Ever since Microsoft started rolling out Windows 10, one of the features of Windows 8.1 that those of us who upgraded to the new operating system have really missed are OneDrive placeholders.
Placeholders, as the name indicates, show all the files and folders that one has stored in Microsoft’s cloud without necessarily having them synced and downloaded locally. That way, one is able to organize their work and files easily and download local copies of anything they need without having to go through several steps.
Novel as that may be, some users ended up being confused by the feature as they assumed that files showing up with placeholders were already available locally only for them to turn out not to be once they went offline. So, Microsoft just decided to omit the feature from Windows 10. Ever since, we’ve had our hopes of getting the feature back raised on various occasions only for our hearts to be broken when it failed to show up in the November Update and now the recent Anniversary Update.
Brad Sams over at Thurrot.com is raising our hopes once again after spotting what appears to be placeholders at Microsoft’s ongoing Ignite conference in Atlanta. According to him, in an effort to make sure users are not confused about whether a file or folder is available locally or not, files that are on one’s OneDrive account but not downloaded locally won’t have the usual green check mark that at the moment shows that one’s work has been synced with their cloud account.
So, how long before we get to see placeholders make a comeback in whichever form on OneDrive? Maybe when the next big Windows 10 update, Redstone 2, rolls out later on. Microsoft better hurry up because rival service Dropbox is getting a placeholder-like feature and since Microsoft is no longer as generous with free OneDrive storage as it used to be, those who’ve always been sold on the tiny details could be enticed.
