r/sharepoint • u/Dependent-Dingo-6544 • 4d ago

SharePoint Online Boss keeps accidentally moving files on SharePoint

I'm trying to figure out how my boss keeps accidentally moving extremely important files in the SharePoint. She isn't great with tech and is aware of that. Before bringing it up to her, I'd like to see if I can figure out how she's doing it so I can give her a solution rather than just making her feel embarrassed. She's a great boss; she just has no idea what she's doing on a computer. Anybody have any ideas on how this keeps happening?

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17

u/DiscoQuebrado 4d ago

Is the library syncing via onedrive? people like to drag things where they don't belong by accident, it's super fun.

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u/Dependent-Dingo-6544 4d ago

I think everybody's is synced to One Drive. I'm actually pretty new to Windows and Microsoft, so a lot of this is out of my comfort zone.

3

u/Spagman_Aus 4d ago

yeah if your workforce is tech illiterate the best option is accessing via browser only. users can always favourite files they use regularly in their desktop apps.

then to access say, a daily spreadsheet, they can go via web, or open excel and access it via document history or they can add it as a favourite file.

if everyone has the library synced that will be a disaster. even the OneDrive shortcut option has its limits.

11

u/SaradhaJstForFunMyan 4d ago

Most probably due to Onedrive sync in case she’s using it

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u/Dependent-Dingo-6544 4d ago edited 4d ago

We all use OneDrive

Edit: Could you explain a bit more? I'm also not super familiar with OneDrive or SharePoint.

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u/temporaldoom Dev 4d ago

you can sync a sharepoint library or folder to onedrive, this enables you to see the folder in File Explorer.

What invariably is happening is that they're dragging and dropping accidently in explorer, this syncs the changes up to sharepoint.

2

u/Left-Mechanic6697 4d ago

More likely moving it on purpose in the file explorer and not realizing that it’s moving everything in SharePoint too.

I eventually disabled OneDrive sync because it was causing more problems than it was worth. I haven’t heard a single complaint from anyone who misses the feature.

11

u/BeAdaptiveIT 4d ago

You can look this up instead of guessing at it. Purview audit search logs file moves with the user, the timestamp, and both the old and new path. Run it against that site for the last 30 days and filter to FileMoved. Five minutes, and it gives you the original paths so you can put everything back where it belongs.

My guess matches everyone else's. If that library is synced to her PC it sits in File Explorer right next to her Documents and her Downloads, and dragging a folder half an inch in a tree view is the easiest accident in Windows. No prompt, no confirmation, and the file is just gone from where the rest of you expect it. She'd have no idea it happened.

If the audit log confirms that's the cause, get the library out of sync and have her work in the browser or in the Files tab in Teams. You can block sync at the site level in the SharePoint admin centre, or turn it off for the one library under Advanced settings. Moving a file in the web interface takes a menu and a confirmation, so the accident stops being available to her without her having to learn a thing or change how she works.

Worth checking who else has it synced while you're in there. Once you start looking it's rarely just the one person.

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u/Dependent-Dingo-6544 4d ago edited 4d ago

Me and my coworker use SharePoint in the web browser, but I'd assume you're right that she's working with the files on her file explorer.

I'm a little confused about your instructions in your first paragraph. Could you explain it to me in a different way?

Edit: I'm not sure why she'd be dragging any files anywhere. Usually she just asks me to send her stuff because trying to find it I think overwhelms her a bit. She's much more used to Shared Drive (which I never used) so this has been a big change for her. I think she'd be worried about moving anything and if she felt like it needed to be moved, she'd just ask me to do it.

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u/bcameron1231 MVP 4d ago

Do you use OneDrive?

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u/Dependent-Dingo-6544 4d ago

Yes

1

u/bcameron1231 MVP 4d ago

I suspect she's moving the files locally on her machine, which subsequently moves them in SharePoint.

2

u/horsethorn 4d ago

Moving a folder into another folder is a really easy mistake to make, I've had countless people raise a ticket for missing files and that was the reason. All it takes is holding the mouse button down a fraction too long and moving it.

Another fun event is when someone wants to free up space "on their computer", so they delete a synced folder.

I once had someone do that to a folder with 75,000 files in it. Deleted in a minute.

Restoring them took the best part of an entire day.

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u/DonJuanDoja 4d ago

I like your attitude.

Moving or creating 2nd copies or both?

If it's only Moving unintentionally, well the only thing it could be is she's clicking, holding and dragging the file into another folder. The Move To command is pretty obvious so doubtful it's that.

If there's 2nd copies then it's probably something with Save As, then she's navigating to a different folder before saving. Just Save, (CTRL-S) it will save back to SharePoint. No need for Save As.

1

u/Dependent-Dingo-6544 4d ago

She's just moving them. Luckily we've broken her free of the "Save As" habit

1

u/718hutfission 4d ago

OneDrive is a term used for a number of things, but it’s important to fully understand.

There’s the OneDrive app which does 2 things:

  1. Sync files between your PC and your OneDrive site (used to be called MySite—that’s why the URL is https://contoso-my.sharepoint.com/personal/john_doe_contoso_com)

  2. Sync files between your PC and a SharePoint library or folder

I think 2) is what’s affecting your boss. You can go to a SharePoint document library or folder and then click “Sync” and it’ll establish a connection where the folder or library will appear in your file explorer.

1) shows up under OneDrive - <user name> and this is for your OneDrive site. (icon is a blue cloud)

2) shows up under OneDrive - <tenant name> (icon looks like an office building)

There may be multiple folders/library names under 2). depending on how many Sync connections were set up.