When you reach the storage limit, you would not be able to edit, copy, upload, or sync files in OneDrive until you reduce your storage within the limit. This article describes how to optimize the use of your storage space.

 

See also this article about how to download files from OneDrive, or copy files to another OneDrive account.

 

Applies To

Accounts with OneDrive service

 

Solution

1. Visit https://cuhk.edu.hk/o365 to login with CUHK email account > expand the menu at left > Apps > OneDrive to open the app.
      
   
   
2. Check the storage currently consumed in OneDrive and identify largest file in your OneDrive
       In OneDrive, you will see the storage used and the limit on the lower left of the screen. Click on the usage value link to see the largest files in OneDrive.
       
   
   
3. Identify and remove old versions of the same file which are no longer needed to be kept
       OneDrive will automatically keep the old versions when you edit a file (say, a PowerPoint presentation). If you edit a large file for multiple times, the accumulated storage consumption could be huge. To check old versions of the same file (1), click on the menu (2) and then click Version history (3).
   
      
   
       Delete the old version of the file by clicking the menu of the corresponding item, and click Delete Version.
   
      
   
       Tip: See the section below for an advanced technique to identify and remove old versions of a file using storage metrics.
   
   
   
4. Empty recycle bin
       Last but not least, do not forget to empty the recycle bin! To do so, go to Recycle bin (1) and click Empty recycle bin button (2). The emptied items will then go to Second-stage recycle bin. Click on the link to second-stage recycle bin (3) and empty that bin to have the files permanently purged.
   
       Note: After emptying the recycle bin, it will take a while before the storage quota indicator be refreshed with the new value.
   
      
   

 

 

Identify and Remove Old Versions of the Same File via Storage Metrics

This advanced method helps you to identify files that take up storage space due to versioning and to remove old versions of the same file with one click.

Caution: Please use this feature with care, as it is not possible to restore files to their earlier versions afterwards.

 

1. Click the Settings (gear) button on the top right > OneDrive settings.
      
   
   
2. In OneDrive settings, click More Settings on the left, then Storage Metrics under the Features and storage section.
      
   
   
3. In Storage metrics, click Documents folder.  Please ignore other files and folders as they are for OneDrive internal use.
      
   
   
4. In the Documents folder, your files and folders should be sorted by their cumulative size.  Identify any files that may be taking up storage space due to versioning.  In the example below, the file 'Demo.xlsx' in 'My files' is 11.35 MB in size ...
      
   
       … but due to frequent updates, its old versions occupy over 650MB of storage, as can be seen in the storage metrics.  To see the list of old versions of the file, open the Version History link in a new tab.
      
   
   
5. In the version history list, you may remove individual versions of the file by clicking the down arrow > Delete next to the modified date, or delete all versions by clicking the Delete All Versions link on the top.
      
   
   
6. Close the browser tab when you finish removing old versions of the file.
      
   
   
7. Repeat (4) – (6) as needed.
8. Leave storage metrics, go to Recycle bin and empty the recycle bin.  The storage indicator will soon be refreshed with the new value.
   
       Note:  The storage indicator inside the storage metrics will take a while to be refreshed with the new value.

 

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