Best Practices and Limitations in Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive

Questions

  • What are the file size, file path, and file count limits in Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive?
  • What characters are not allowed in SharePoint file and folder names?
  • What are the best practices for storing files in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive?
  • How deep should I nest folders, and how many files should go in one folder?
  • When should I create a new Team instead of adding another channel?
  • Should I sync a Teams channel to my computer, or add a shortcut?
  • How many files can I move into a channel at once?
  • Do I still need to save copies named "v2" or "FINAL"?
  • Can I share Teams and SharePoint files with people outside Bowdoin, and when does that access expire?
  • How long are deleted files kept before they're permanently removed?
  • What happens to a Team when it goes inactive, or to someone's OneDrive files when they leave?

Environment

This article applies to Bowdoin students, faculty, and staff who store and collaborate on files in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive. The limits listed here are set by Microsoft and by Bowdoin configuration, and apply to any Bowdoin Microsoft 365 account.

Resolution

Limits at a glance

Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint limits at Bowdoin
Item Limit
Maximum file size 250 GB
Maximum file path length 400 characters for the whole address, including the site, library, channel, every folder, and the file name
Maximum length of one file or folder name 255 characters
Path length before Windows programs cannot open a file 260 characters, measured on your computer rather than in SharePoint
Files in one document library (maximum supported) 30 million - performance degrades well before this
Files in a single folder, before list views are affected About 5,000 - the list view threshold
Items connected to one computer, by sync or by shortcut Noticeably slower past about 100,000; 300,000 is the recommended maximum
Folder shortcuts added to your OneDrive 100 from a single person's OneDrive or one Teams site; 1,000 in total
Files in one Move to or Copy to operation 30,000 files, and 100 GB in total
Files copied at once on the OneDrive website 2,500
Channels per Team 1,000 standard, 30 private, 50 shared
Deleted item retention 93 days total, across the Recycle Bin and Second-Stage Recycle Bin
Sharing link expiration 180 days; the person who created the link can renew it
External guest access expiration 180 days; only the file owner can renew it
Inactive Team or Microsoft 365 Group auto-deletion After 180 days of inactivity unless renewed
OneDrive storage included with a Bowdoin account 1 TB

Note: Two of these limits cause nearly every failed file move: the 400-character path and the naming rules below. A Teams channel adds a long prefix to every path before your own folders begin, so folder structures that worked on a department drive often exceed the limit once they are in Teams.

Naming files and folders

Use short, descriptive names. Keep folder nesting to roughly three levels where you can, which keeps paths short and makes files easier to find.

File and folder names cannot contain any of these characters: " (quotation mark), * (asterisk), : (colon), < (less than), > (greater than), ? (question mark), / (forward slash), \ (backslash), or | (vertical bar). Names also cannot begin or end with a space, and cannot end with a period.

A few names are reserved and will not sync: .lock, CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM0–COM9, LPT0–LPT9, _vti_, desktop.ini, and any name starting with ~$.

Warning: A file whose name breaks one of these rules is usually left behind quietly during a bulk move rather than reported. Always check the file count at the destination before deleting anything from the source. See Troubleshoot Microsoft OneDrive Sync Errors in the Related Articles section.

How Teams and channels are organized

  • Each Microsoft Team creates a dedicated SharePoint site, and that is where the Team's files are stored.
  • Teams typically serve a department, a large project, or a collaborative working group.
  • Channels organize conversations and files within a Team. Files for all standard channels live in a single SharePoint document library, in a folder named after each channel.
  • Create one Team per department for easier management.
  • Give each Team at least two owners, so administration continues if one owner leaves.

When to create a new Team instead of a channel

Create a new Team rather than another channel when:

  • The group of people working with the files differs from the rest of the department.
  • The files are part of a large or long-term project.
  • The collection of files will grow very large.
  • The work requires different permissions, owners, or lifecycle management.

Do not set custom permissions on individual files or folders in a standard channel. Manage access through Team membership, private channels, or shared channels instead. See Understand Microsoft Teams: Channels, Permissions, and File Structure in the Related Articles section.

Version history

  • Teams and SharePoint keep a version history for every file automatically.
  • Earlier versions can be viewed or restored if a mistake is made.
  • This removes the need to save copies named File_v2 or File_FINAL. One file, with its history, is the better habit.
  • Version history follows a file when it is moved with Move to in a browser. It does not survive a copy made in File Explorer or Finder, or a Copy to. See Move Files into a Microsoft Teams Channel in the Related Articles section.

