Here’s a question from Florence:
I work for a marketing agency as a project coordinator. I keep all client files in a well organized folder structure under a Teams channel. I need quite frequent access to these files, so i am wondering whether there is a simple way to fetch my files right from my Windows 11 File Explorer application. I am almost sure that there is an option to keep a local copy of my files or at least a link to those files and folders on my laptop. Any ideas / suggestions?
Access Teams folder from Windows explorer
To sync and show your Teams folders in Windows File Explorer, follow the instructions below:
- In your Windows computer, open Microsoft Teams.
- Find the channel which contains the folders you would like to sync.
- Open the Files tab.
- Hit the Sync button to synchronize your Teams folders (which are physically stored in an hidden SharePoint site) to your Desktop.
- Note that in order to download your files, you might be prompted to authorize OneDrive and Teams to interact.
- The sync process will run for some time depending on the number of files and their size.
- Once done, open the File Explorer.
- You will note in the File Explorer tree a new shortcut named after your organization. The shortcut can be found immediately below your OneDrive shortcut.
- If you hit the shortcut, you will be able to access a local copy of your folders and files available at your Teams channel.
- Your files will be periodically bidirectionally synchronized to reflect latest changes.
Note: This tutorial assumes that OneDrive is installed and enabled in your PC. In case of issues during syncing your folders – feel free to look into our Teams sync troubleshooting guide.
In case of issues, feel free to leave us a question using the comments section.