Windows 10 might be Microsoft’s biggest focus for 2015, but the company isn’t allowing its many other products and services to suffer as a result. Earlier this morning, a post to the official OneDrive blog detailed three big updates set to improve collaboration functionality.
The first is the ability to sync shared folders to your desktop, rather than just access those files via the OneDrive website. This tweak comes as an attempt to further intermingle OneDrive with Office, encouraging users to work collaboratively on documents without “forking” them. Having those shared files on the desktop streamlines the process even more.
The second new bit of functionality pertains to the aftermath of that increased emphasis on working on documents with others. Any edits made to your files will push a mobile notification to the OneDrive app, and you’ll also receive an email detailing all edits made over the course of a given day.
Of course, this is intended to give users a better handle on who is making what changes to their files, which will be very useful for anyone working on a project with a large group. This update is rolling out now, so you might see the changes take effect at any time.
Finally, there’s a tweak to OneDrive’s search capabilities. Users can now search for files that have been shared with them, rather than just those that they’ve created. The blog post shrewdly points out that individuals are more likely to remember the location of a file they made than something that someone else shared with them, making this a rather essential addition.
Between their applications at work and in the home, it’s clear that services like OneDrive are only going to become more and more ubiquitous over the next few years. Microsoft are wise to continue developing their product to corner that market, and it certainly seems that these improvements will further solidify its status as one of the best cloud storage options available.