Getting files onto your computer

You can work with Teams and SharePoint files in File Explorer or Finder rather than in a browser. There are two ways to do it, and they behave differently.

  • Add a shortcut is the recommended default. The connection lives in your OneDrive account, so it follows you to every computer you sign in to and appears in OneDrive on the web and on mobile. It performs better on large libraries, and removing it later cannot harm anyone else's files.
  • Sync is for specific situations: when you need only part of a large library, for heavy offline work on one particular computer, or for a program that needs a fixed folder path. The connection is tied to that one computer.

Whichever you choose, connect only the channel or folder you actually need rather than a whole library. That single decision matters more than which method you pick.

OneDrive will not let you sync a library you already hold a shortcut to, or the reverse. A shortcut to a folder inside a library you sync does slip past that block, and then the folder appears in both places — where deleting what looks like a redundant copy deletes the shared original.

Note: Neither option is required in order to move files into a Teams channel, and neither uploads files any faster than the other. See Move Files into a Microsoft Teams Channel in the Related Articles section.

To decide between them, see Choose How Teams and Shared Files Appear on Your Computer in the Related Articles section. For the steps, see Add a Shortcut to a Teams Channel or Shared Folder in OneDrive or Sync Teams Channels and Shared Folders to Your Computer.

Sharing outside Bowdoin

  • Sharing with people outside Bowdoin College is allowed.
  • Anonymous sharing is disabled. External recipients must sign in.
  • External users can be added to shared channels when sustained collaboration is required.

Two different things expire after 180 days, and they are easy to confuse:

  • A sharing link stops working 180 days after it is created. The person who created the link can create a new one.
  • An external guest's access to Bowdoin content expires 180 days after it is granted. Only the file owner can extend or renew it — the Service Desk cannot do it on their behalf.

See Extend or Remove Guest Access in OneDrive and Teams, and Accessing Files Shared from Bowdoin Teams or OneDrive (External Users) for what the recipient sees. To find what is currently shared outside the College, see List SharePoint or OneDrive Files Shared with External Users in the Related Articles section.

Deleting and recovering files

  • Deleting a file in a channel deletes it for everyone with access, immediately.
  • Deleted items are kept for 93 days in total. They sit in the Recycle Bin first, then move to the Second-Stage Recycle Bin if removed from the first.
  • After 93 days, items are permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

For how to get a file back, see How to Recover Documents in OneDrive, Teams, or SharePoint in the Related Articles section.

Sensitivity labels and data classification

Use sensitivity labels to categorize data based on its sensitivity and the potential impact if it is disclosed or altered. See Add or Change Sensitivity Labels for Files and Teams in Microsoft 365 and the Data Classification Policy in the Related Articles section.

When a Team goes inactive

  • Inactive Teams and Microsoft 365 Groups may be deleted automatically after 180 days of inactivity unless renewed.
  • Owners receive notifications 30, 15, and 1 day before deletion, and can renew the Team if it is still needed.
  • Ordinary use resets the clock. Visiting a channel or working with a file in the Team counts. Simply having files stored in it does not.

Warning: Only owners receive these notices. A Team whose only owner has left the College gets no warning at all and can be deleted without anyone noticing. This is the main reason to keep at least two owners on every Team.

See Your Team Is About to Expire for how to renew, and Archive Teams and Folders in Microsoft Teams if a Team's work is finished but its files should be kept.

When someone leaves the College

When an employee leaves, their manager is granted access to the employee's OneDrive files to ensure continuity of work.

Files stored in a Teams channel are not affected when a person leaves, because they belong to the Team rather than to an individual. That is the strongest practical reason to keep department work in Teams rather than in personal OneDrive folders.

See Preserve Shared OneDrive Files Created by Someone Who Has Left the College, and Download All OneDrive Files and Unlink Your Account Before Leaving Bowdoin for what a departing person should do first.

Additional Help

If you need further assistance, you have several options:

  • Bowdoin Bot: Chat with Bowdoin Bot directly from any KB page for instant answers.
  • Phone: Call the Bowdoin College Service Desk at (207) 725-3030.
  • In person: Visit the Tech Hub in Smith Union during business hours.
  • Submit a ticket: Request assistance through the Service Catalog.

Additional Resources

About this article: This article was drafted with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Bowdoin IT staff for accuracy. If you find an error or something unclear, please let the Service Desk know.

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