Microsoft regularly updates its cloud storage solution OneDrive across various platforms including Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, and more. Today, the company has announced a bunch of improvements specifically targeted at the client running on Apple hardware.
Currently, OneDrive makes use of Rosetta 2 emulation when running on M1-powered Macs. However, starting from later this year, it will be able to run natively on the hardware which will lead to better performance. Additionally, Microsoft has noted that it already rolled out several performance enhancements to OneDrive on macOS last month, and will continue releasing similar updates in the coming months.
Organizations will be pleased to learn that Known Folder Move (KFM) will be supported in a private preview on macOS later this year, which essentially means that employees will be able to sync and secure content from various folders across their devices without any interruption in productivity. IT admins will be able to setup preferences for users who want to utilize this capability but they also have the ability to configure it without publicizing it. KFM will also be available for the general public at no additional cost. Microsoft has highlighted that KFM requires the latest version of macOS and Files on-Demand, and although it will be available in the standalone app initially, support for the App Store counterpart will be offered soon as well.
Furthermore, the Finder will also list OneDrive in the "Locations" section while the Files On-Demand experience will be updated with new iconography depicting the state of various files.
IT admins managing macOS devices in an organization will also be happy to know that following the release of OneDrive Sync Admin Reports on Windows last month, support for macOS is coming as well. It will give admins an organization-wide view of the errors that employees encounter while using OneDrive, which will enable them to remediate issues quicker. Another functionality that IT admins can utilize is excluding the synchronization of specific file types. Employees will also be notified that their IT admin has restricted the syncing of a specific file type.
Finally, iOS and iPadOS users will be able to edit Office files while being offline on the OneDrive app. Changes will be synced once they are online again. This capability will be making its way over to the Office app on mobile and standalone variants of Word and PowerPoint as well.
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