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Ask and ye shall receive.

When Microsoft was updating the software used to interact with their cloud storage service SkyDrive many users were asking for an option that would allow them to choose what gets synched between the cloud and their device.

The main reason behind this request was an ability to manage limited local storage options such as on a netbook, laptop, tablet etc. that might have smaller hard drive space available.  By default on previous versions of the SkyDrive software everything that was in your SkyDrive would get synched to the device you had the software installed on.

As you might imagine this could cause some serious issues relating to not only drive space but also possible data charges, etc.

When SkyDrive was last updated and the selective sync did not materialize as a feature users headed to the SkyDrive blog to ask for the feature.

Well patience pays off because the SkyDrive team has just announced a new update that will start rolling out today that not only includes a selective sync option but other features as well.

About 6 months ago, we released the first sync apps for SkyDrive making it easy to view and manage your personal SkyDrive from the File Explorer in Windows and Finder in OS X.  We’re excited to announce that since then, you have put more and more of your files into your own SkyDrive and in the last 6 months, you’ve doubled the amount of SkyDrive storage being used.

We’re both humbled and excited by this pace of growth.  While many of you have told us that you love being able to have everything in one place and access it from anywhere, you’ve also said that sometimes you want to be more selective with the files you sync to each device.  So today, we’re releasing an update to our sync apps that includes the ability to select what you sync along with the ability to share files and folders right from the Windows File Explorer.  In addition, we’ve just released a few updates to the SkyDrive apps for Windows Phone and Android improving how you access your SkyDrive across different devices.  Between these updates and the way SkyDrive comes with Windows 8 and the new Office, we’re excited to see how fast your SkyDrive storage usage will grow in the next 6 months.

This video shows off the new feature very well:

The other feature added is the ability to select a folder or file you want to share in Windows Explorer, use the Right Click context menu and choose the SkyDrive Menu and the Share option.  You will then be taking to the SkyDrive.com website directly to the sharing page to share the file. Hopefully, we will soon see this feature directly from within the Windows Explorer on our local machines without having to go to the web.

While we are asking for new features how about synching Shared Folders as well? I mean we did get selective sync didn’t we?

The last thing the team announced was updates to the Windows Phone and Android apps for performance and functionality including these changes for the Android app:

  • Upload all file types from SD card
  • Rename SkyDrive folders & files
  • Custom sort orders for every view

Oh yeah, they mentioned the fact they released the first software and apps for SkyDrive just six months ago and in that time storage on the service has doubled!

Definitely need a bigger hard drive on the SkyDrive part of the cloud!