OneDrive: Secure Cloud Storage

What is OneDrive?

OneDrive is part of Office 365. It provides a generous 1TB of private cloud storage space for each Northumbria University student to be able to save their files safely and securely.

With OneDrive, you can save all of your important files to one place, no matter which device you are using. Whether you are working on a laptop, tablet, or your phone, files saved to OneDrive can be easily accessed whether you are on or off campus.

Think of OneDrive as your own hard drive in the cloud, which you can use throughout your studies to save, backup and open your work.

When will I use OneDrive?

OneDrive is the space to which you should save all your University work, including documents, notes, photos, and videos. Whether you are using your own device, or on a University computer on campus, your files should be saved to your University OneDrive account.

OneDrive offers the following features:

Save files or folders - you can upload files and folders to OneDrive or create new files and folders within the OneDrive space. These files can be accessed from any internet connected device, making OneDrive a convenient and secure place to save your work.

Share files with other people – OneDrive lets you share files with tutors, other students, or people outside of Northumbria University. Any file saved within your OneDrive account can be shared via a web link, which allows it to be instantly accessed by the recipient. You can remove access to any file that you have shared at any time.

Automatic file backups – all files that you have saved to OneDrive are automatically backed up. This means that even if you accidentally save over your work, delete your files, or lose your device, your work will still be accessible.

Cloud and local storage – all students at Northumbria University can download and install free copies of Microsoft Office 365, which includes OneDrive. This means that you can store files on your own device and have them automatically saved to OneDrive cloud storage for extra security and safety.

You will use OneDrive throughout your studies at Northumbria University to save, access, share and edit your work and important files.

How do I access OneDrive?

OneDrive can be accessed in several ways; in a web browser, using an app, or through the file explorer on a computer if Office 365 is installed.

Some of the routes to access OneDrive are:

Logging in to www.office.com and selecting the My Content icon, then Cloud Files, and then the Go to OneDrive icon..
Logging in to OneDrive at www.onedrive.com
Installing Office 365 (which is available for free for all Northumbria University students) on your device.
Installing the OneDrive app on your mobile device.
Choosing the OneDrive storage location on any University Windows PC.

When accessing OneDrive, you may be asked to log in with your Northumbria University email address and password. Your email address will be in the format of:

username@northumbria.ac.uk

For example:

w21012345@northumbria.ac.uk

Your email password is your Northumbria University IT account password.

Microsoft Office can be installed for free by logging in to the following Northumbria University downloads site using your IT account username and password:

www.northumbria.ac.uk/downloads

How do I use OneDrive?

If you are accessing OneDrive using a web browser, you can drag and drop files onto the page, and they will be uploaded to your OneDrive account. These files are saved in the cloud and can be accessed or worked on using any internet connected device.

If you have logged in to the online version of Office via the web at www.office.com then any files that you create within this online portal will be automatically saved to your OneDrive account.

If you are accessing OneDrive through the file explorer on a computer, you can simply open the OneDrive folder and use it as you would any other storage location. Any files saved in these folders will be synchronised with the OneDrive online cloud storage. This means that when a file is saved to the OneDrive folder on the computer, it is automatically backed up to the online cloud storage.