Solved How can you keep 3rd party software vendor from using your Paid 365 OneDrive subscription for their files

Overview: How can you keep 3rd party software vendor from using your Paid personal or 365 OneDrive subscription for their files?

Issue: A Software Application Vendor is using up your OneDrive space with program related files. You now see errors loading their software. You may see issues with OneDrive. Slow sync or space limitation may keep you from accessing or saving your documents online. OneDrive may stop syncing.

For decades Windows software application vendors have normally installed to C:\Program Files\<app>\ (Program Files (X86)\<app>\ or other local hard drive locations. They now oddly design their software to add Gigabytes of 'vendor' file content to C:\<username>\Documents\<app>\locations. This might not be apparent initially. This may be because of security concerns (licensed user John but nobody else) or just poor application design. This then adds program files (sync) to your OneDrive by design in Windows 11 (or earlier versions).

You normally log on with email accounts (MSN etc.) now or purposely use local named accounts (legacy). This issue refers to OneDrive usage issues. OneDrive can be used with either logon type. This is not necessarily about business devices, shared network storage or Active Directory. I will assume a workgroup setup. Your precious 512GB C drive disk size. A laptop that you use anywhere.

When you use a free OneDrive or even a 'paid' 1TB 365 OneDrive subscription of greater size, Office files and other 'user' content you create or store uses your local profile \Documents folder first and will sync to the OneDrive (cloud) as well. If you use an email logon on multiple Windows 11 computers your files saved to your local folders can then always be available (legacy username logon not part of this issue) to any logon. When you create a new user logon on a new device OneDrive will start to sync your files almost immediately when your profile goes on line. Eventually it tells you you are sync'd up. Saving an office file is then broadly available (example) to your email profile logon. We will not refer to multiple device users for this discussion. We can assume you might have an administrator account separate from a user account that is able to install licensed software. An administrator account is not necessarily a requirement for using the 3rd party application.

Microsoft defines this as:
"OneDrive is a cloud-based storage service provided by Microsoft. It allows you to store your files and documents in the cloud so that you can access them from anywhere on any device. You can also share your files with others and collaborate on them in real-time. OneDrive also works as the storage backend of the web version of Microsoft Office."

The emphasis is "your".

The issue I am concerned with is any 3rd party vendor using up your OneDrive storage or filling the max size to the limit with 'program related files'. You might then possibly no longer be able to use your OneDrive in this situation or the OneDrive sync will be time consuming. This may even cause a network file copy lag in how their application loads or installs (across the internet). Your program may then not work properly if you are offline or even if you have plenty of local storage left. We will not consider the other devices using the log on account for now, but it can be applicable.

When you open a support issue with this vendor application showing errors - their solution is that you un-sync OneDrive (Documents folder) from your device so it will stop 'their' program from using up 'your' OneDrive cloud storage. This is not a solution but a way for them not to have to modify or re-design their software. Maybe a registry edit could cure this - but a lot of users do not go there. Even if you have proudly used the registry since Windows 95, this is not a normal thing a user should so. Many a computer has been deep sixed with regedit.

The traditional C:\Program Files..\ application install location method we are familiar with has been 'modernized'. It now becomes your issue - not theirs.
All of your document or creation storage and sync is circumvented along with the rest of your logon devices.

I am open to discussing suggestions or experiences in overcoming this problem. Paying for storage (365 subscriptions) or additional OneDrive size should not be required for poorly designed software applications. Having to restore your Windows OS can cause blindness!

Welcome to the forum. We really need more info. Exactly what app is installing files in your documents folder?

Most every 3rd party app I have has the option where I can not only choose during the installation process where the application itself is installed. I also have the option of using the application's settings to choose where its files are saved . If I don't select a folder location of my own choosing, its files will usually default to whichever of my personal folders it deems appropriate.

As far as all application files that save to appdata, IMO this is why it's so important to keep ones' appdata on the C: drive rather than moving their entire user folder to a secondary drive (Or God forbid, Onedrive.) The same goes for the Desktop folder. It should NOT be anywhere but on C: in the user folder. It's just common sense in both cases since not everyone has fast and 100% dependable internet service.

FYI, there is an option in Onedrive settings where files can be always available, even if you're offline. OneDrive will download them, and they'll take up space on your PC's drive. It's under 'files on demand'. They will appear in your Onedrive folder.

Following glasskuter train of thought .

First of all check the <Program> settings. Maybe it has some setting where to save created files within <Program>. If it has the setting check the folder where it is storing the files. If it has not that setting, I suggest to create a file in that <Program> and then save the created file from <Program>. Check where is stored. It should be stored within Documents\<user>\<Program> folder.

Check into OneDrive is is stored there. In that case it means that OneDrive is syincing the user Document folder.

PS. <Program> is the application you don't mention

another guy said:

Overview: How can you keep 3rd party software vendor from using your Paid personal or 365 OneDrive subscription for their files?

<-- Snip -->

I am open to discussing suggestions or experiences in overcoming this problem. Paying for storage (365 subscriptions) or additional OneDrive size should not be required for poorly designed software applications. Having to restore your Windows OS can cause blindness!

Click to expand...

