Unlike Windows 8, Windows 8.1 places SkyDrive in every folder’s Navigation Pane, where it’s easily accessible. There, SkyDrive works like any other folder but with one exception: Moving files to SkyDrive moves them off your computer and onto the cloud.
To manage your files and folders on SkyDrive, follow these steps:
From the desktop, open File Explorer by clicking its icon in the taskbar’s lower-left corner.
From the Navigation Pane along the folder’s left edge, click the SkyDrive icon.
File Explorer opens to display your SkyDrive folders.
From there, you treat the SkyDrive folders just like any other folder on your PC.
As you move a file to the SkyDrive folder, Windows automatically copies it through the Internet and into your SkyDrive cubbyhole. And that leads to a few oddities:
The SkyDrive files and folders may seem like they’re stored on your computer, but they’re actually shortcuts — pointers — to the SkyDrive files. When you open a SkyDrive file on your PC, Windows quickly connects with the Internet, opens the file, and displays the results on your PC.
If you’re not connected to the Internet, an error message appears to tell you that you can’t access SkyDrive. If you need access to your SkyDrive files when you don’t have an Internet connection, you should tell SkyDrive to make your files available offline.
