SharePoint is a collection of enterprise content management and knowledge management tools developed by Microsoft. This blog post will briefly describe some key features you should be aware of regarding SharePoint.

SharePoint Terminology

SharePoint: Is the name of the file storage system
Team Site: Is the web-based interface that provides access to files and is interchangeable with SharePoint. Both terms will be used
OneDrive: Is the file explorer interface that is an alternative way to access files.
Document Libraries: Document libraries is the SharePoint terminology for shared server drive folders.

How to Access a SharePoint Team Site

There are two ways to access, create, use and save files stored on SharePoint:

1. Using the web interface

The web interface of SharePoint will display the organisation folders you have access to. You can navigate these from the home page.

2. Using OneDrive

OneDrive is an application made by Microsoft to provide cloud storage access and usage to users from their devices in a similar way to Drop Box, Google Drive, or iCloud. This means that when you save files to OneDrive it is also uploaded to the cloud storage and can be leveraged to save hard disk space on your device. OneDrive files are accessed via File Explorer and this method may be preferred by users who are more comfortable with File Explorer. Your personal OneDrive is primarily for your own personal files.

OneDrive serves as the link between SharePoint and the syncing of document libraries to Windows or Mac systems. This section will cover some of the basics and features of utilising SharePoint via OneDrive.

Adding Document Libraries to the File Explorer

First, you want to go to the Team Site and navigate to the Document Library you wish to sync to your device. Click the Sync button and allow it to open the application it asks for.

Functions on Desktop

Now that we have synced our SharePoint Libraries, we have access to the functionality of the system. When starting a new document, such as a document in Word, always save your copy into SharePoint before you begin writing. This will do a number of things. Firstly, it enables the autosave feature so that you can work on your document and it will save in real-time. Secondly, it makes the document live which means others may work and collaborate on the document with you. Saving this way does create a local copy of the document.

Desktop Right-Click Context Menu Functions

When you right-click on a file, the following menu items complete these functions.

Share: You may share the document directly to recipients by clicking the Share button and going through the Sharing Menu. It functions identically to the SharePoint Online Menu.

Copy link: Allows you to copy the link to the selected file.

View Online: This will take you to the document within the SharePoint Online view. This is also a quick way to get to the SharePoint site without needing to open a browser and find the bookmark.

Version History: This will allow you to restore to a previous version if you accidentally made a mistake. Never use the “delete version” button as this is your first line of defence for document recovery.

Always Keep on This Device: This will change blue clouds to green ticks, and mean that you can access those documents regardless of internet connection. This may be useful for when you’re flying or going rural.

Free Up Space: This will offload the document from your hard drive and make it accessible online only. This is useful if you have a lot of documents taking up a lot of local disk space. It will not delete anything it will just remove the locally downloaded copy but it will still exist on SharePoint and will still be visible within your synced directory.