Sharing Files

So, you want to work on a document or assignment on more than one computer. Maybe you've started it on your own laptop and at some point you know you want to open it on a university computer or you've made some notes on your tablet and want to access them on your laptop?

This is very simply achieved by either creating the document in OneDrive or adding it to your OneDrive when you are ready to share it to yourself.

Any document that is in your university OneDrive is accessible on any other internet connected device.

This is also a great way to create a backup of your files in case anything should go wrong with your device.

Access your OneDrive

You can access your University of Cumbria OneDrive by logging into The Student Hub and clicking on the OneDrive button. 

Create a document in OneDrive

Once you are in your OneDrive, you can create documents directly in your web browser. This can be a Word, Excel, PowerPoint or OneNote files and will allow you to add or amend content from any internet connected device. Examples may include taking notes, writing an assignment or starting a presentation.

1. In your OneDrive, select the + New drop-down button

2. Select the type of file you want to create (or create a new folder for the current module you are working on)

3. With your new blank document open, you can click into the auto-generated file name (top-left of your screen) and change it to something relevant

a. 

b. 

c. 

NOTE: Anything you write or create in OneDrive will be auto-saved as soon as you type/add.

Adding a document from your device to OneDrive (mobile app)

This method works best with small screen such as smartphones and tablets.

If you have downloaded and logged into the OneDrive App, you can simply select any file or document on your device and click the Share button. Rather than sharing to a contact in WhatsApp or sharing to Instagram, you can share the item to your university OneDrive by selecting that icon from the Sharing window.

Note: Share icons look different across all devices:

Adding a document from your device to OneDrive (web)

This method works best on larger screens such as laptops, Macs and PCs.

1. Open your university OneDrive in your preferred web browser.

2. If you are working on a single screen, you may want to shrink your web browser down to half of your available screen space.

3. Open up your file browser and locate the file(s) that you want to add to OneDrive.

4. Simply drag the file(s) from your device into the OneDrive window:

5. Alternatively, you can click on the Upload button (near the top of the OneDrive window) and choose to browse for your file(s) this way. Any selected files will be added to your OneDrive.

Once you have either created or uploaded a file in/to OneDrive, you can share that item with other people.

1. Log into your OneDrive

2. Find a file or folder that you want to share

3. Hovering over the file name will show a 3-dots button. Click on this button to reveal the sharing option:

4. Click on Share to open up the sharing window. Start typing the name of someone at the university and the name(s) will show up for you to select, or paste in an email address for someone without a University of Cumbria account:

5. The default settings will allow the people you are sharing with to view, edit and download the file(s). You can also click on "People you specify can edit" to untick the Edit option and just allow them to only view the shared file(s).

Although you can create and edit shared documents using a mobile device, it is usually better to this kind of work on the larger screen made available from a laptop, PC or Mac.

1. Login to your OneDrive on the web.

2. Create a folder with a relevant name i.e. HLLM4001 Assignment 2 Group Presentation (as shown in Sharing files with yourself).

3. Open up this new folder and create the blank documents you will need i.e.

a. New PowerPoint presentation for a group presentation

b. New Word document for sharing ideas, notes and anything else related to the project such as roles and responsibilities for each group member

c. Assignment Brief - keep to hand a copy of any assignment description or requirements that you can refer back to at any time

4. With these files in place, you can now share the whole folder with the rest of the group. In the example above, we are currently inside the HLLM4001 Assignment 2 Group Presentation folder and we need to go up one level so we can see this folder icon and name. In this example, I just need to click on HLLM4001 which is the folder above. This will now look like this:

5. Hovering over the HLLM4001 Assignment 2 Group Presentation folder will show the 3-dots menu which gives access to the Share function:

6. Click on Share to open up the sharing window. Start typing the name of someone at the university and the name(s) will show up for you to select:

7. The default settings will allow the people you are sharing with to view, edit and download the file(s) within this shared folder. They will also be able to add new files.

Note: Multiple people can edit the files at the same time, so you might want to carefully plan your work so members of your group are not changing things you are still working on. Another useful tool is to start a Microsoft Teams meeting, for your group and work on the group project whilst actually chatting to each other.

There are times when you are required to create a multimedia file as part of an assessment. These may include:

• Audio presentation
• Narrated PowerPoint
• Video presentation

These types of files are often too big to submit through Turnitin and, depending on your course, may need to be shared directly with your tutors for assessment.

1. Login to your OneDrive

2. Add your media file(s) using the methods shown in Sharing files with yourself (above)

You will now need to Share your file(s) with your tutor(s). Please check who you need to share with as you may be required to share with more than one course tutor as they will be sharing the marking responsibilities for this assignment.

3. Hovering over the name of the file will reveal the 3-dots menu, giving access to the Share option:

4. Click on Share to open up the sharing window. Start typing the name of someone at the university and the name(s) will show up for you to select.

Note: You may also need to submit your presentation transcript through Turnitin. Please check your assignment brief or ask your tutor(s).

The steps for sharing files with others is essentially the same for Android and Apple (screenshots are from Android), but some of the screens may look slightly different.

1. 1. Install the OneDrive app (see Mobile Apps for download links).
2. 2. Login to the app using your University of Cumbria email address and password (you may need to verify your account through MFA).
   1. (Staff may need to also install and sign into the Microsoft Intune Company Portal App Android | AppleiOS)
3. 3. Locate any file or folder that you want to share and click on the 3-dots menu alongside that item:
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4. 4. This will open up a context menu that includes a number of options including Share:
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5. 5. Clicking on Share will give you more options of how to share. These include copying a link, sending files by email and sharing to a specific app that is on your device. For direct sharing within OneDrive, you need to choose Invite People (this invites people to view your file/folder, but it remains in your OneDrive):
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6. 6. In the Invite People window - add the email address of one or more people to share with. Leaving the Allow Editing box ticked will allow them to also work on or download your file/folder. Finally click the Send arrow (top right):
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