- 14
- Jun 2022
New File Access Environment
They’re a relic from the days when we all had our own servers for our office documents. We’re talking about those little yellow folder icons on the server tray at the bottom of everyone’s screens. When a user clicks on it to access a file, it starts a long and involved search process for your computer that sometimes turns up empty.
Today, nearly all businesses or organizations use OneDrive or SharePoint in place of onsite servers because it’s more efficient to keep files in the cloud. You can get all the space you need as your number of files grows, you can store files on multiple servers, and your team can access the files through the online portal. In the office, however, or if people use a remote log-in to get to their office desktop, they click on that little yellow icon. It’s time to say: “If it’s yellow, let it go mellow.”
It’s time for a new mindset, especially in offices, where everyone needs to access files that may be stored in subfolders that are multiple layers deep. Some individuals may have extensive subfolder systems, too.
What’s the best way to get to those files faster – and maybe just get to them? Instead of clicking on that yellow icon for Windows File Explorer, start using your web-based Office 365 portal to access documents via OneDrive or SharePoint. It’s not only faster, it’s a sure way to avoid a “can’t find the file” message. That can be especially frustrating when you know the file is in there somewhere in your warren of directories, folders, and subfolders.
We’ve seen these access issues with some of our clients. Essentially, they’ve outgrown File Explorer’s antiquated system of accessing files. The problem is that each file has a string of characters to identify its location, and the deeper you go in the filing system, the more characters the string needs to locate it. It gets messy because Microsoft limits the number of characters that a string can contain. They say that systems can find files with a string of up to 250 characters, but that’s not accurate – to put it politely. The limits are lower, and it becomes a problem because once you save a file on a computer, OneDrive or SharePoint adds characters to pinpoint its location within that system.
So, with OneDrive, something may get filed this way:
C:\Users\NormanRosenthal\OneDrive – Sterling Rose LLC\Documents\Shared Files
‘https://sterlingrosellc-
With SharePoint, it gets filed this way:
my.sharepoint.com/personal/norman_sterlingrose_com/Documents/Documents/Sterling Rose LLC/Administration/[Monthly Billings.xlsx
With OneDrive, we need 29 characters before we get to the Documents directory. If you replace “OneDrive – Sterling Rose LLC” with “OneDrive – United States of America”, the character count increases, and that adds to the size of the string that File Explorer needs to search. We find the search breaks down when your character count exceeds 150 to 190 characters. In the second example, the file is two layers deep before you get to “Monthly Billings…”, and it takes up 130 characters to that point.
It’s too much for File Explorer to sync. The problem gets worse when you have a lot of people sharing files and renaming them to identify the collaborator and the version.
You can avoid the problem by opening your browser instead of File Explorer and logging in to your Office 365 portal. The portal is designed to search faster for those long file names. Once you have the file, you can work on it just as you would with a file opened from File Explorer. If you need to, you can drag the file from the portal onto your desktop and do whatever you need with it.
Using the portal instead of File Explorer really requires nothing more than changing users’ mindsets. Once you get into the workflow of using the portal, everyone will be able to work more efficiently by taking advantage of a system better designed to handle today’s needs.
Just keep in mind, though, that web-based file storage and access is NOT the same as file backup. You still need a third-party backup program that will keep your file structure intact if you lose your data and need to restore everything.
We can help you set up systems to get to files faster through OneDrive or SharePoint and coordinate with a backup system that best meets your needs. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us to analyze what you have and need to accomplish. We can set up your system and provide documentation to help you and your staff access the file they need seamlessly.
Categories
Comments
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- D. J. Hawkins on Health Wearables in Style at CES
- Allan Berger on Tech Preps for Trips
- Stan Schnitzer on We’re Not Neutral on Net Neutrality
- Allan Berger on Equifax and Protecting Your Identity
- Michael L. on Brave New Wireless World
Archives
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012