Office 365 – Take SharePoint files offline

On almost every project there is a need to take your project files offline without an internet connection. Whether you are on a remote project, or just travelling on an airplane, internet service can be your worst enemy.  As a Project Manager, you need to be able to work offline to get your work done and then submit your changes once your connection is restored, all the while maintaining version control.  This is where Office 365 and SharePoint Online shine.

By default, Office 365 includes integration across the Microsoft Office suite, with SharePoint Online being the backbone to many applications. Office 365 allows a file to be accessed offline without an internet connection using the One Drive client. The process to take your Office 365 SharePoint files offline is as follows:

Sync SharePoint Document Library and One Drive

A powerful feature in SharePoint Online is the Sync option that is available for Document Libraries. Microsoft  made the Sync feature available in the menu system on modern sites, so it’s easy to access and setup.  A user can sync a library, folder, and/or file from the SharePoint Document Library to their One Drive client; So files added, edited, and/or deleted in SharePoint Online, or in your One Drive, are “synced” between both applications.  

Select files to go “Offline” in the One Drive client

Once that sync occurs, users can then make libraries, folders, or even individual files “available on this device”. “Available on this device” means that the files can be added, edited, and/or deleted within the One Drive client while the user is offline and then once an internet connection is restored, those files will sync back to SharePoint. The One Drive client looks and behaves just like the familiar windows file explorer.  

This process only needs to be set up once and from that point forward, you are good to go!

Considerations

• Metadata from SharePoint is currently not available in the One Drive client.  One Drive does not display metadata from SharePoint, therefore you will have to search for files in One Drive by standard columns data such as Date Modified, Type, File Size, Author, etc.  Also, if you add a file in One Drive to a synced library, you do not have the option to add SharePoint metadata until you return to SharePoint.
• Storage considerations. Remember when you make a document accessible offline, that document is stored on your device; if you have a need to access a lot of documents or large documents make sure to check your available hard disk space before hand.
• Does not work with SharePoint Lists. If you are looking to sync up list data, like a list form or a contact list, you’re out of luck. We anticipated this limitation when we built our own PMIS,  Construction Viz. We made Construction Viz a Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), so you can perform your routine task online or offline from any modern browser.  Find out more at ConstructionViz.com.
• Manage offline access. If you don’t want users to take files offline, you can disable this feature in the SharePoint Document Library settings. This can also be done at the Office 365 tenant level across all Document Libraries.

Almost every day, Office 365 is being updated with new features. I can see a day when the SharePoint app for IOS and Google will allow for offline capability as well. Also, metadata being shared between SharePoint and One Drive at some point will be included in Once Drive.  Until then, this process works well. Enjoy!

If you need any additional help setting up Office 365 for your organization and/or providing Office 365 construction management solutions, submit a contact request to LydonSolutions.com or ConstructionViz.com.