Sync Your Libraries to SkyDrive [Video]

With this tip, you can tell your Libraries to save to SkyDrive for seamlessly enabling any app to save to the cloud.  SkyDrive lets you keep your files in the cloud and your computer in constant sync, and allows for access anywhere from your smart phone or any browser.  You can even remotely fetch files that you didn’t sync as long as the remote computer is powered up.

1. To have your files on your computer automatically sync up to the cloud, you’ll need the SkyDrive app.  You can quickly grab at SkyDrive.com (get the app for your phone while you’re there).
   • Installation only takes a few seconds, but be sure not to breeze past the “fetch” feature.  With that enabled, you can remotely access files from anywhere on your computer, even folders/drives that aren’t part of your skydrive storage.
   • After installing, you’ll see a new SkyDrive folder on your computer.  Anything you put in there will be synchronized with your online storage.  To have your existing libraries (documents, photos, etc) store their content in SkyDrive by default, take the following steps.
2. Enter your SkyDrive folder and create folders for Documents or Pictures (or whatever you want), then right-click each and choose “Include in Library” and match it up to the proper library.
3. Right-click each Library in the folder list at the left, choose Properties, then set the SkyDrive location as the default location for the library.

Now every file you store, even from apps that aren’t “cloud aware” will still sync to your online folders and will be available at SkyDrive.com.  This is great for remote access or simply keeping a safe copy of your files off-site.

This tip is part of the Community Video Tips campaign from the Microsoft MVP program, celebrating all the ways current Microsoft consumer products, apps and features solve people’s real world needs. Each tip provides a solution for a specific scenario, and all tips can be seen on the MVP channel on YouTube.

Edit: For more advanced ways to use SkyDrive, see my two followup posts about keeping your desktop synced across all your computers, and syncing folders from other locations or drives.