Microsoft OneDrive is Emily Carr's cloud based storage solution. Each student gets 1 terabyte (1000 gigabytes) of cloud storage included with your Emily Carr account. You can access Onedrive through a web browser or through the desktop application (accessible through the cloud icon in the system tray on any Windows PC). Sign in with your Emily Carr email and your myEC password.

When you login to a PC on campus, you will be automatically be logged into OneDrive and a "OneDrive - Emily Carr University" folder will be added to the sidebar in your File Explorer (this may take up to 30 seconds). This OneDrive folder exists as a direct portal to your cloud storage. Anything you save in this folder will be uploaded to OneDrive, and anything you have in the cloud will be available to access here.


OneDrive operates on an "on-demand" basis. You can see all your files on the cloud, but they will only be downloaded when you open them.  See the different states that your files can be in below:


By default, OneDrive will also sync your Documents, Downloads, and Desktop folders. The Animation Technicians recommend to turn off syncing for these locations. Keep your cloud files synced to a single folder instead of spread out across your computer (and I don't know about you, but my downloads folder is full of stuff that I don't need backups of on the cloud). 

You can change this setting by following the guide below:


Helpful Tips

  • Allow enough time for your files to upload to the cloud before you log out. Wait for the syncing icon Onedrive sync icon on the OneDrive tray icon to disappear. When you log out, the PC no longer has access to your account and cannot finish uploading your files.
  • If you “move” (often done by clicking and dragging) a file out of OneDrive, it will be removed from the cloud. Use the “copy” function if you need a file outside of your OneDrive.
  • Always have more than one backup of your work! (home computer, hard drive, Onedrive, etc…)
  • OneDrive and other cloud services (Google Drive, Dropbox, etc) can sometimes have trouble with large collections of small files, like Toon Boom project files. To prevent issues likes disappearing frames, zip your project folder before uploading it on the cloud. 
  • Only use alphanumeric characters (abc... 123...), underscores, and dashes. Special characters like  (*&^%$#@!><) can interfere how OneDrive (and your computer) "read" the file name and have unintended consequences.
  • Once you graduate, you will have 120 days until your access to OneDrive and M365 is terminated.

Last modified: Thursday, 23 February 2023, 5:06 PM