of a user's personal cloud storage space.
It's easy to confuse the two since both are cloud services
 - in the cloud it is all OneDrive's cloud service but on different
backend platforms and storage locations.
At the owner level its actually two different OneDrive terms
- OneDrive for Work or School(fka OneDrive for Business)
- OneDrive for Home
The latter is managed by the user with their Microsoft Account.
The former is managed by the organization not the user. Admins control
your work/school OneDrive. OneDrive in this case is part of the organization's subscription to SharePoint in Microsoft 365 or through on-premise installation of SharePoint Server.
It is even possible for an employee to have both OneDrive Home and
OneDrive for work or school on the same device.
 Setting up each on the same device results in two separate OneDrive folders. When done, both sets of folders can be viewed in Windows(10/11)...doing so allows the ability to copy or drag and drop
files from one folder to another. Once done, both sets of folders can be re-synced back to the respective(Home/WorkSchool) online OneDrive server.
Alan wrote:
You can do drag and drop...
...just one file at a time.
Can't be done.
You should learn to read:
'So he selects all the files and tries to drag them. But only one
file is copied.'
Didn't happen. The recipient reported false information or the op misunderstood the recipient claiming same.
Doesn't matter if the link the recipient received
a. used the link in any browser without using a Microsoft account and attempted a drag and drop to a folder on the recipient device
b. recipient's email address was a Microsoft Account, logged on to
OneDrive, accessed Shared files, selected files(one or more) and
attempted drag and drop to a folder on the recipient device.
Neither of the above attempts provides(when selecting one or more shared files) the ability to drag and drop anything.
I'm not going to bother with the rest of your noise.
Fine...the noise afiacs is you never validated what you believe occurred.
Why...those files remain protected from traveling from the OneDrive UI
to a remote location(a folder on the recipients device)
 - The recipient only choice is to download individually using the link
or
 - if recipient email is a Microsoft account, logon with that account
to their OneDrive, access the Shared file online folder, select one or
more files and copy to another folder on 'their' OneDrive or download
the file(s).
 ===>> No Drag and drop!!!
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