How to fix OneDrive Sync Issues

Microsoft's OneDrive is the worst cloud storage system I have ever used. Contributing to that experience is its sync issues. 

If your OneDrive application is telling you "OneDrive needs your attention" and "There is a sync issue in OneDrive," then click the notification and review the list of files with issues. These issues are usually due to the naming of folders and files. 

Naming Issues

• Sync issues apply to both folder and file names
• The first and last characters of the name cannot be periods or spaces
• The following characters are not allowed anywhere in the file name: " * : < > ? / \ |

Solutions

• Rename your files by removing prohibited characters and spaces
• If you have a large amount of files with naming issues, conduct a search for all files via search bar within your OneDrive folder with the characters " * : < > ? / \ | so you can fix them in bulk
• If you are using macOS, select all applicable files, right-click, and click Rename. This will allow you to replace names of files in bulk 
• If you don't want to name each file, you can compress large amounts of files into .zip files so the files will not be lost or altered
• If the issue is concerning a merge issue, select the option to copy the files so you can keep both copies

Unfortunately OneDrive is bundled in with certain Office 365 licenses and consequently the cloud storage system of choice for many businesses. It is prone to glitches and server issues. Dropbox Business is my top choice for cloud storage due to its ease of use, intuitiveness, and reliability

How to share your Mac's screen with your network

If you would like to view or control your Mac remotely from any device within the same network, here's how:

A. How to share the Mac's screen

1. Click the Apple icon on the top left corner of the screen
2. Click System Preferences...
3. Click Sharing
4. On the left panel, select Screen Sharing and click the box to its left to toggle it on
5. Click the Computer Settings... button, check both boxes, and include a password in the text field, and click OK
6. If desired, you may limit access by adding users under the Only these users window by clicking the + symbol
7. Take note of the message under the "Screen Sharing: On" text which reads "Other users can access your computer's screen at vnc://###.###.###.###/ or by looking for "[Computer Name]" in the Finder sidebar."

B. How to access the Mac's screen from another Mac

Preferred Method

1. Ensure your Mac is connected to the same network as the target Mac in section A
2. Click the magnifying glass at the top right corner of your screen to open the Spotlight Search bar
3. Type Screen Sharing and press return or click the app from the list
4. Under the "Connect To:" field, type in the entire vnc://###.###.###.###/ address provided in step 7 of section A and click Connect

Alternate Method

1. Ensure your Mac is connected to the same network as the target Mac in section A
2. Open a Finder window
3. Show the Sidebar by navigating to the menu bar at View / Show Sidebar
4. In the left Sidebar, click Network
5. Double-click the computer with the name provided in step 7 of section A 
6. Click the Share Screen... button on the top right
7. Enter the target Mac user's credentials and sign in

C. How to access the Mac's screen from a Windows or Linux computer

1. Download and install VNC® Viewer
2. Run VNC® Viewer
3. Ensure your computer is connected to the same network as the target Mac in section A
4. In the address bar, type in [Computer Name].local (name as provided in step 7 of section A, e.g. "MaccyMcMacface.local") and press enter/return
5. Click Continue and type in the user credentials to log on

D. How to access the Mac's screen from an iOS or Android device

1. Download VNC® Viewer for iOS or Android
2. Run VNC® Viewer
3. Ensure your iOS or Android device is connected to the same network as the target Mac in section A
4. Click the + icon to add the Mac 
5. In the address bar, type in ###.###.###.### (digits as provided in step 7 of section A, e.g. "192.168.1.100") and press enter/return
6. Click OK if an "Unencrypted connection" screen appears
7. In the Authentication screen, enter the password as provided in step 5 of section A to connect

E. Help, it's not connecting!

1. Is your device connected to the same network as the target Mac?
2. Is the target Mac powered on? Check its sleep settings under System Preferences/Battery (AKA Energy Saver) and disable the "Put hard disks to sleep when possible" setting
3. Check step 7 of section A to see if the address has changed. This may happen if your target Mac's network settings are configured for DHCP instead of static IP

Only activate this feature under a network you trust - or at the very least, create a very strong password in step 5 of section A

How to remotely control a Mac user's screen via Microsoft Teams or Zoom

Sometimes meeting software such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom are solid options for providing remote IT support. However, this will not work properly unless the presenter grants accessibility and screen recording privileges in their Mac preferences.

There is an easy fix for the presenter:

1. Click the Apple icon on the top left corner of the screen
2. Click System Preferences...
3. Click Security & Privacy
4. Click the Privacy tab
5. At the bottom left corner, click the lock to make changes
6. Input an administrator's credentials when prompted
7. In the left window, select Accessibility (and/or Screen Recording for macOS Catalina and macOS Big Sur)
8. In the right window, check boxes for Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or any meeting software with screen share capabilities
9. At the bottom left corner of the window, click the lock to prevent further changes

To access control of the presenter's screen, ask the presenter to share their screen via the share screen buttons from their meeting software and request control.

This was tested and working on macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave, macOS Catalina, and macOS Big Sur

How to stop printing double-sided pages on macOS

If you're using a Mac and can't find the settings to turn off double-sided (duplex) printing, you can change your default printing options via the following steps.

1. Click the magnifying glass at the top right corner of your screen to open the Spotlight Search bar
2. Type Terminal and press return or click the app from the list
3. Type cupsctl WebInterface=yes and press return
4. Quit Terminal
5. Open any web browser (Safari, Chrome, Brave, Firefox, etc.) from your Mac 
6. Type localhost:631/printers in the address bar and press return
7. Select your printer from the list
8. There are two drop-down menus. Select Maintenance (left) and Set Default Options (right)
9. Navigate through the menus and search for the setting 2-Sided Printing or Duplex. Set the selection to Off and click the Set Default Options button at the bottom to save your changes
10. If prompted, enter your username and password. If that does not work, you may need to enter an administrator's credentials instead.
11. If successful, a screen will validate your changes.
12. Repeat steps 5 to 11 for other printers, if needed.

This was tested and working on macOS High Sierra, macOS Mojave, macOS Catalina, and macOS Big Sur