File Storage

In general, of the data stored on the server, it’s best to only sync what you need down to your local machine, to avoid taking up unnecessary disk space. Sensitive data in particular should not be stored locally without extra security measures; please contact ITS if you have a need to store sensitive data on your hard drive. Of the data on your local hard drive, you should keep anything important to your work at the College in your OneDrive folder. Otherwise, it is vulnerable - viruses, ransomware, accidents, hardware failure, etc. can and do destroy your data with no way to get it back unless it is synced to OneDrive.

To select which folders to sync to your computer, right-click in your “OneDrive - Middlebury College” folder and select Choose OneDrive folders to sync from the menu. Any folders you choose not to sync will remain on the cloud but will not be downloaded to your local computer, and will be deleted from your local computer if they are already there.

Click the sync app icon in the menu bar on top, and click Settings.

On the Choose folders tab, check the box of the folders you want to sync.

Any folders you choose not to sync will be backed up to the cloud but not downloaded to your local computer, and deleted from your local computer if they are already there.

If the Finder window does not display the sync status of your OneDrive - Middlebury College contents with green check marks, etc., you need to turn on Finder integration. This feature is available for OS 10.10 and above. To do this, click the Finder’s Apple logo (top left) then select System Preferences, then Extensions. Under the entry for OneDrive, check the box beside Finder.

Go to go/onedrive and login.

• To add files, drag and drop them into the window, or click the Upload button. For a demonstration, see How to upload files to OneDrive (Microsoft video).
  • Folders cannot be directly uploaded in most browsers. Instead, create the folder in OneDrive in the web interface, then upload the contents. For this reason, if you have many folders and subfolders currently in Middfiles, we recommend using the desktop client to make the transition.
• To download a file, select it and click the Download button.

5TB (5,000 GB).

Files stored in the cloud are secure and are encrypted while in transit. If you wish to add an additional layer of security, consider turning on multi-factor authentication so that even if someone gets your password, they still won’t have access to your OneDrive.

• Note that if you have a need to store restricted data as defined in our Data Classification Policy, like SSNs, additional precautions are required. Please contact Information Security for assistance.

Middlebury’s license covers current faculty, staff, and students at Middlebury College in Vermont, the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, the Middlebury Language Schools, and the Middlebury School of the Environment.

• Note that the ability to download Microsoft Office for use on a personally-owned device is available but further restricted; see go/getoffice for details.

The beauty of cloud services is that you have the same access from anywhere, no VPN required. If you have an Internet connection, you can use either the Web interface (go.middlebury.edu/onedrive) or the client normally. If you’re going somewhere without reliable Internet access, you can use the client to sync files and folders to your computer, and they’ll automatically sync your changes back up to the cloud once you’re back online.

Microsoft offers online collaboration with Office Online. However, this only applies to Microsoft Office filetypes such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx. Other files will need to be downloaded to your computer before they can be edited. Also note that Office Online offers limited features; for full functionality, you must open the files in the desktop version of Office (currently Office 2016).

You can right-click on any file and select either “Share” or “More OneDrive Sharing Options” depending on the context. However, there are several important caveats to consider.

Only folders can be synced, not individual files. Therefore, whoever originally created the file will need to put the file in a folder and “Share” the folder with others. Then, whoever they’re sharing it with will need to do the following:

1. Open the OneDrive web interface (go/onedrive).
2. Click Shared with Me on the left.
3. Click on the folder in question to open it.
4. At the top of the screen, click Sync and follow the instructions.