OneDrive Backup: Setup and Sync
Connect Microsoft OneDrive as a third cloud backup target for your case documents. Same sync engine as Dropbox and Google Drive, with one important Microsoft tenant licensing gotcha.
You'll learn
- How to connect OneDrive to your workspace
- Why work accounts on some Microsoft tenants get rejected at connect time
- Where AwardLettr puts your synced files inside OneDrive
- How OneDrive compares to Dropbox and Google Drive in this app
Your firm runs on Microsoft 365. Email, calendar, OneDrive, Teams, the whole stack. Your IT team has a strict policy that says no third-party cloud storage, which rules out Dropbox and Google Drive. You still need every case document mirrored somewhere outside AwardLettr so you can pull it into Word, share it with a partner firm, or just sleep at night knowing there is a second copy. OneDrive is the integration that closes that gap.
Without it, every uploaded photo, generated report, and signed award lives only inside AwardLettr. The moment you need to email a doc to someone outside the system, or open it in Office, or hand it to your accountant, you are downloading files one at a time. That is not how a Microsoft 365 shop is supposed to work.
This integration is built for firms that already live in Microsoft 365 and firms whose IT policy only allows Microsoft-owned cloud storage. If you are on Google Workspace or already happy with Dropbox, you can skip this one. The sync engine is the same one all three providers share: a queued background worker copies every uploaded and generated document into your cloud account, retries on transient errors, and gives up only on terminal failures like a deleted source file or a revoked token.
You do not need all three
Connect OneDrive in under a minute
Open Integrations
Go to /dashboard/settings/integrations. You will see a card for each supported cloud provider.
Click Connect on the OneDrive card
This kicks off the Microsoft consent flow in a new tab. You will be asked to sign in and approve the Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder permission.
Approve the permissions
Microsoft will explain that AwardLettr is requesting access to its own app folder inside your OneDrive. Approve it. The scope is narrow on purpose: AwardLettr cannot read any of your other OneDrive files.
Land back in AwardLettr
You will be redirected back to the integrations page with the OneDrive card now showing Connected and the email address of the account you connected. That is it. Future uploads will sync automatically.
Optional: backfill existing documents
If you connected OneDrive after already using AwardLettr for a while, click Sync All on the OneDrive card to queue every existing document for backup. It runs in the background and you can keep working while it processes.
Where your files land
AwardLettr uses the Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder OAuth scope, which is sandboxed. Every file you sync ends up inside a single dedicated folder in your OneDrive named "Apps / AwardLettr". Inside that folder, AwardLettr builds a subfolder per appraisal using the workspace folder naming convention (insured name plus claim number, by default). You cannot redirect the root path. This is a Microsoft Graph constraint, not an AwardLettr choice.
Want a different folder structure?
What OneDrive does and does not do here
What OneDrive sync does
Backs up every uploaded document and every generated PDF (reports, awards, invoices, signed docs) into your OneDrive. Mirrors the AwardLettr folder structure. Retries on transient errors. Surfaces terminal failures in the integration status.
What it does not do
It is one-way (AwardLettr → OneDrive). It does not import files you drop into the OneDrive folder. It does not sync photos pulled from CompanyCam. It does not share folders with the opposing appraiser or anyone else.
How it compares to Dropbox + Drive
Same sync queue, same retry policy, same auto-sync on new documents. Dropbox is workspace-owner-scoped (one account per workspace). Google Drive and OneDrive are per-user, but in practice most teams stick with the owner connecting one.
Diagnose: "I tried to connect OneDrive and got X"
Diagnostic walkthrough
What happened when you clicked Connect?
Personal Outlook vs. work account
Personal Outlook accounts (outlook.com, outlook.live.com, hotmail.com) always work because they come with personal OneDrive built in. No SPO license question. If your firm uses a Microsoft 365 work account and you keep hitting the unlicensed work account error, the fastest unblock is to connect a personal OneDrive while IT sorts out the license. Files end up in the same "Apps / AwardLettr" folder either way.
OneDrive is a backup, not a replacement
Common pitfalls
- •Trying to connect a Microsoft 365 work account on a tenant without a SharePoint Online (SPO) license. OneDrive uses SPO under the hood. You will get a "400 unlicensed work account" error and no amount of retrying will fix it without an admin enabling the license.
- •Expecting OneDrive sync to push files into a specific folder you pick. AwardLettr uses the Files.ReadWrite.AppFolder scope, which is sandboxed to "Apps / AwardLettr" inside your OneDrive. You cannot point it at "Documents / Cases" or any other arbitrary path.
- •Connecting OneDrive and then disconnecting your Microsoft email integration assuming they share a token. They do not. OneDrive holds its own OAuth token, and disconnecting one will not log the other out.
Related Articles
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