Remove folders from OneDrive

Sigurd said:

Thanks, but doesn't really answer my question. I know how to remove the folders from OneDrive. The concern was to ensure there were no files on the cloud OneDrive folder that were not on the corresponding local folder (ie not synced), as removing the folder from OneDrive also removes it from the local folder. I want to keep the local folder and its files. It seems the best way is to make a copy of the local OneDrive folder tree elsewhere on my local drive before removing it from the cloud OneDrive folder.

If you sign in to your MS account to OneDrive and do all your work there, you will be assured of the real picture. The folders/files in the cloud are the real thing, OneDrive on the desktop is only a synced link or files you've chosen to keep local.

Good idea to download your files to a folder elsewhere on your machine, could even be to an external, before getting out the ax.

Sigurd said:

Thanks - that effectively answers the question I didn't ask! Which is the definitive folder. Now I know I can sort things out.

You're welcome. Most of the time, and this is understandable, users consider the OneDrive they are seeing on their Desktop as the "Primary", when in fact it's what in the cloud that's Primary, desktop is secondary. All local only folders/files exempt.

Sigurd said:

Thanks again. BTW - did you fly a Tomcat? Best I managed was a Chipmunk!

No, best I managed was a Beech 90 twin turboprop. That's fun.

Sigurd said:

Coming back to land .....
I'm trying to remove a lot of folders from the cloud OneDrive as mentioned earlier. Before deleting the cloud folder, I am trying to make a backup copy of the matching local folder on a different local drive. The folder, I thought, would have the latest files but from TomCat's answer, it would appear that the cloud does.
The problem I am finding is that I can't make a copy of that folder if OneDrive is not running, and if it is, it seems to be downloading every file before it is then copied to the back folder. The result is that it is taking hours because the download from online OneDrive is so slow.
As local and online have been synchronised, why the need for the download, and how can I back up files locally without OneDrive being involved?
Or should I let the downloads continue and go on holiday for a couple of days!

@Sigurd

Sign into your MS account online, any way you can. On your profile page is a Manage Account, that will get you there.

Click the Subscriptions and scroll down to One Drive.




You'll get this screen with all your folders listed.

Go into each one you want to DL, and click the Download in the menu bar. You get a zip file to download. Confirm and download it. Then repeat for each folder you want. When done, sign out upper right. Folders are all still in the cloud and you have a bunch of zip files containing you data/pics/whatever. Unzip them where you want to, anywhere. Then if you want go back to the Cloud OneDrive just like above and delete what you want to.