I've used OneDrive since it was implemented in 2007. I'm fortunate to have a fast 900Mbps Internet connection. I subscribe to Microsoft 365 which includes 1 Terabyte of cloud OneDrive. I keep all my data and photos in my OneDrive folder. I have "Files On Demand" turned OFF. This results in my cloud OneDrive being a constant real-time mirror of my local data. I currently have 202.1 GB used of 1.08 TB cloud OneDrive.

With any application I've ever used, the only OneDrive storage used has been for my own data files that I've directed to be stored in my OneDrive folder.

In all the years I've used OneDrive, I've never seen the problems you're discussing.

TraderGary said:

I've used OneDrive since it was implemented in 2007. I'm fortunate to have a fast 900Mbps Internet connection. I subscribe to Microsoft 365 which includes 1 Terabyte of cloud OneDrive. I keep all my data and photos in my OneDrive folder. I have "Files On Demand" turned OFF. This results in my cloud OneDrive being a constant real-time mirror of my local data. I currently have 202.1 GB used of 1.08 TB cloud OneDrive.

With any application I've ever used, the only OneDrive storage used has been for my own data files that I've directed to be stored in my OneDrive folder.

In all the years I've used OneDrive, I've never seen the problems you're discussing.

Click to expand...

Nope, I've never had that problem either. I get a few programs/games that save some small files in Documents (which is synced to OneDrive), these are always very small files, such as a game save/profile (which is useful to have synced anyway).

This program is a very nice Music DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) editing environment and sound production suite I use in several studio workstations as a composer.

I agree with the answers above. This program does not have a 'settings' option used for installation.
It does have a path tab that can be edited after the fact for soundset.song file location. I have tried to change the multiple paths it shows to my local drive F but the application is still broken, and when starting, has 137 plus indexing errors. That's just this first DAW workstation.

I opened a ticket and I know most of their support emails are largely from volunteers. I tried not to indicate my 39 years developing for MS but they simply stated OneDrive should NOT be used. They told me to un-link OneDrive from the OneDrive \Documents folder in OneDrive. I do not think that person understands the relationship to C:\Users\EMAILlogon\OneDrive\Documents\Application and its local drive path C:\Users\EMAILlogon\Documents (this path not populated with their directories or files).

The vendor states that OneDrive should not be used - but programmatically it used \Documents for its sound files. These files are program files for sounds they sell or provide regularly. Their solution so far is to Unlink OneDrive from my logon \Documents folder - (C:\Users\EMAILlogon\OneDrive\Documents\). Having 116GB in OneDrive is nuts and even beyond using up my 1TB 365 size, it surely slowsss thingsss downnn.

As those who link multiple devices for 365 etc. I can not just unlink the local folders on 4 devices it for my own stuff - Office and others non-program files. A single email logon has benefits when the DAW stations are in separate areas of the studio.

As well, if I WAS to unlink the other three devices which also duplicate this application (music studio) it would then surely create chaos there. Those three currently do not show this error. One device has OneDrive directories (2) and the last two a combination of local drive paths and OneDrive. I can see the number of sound files is not consistent. I will try this before deleting OneDrive content and after verifying local drive paths have all the current files, but I do not see this as a fix yet. Reinstalling everything is very time consuming. Having my files in OneDrive is the usual goal. I also think perhaps because the DAW stations are laptops that taking one on the road might have created the problem (re-indexing failure if this application runs in the background).

I will have to re-point each before emptying OneDrive in their post-install sound tab setting. Since I never added OneDrive per se during install nor \Documents as an indicated setting option - but used local drives to 'drag and drop' their new sound files on the app - I know the application defaulted to the OneDrive as I described. This change of settings may not fix anything other than being empty of multiple directories there.

Until the next update when these vendor sound files get new or updated files and most likely will show the issue again.

I normally do not call out Vendors except Microsoft because that is the platform. I will give the vendor a chance to understand this issue and help my community in the future. Not everyone looks under the hood as I have for 30+ years.

The vendor develops for Apple and Android as well as Windows. I would believe they originally were Apple specific music developers - this is how these DAW applications were a decade ago. The original designers have added multiple OS development as well and MS has added OneDrive to its own architecture since Windows 9x.

Thanks VERY MUCH for the "Files On Demand" turned OFF you have specified. I have not seen this in searching OneDrive documentation (and AI is of no help ). I will look back on the MS web searched pages and look for this setting and how it works.

I will return to post what I find next.

Not sure I understand this -- doesn't one drive only store what you (the user) want or enable on it. I suppose a lot of problems are caused by people wanting to "sync" every possible device they have these days so some data might get uploaded to one drive (or equivalent cloud storage providers). I'm sure there's settings to enable / disable this stuff -- I only ever send stuff to cloud storage manually so problem doesn't arise although one drive is a bit of a tricky bit of software to deal with if you leave everything on "auto" or default.

Cheers
jimbo

I have used one drive for years, and I have quite a few files that I keep on One Drive, either as a backup, or for easy access from anywhere. I use a different approach to using One Drive. I don’t allow O. D. to backup and sync ANY of my folders except the One Drive folder. Anything I want saved to O. D. I save to the one drive folder, not to documents or pictures or downloads etc. I find this to be a very simple process, and I am in contol of what goes where.