How to add Teams folders to Windows File Explorer

Microsoft Teams, OneDrive for Business (OneDrive) and SharePoint are all connected, with SharePoint being the backend storage system. Whether you are storing files in your OneDrive for Business account or in Files in a Teams channel, it is all stored in SharePoint, so synchronizing between “the cloud” and your local computer works the same way. Within a Teams channel, if you open the Files folder, you can synchronize those files to your local computer. SharePoint has a similar synchronization capability. Both Teams and SharePoint actually rely on the OneDrive for Business app running on your local computer to copy and synchronize files and folders.

Syncing Teams Files to your Computer:

1. In a Teams Channel, on the Files tab, you should see an Open in SharePoint icon.  Note you may have to click on the 3 dots to view the extended menu.  This will open SharePoint Online in your browser.
2. In SharePoint Online, Click on this Sync icon and it will connect to OneDrive for Business on your computer to synchronize the files in that channel. NOTICE: it is connecting to OneDrive on your device to sync.
3. If you look in Windows File Explorer, you should see the new Teams Channel under your company Teams/SharePoint environment name. Notice this is separate from your personal OneDrive for Business folder.

We hope this article was helpful. Please let us know if you have any questions. If you have synchronized a File/Folder to your local computer and wish to remove it, please check out our article How to remove a synced Teams folder from Windows File Explorer.