OneDrive is available as both a Desktop and a Cloud Based Application. The Desktop Application must be installed on your device in order to access it while the Cloud Based Application can be accessed from Office365.com. There are minor functional difference between the two application that we will explore on this page.
| OneDrive Desktop Application | OneDrive Cloud Application |
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How it's accessed: | From your desktop computer | From Office365.com or OneDrive.com |
Pros: | - Selective sync ensures that files and folders are always available offline
- Can moves files between synced libraries using the native File Explorer experience
- Files automatically sync in the background
- Better bandwidth utilization as it doesn't require to re-download content when opening a file
- You can choose to save documents directly to OneDrive
| - Touch-friendly user interface
- You can view all your files stored in the cloud
- You can download files for offline viewing
- You can connect multiple accounts
- There isn't operating system integration, as such you can uninstall the app at any time
- It doesn't impact local storage
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Cons: | - You have to select the specific content to sync to your computer
- You can't view files that aren't synced to your computer
- Requires more hard drive space to store data offline
- You can't add multiple Microsoft Accounts
| - Requires a reliable internet connection all the time
- You can't sync files automatically
- You can't download folders
- You can create duplicate files as you make content available offline
- Download require every time you open a file consuming more bandwidth
- Large files can take a long time to download
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