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How to clean up desk top

Belinda 0 Reputation points
2026-06-12T06:08:52.78+00:00

I have a lot of folders, pdf and word docs on my desktop. When I open them the path indicates they are on onedrive.

How do I remove them from my desktop?

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows
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DaveM121 888.7K Reputation points Independent Advisor
2026-06-12T06:43:52.1066667+00:00

If you use OneDrive to sync your files, by default OneDrive will sync your Desktop, Documents and Pictures folders, and if you have more than one device, OneDrive will sync the files between your devices, so if a file is on the Desktop on one device, it will also be synced to the other device, so if you delete a file from your Desktop on one device, it will also be deleted from OneDrive online and the other device..

Before deleting any files, do you have more than one device, and do you want to keep the files on just one device, or do you want to completely delete the files from your Desktop?

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  1. AI answer

    2026-06-12T06:09:12.6633333+00:00

    Files and folders shown on the Desktop with a OneDrive path are actually stored in the OneDrive Desktop folder. To clean up the desktop, choose what should be removed from OneDrive, what should stay only in the cloud, and what should stay only on the PC.

    1. To remove items from the desktop and from OneDrive (delete everywhere)
      1. Open File Explorer and select the OneDrive folder.
      2. Go into the Desktop folder under OneDrive.
      3. Select the folders, PDFs, and Word documents to remove.
      4. Press Delete.
      5. Empty the OneDrive Recycle Bin if permanent removal is needed.
    2. To keep items on the PC but not in OneDrive
      1. Open File Explorer.
      2. Go to OneDrive > Desktop.
      3. Select the items to keep only on the PC.
      4. Drag them from OneDrive > Desktop to a folder that is not under OneDrive (for example, C:\Users<name>\Desktop or another local folder).
        • This removes them from OneDrive but leaves them on the computer.
    3. To keep items in OneDrive but not on the PC (free up disk space)
      1. Make sure the files are in the OneDrive Desktop folder.
      2. Turn on OneDrive Files On-Demand so files stay in the cloud but not on the local drive. See Files On-Demand (Windows) in the OneDrive settings.
      3. After Files On-Demand is enabled, right‑click a file or folder and choose to keep it only online so it no longer takes local disk space, but still appears in the OneDrive Desktop view.
    4. If the Desktop should no longer sync with OneDrive at all
      • Open the OneDrive app, go to Help & Settings > Settings > Sync and backup > Manage backup, and turn off backup for Desktop so new desktop items are not redirected to OneDrive.

    Note: When deleting or moving many items at once, OneDrive may prompt to confirm that the bulk change is intentional.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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