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Using OneDrive with Mylio Photos

Mylio Photos can work with Microsoft OneDrive in a few different ways depending on what you want to accomplish. This article covers the most common scenarios — and one critical mistake to avoid that can result in permanent, unrecoverable photo loss.

I have photos stored on OneDrive that I want to add to Mylio Photos

If your photos are currently stored in OneDrive — either in the cloud or in a OneDrive-managed folder on your computer — you need to copy them to a local folder before adding them to Mylio Photos. A local folder is any folder on your computer or external hard drive that is not managed by OneDrive or another cloud sync service.

WARNING: Do not use Mylio Photos' Link Folder option to link directly to a OneDrive-managed folder. Doing so can result in data loss and catalog corruption.

To get your photos from OneDrive into Mylio Photos:

  1. Using your operating system's file browser (Windows Explorer or macOS Finder), copy your photos from their OneDrive location to a local folder on your computer or external hard drive.
  2. Once the files are in a local folder, open Mylio Photos and click the Add Media icon in the top app bar.
  3. Select Add media accessible from this device and navigate to your local folder.
  4. Choose Copy Folder Contents to copy the files into your Mylio Photos library, or Move Folder Contents to move them. Learn more.

I want to use OneDrive as a storage destination for my Mylio Photos library

If you want OneDrive to store a copy of your Mylio Photos library, you must connect it as a dedicated Mylio device. This is the only supported way to use OneDrive with Mylio Photos for library storage.

  1. Open Mylio Photos and go to the Dashboard.
  2. Click Add Device.
  3. Select Add a Cloud Service.
  4. Choose OneDrive from the list.
  5. Select either Encrypt my files or Don't encrypt my files, then click Continue.
  6. Sign in to your Microsoft account and click Yes to allow Mylio Photos to access your OneDrive files.
  7. Mylio Photos will analyze your library size and available OneDrive storage, then recommend a sync policy. Click Looks Good to accept, or Custom Setup to choose your own. Learn more.

OneDrive will appear as a device in your Dashboard once setup is complete.

Important things to know about cloud storage in Mylio Photos:

  • It is not designed for direct access. Mylio Photos stores your files in its own folder structure on OneDrive. This folder is not organized to reflect your Mylio library and is not meant to be browsed directly in OneDrive or the OneDrive app.
  • Files may be encrypted. If you chose Encrypt my files during setup, the files stored on OneDrive will only be readable through the Mylio Photos application. They will not be viewable or accessible directly in OneDrive.
  • It is a sync destination, not a standalone backup. Mylio Photos manages what is stored on OneDrive as part of its sync system. Do not manually add, move, or delete files in the Mylio Photos folder on OneDrive.

NOTE: Mylio Photos is compatible with Microsoft OneDrive personal accounts only. Microsoft Business and Enterprise accounts are not supported.

I want to copy photos from Mylio Photos to a OneDrive folder

If you want a standalone copy of photos from Mylio Photos stored directly in a OneDrive folder — accessible in OneDrive like any other file — use the Export feature. This creates new copies of your selected photos in the destination folder you choose. It is a one-way operation. The exported files are independent of your Mylio Photos library and will not stay in sync with any changes you make in Mylio Photos afterward.

  1. Open Mylio Photos and select all the photos you want to export. 
  2. Click the Share icon in the right sidebar and choose Export.
  3. Choose an export preset or configure your export options (file format, size, quality).
  4. Click Export, then navigate to your OneDrive folder as the destination and click Save. Learn more.

OneDrive will sync the exported files to the cloud as it normally would with any files in that folder.

⚠️ Warning: Do not place Mylio Library folders inside a OneDrive-synced folder

If your Mylio Photos library folder — or any folder Mylio Photos manages — is located inside a folder that OneDrive also syncs, you are running two sync services on the same files at the same time. This creates a direct conflict.

OneDrive uses a feature called Files On-Demand, which can offload files from your local drive to free up space. When this happens, those files are replaced with lightweight placeholders. Mylio Photos cannot distinguish between a placeholder and a deleted file. It will treat the offloaded files as deletions and may propagate those deletions across all of your synced devices.

The result can be permanent, unrecoverable loss of your original photos and videos.

This is not a recoverable error in most cases. If OneDrive offloads files that Mylio Photos then removes from your library, those files may be gone for good.

If your Mylio library is currently stored in a OneDrive-synced folder, contact Mylio Support before making any changes.