Microsoft today released Shared Folder sync for all OneDrive and OneDrive for Business users. It's now easier to see when someone edits shared content, to collaborate with others on one file or folder, and to search within the shared files themselves.
The first change, which is rolling out now and will be made available to all in the coming weeks, is probably the most interesting addition. There are two new ways to be notified when people edit your shared documents: notifications in the mobile app and daily email summaries.
First up, the OneDrive mobile app can now show real-time notifications of which document is being edited and by whom. In fact, you can even have these notifications show up on your Apple Watch (though we're not sure why you would want your wrist to buzz every time a coworker edits one of your files):
The daily email summary is essentially a rundown of edits to files you've shared. Microsoft expects this to be useful when you are working on a group project and want to quickly see which documents have a latest version you might not be aware of. As before, any changes made will be saved in the document's version history, so you can always go back and restore a previous version.
Previously, users could only access the content shared with them via the Shared list on OneDrive.com. Now, "Add to my OneDrive" lets users add shared folders to their OneDrive.
This means shared folders will show up in the OneDrive app on PCs and Macs, and they also can be viewed and edited in the OneDrive mobile app. Syncing shared content to your desktop gets even more powerful when working with others at the same time: The latest version of Office lets multiple people work on the documents at the same time, without forking the document.
OneDrive recently made it possible to search for text inside Office documents and PDFs. This feature has now been extended from just your own files to all content that has been shared with you as well.
None of these updates are massive on their own, but together they show just how willing Microsoft is to bring OneDrive and Office closer together. Whether that will translate to more users for each product remains to be seen.