OneDrive Updated with Support for 10 GB Files, More

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Yikes. Microsoft announced today that its consumer-oriented OneDrive cloud storage service supports individual files of up to 10 GB each, a dramatic improvement over the previous 2 GB limit. The move comes shortly after the firm increased the storage available in the free version of the service from 7 GB to 15 GB, and it's accompanied by a number of other improvements as well.

"We're excited to announce that you can now upload files up to 10 GB using the desktop apps for Windows and Mac, all of the mobile apps, and the OneDrive website," Microsoft's Jason Moore writes in a post to The OneDrive Blog. "We recognized that people not only have more files than they did before, but they have bigger files as well. This is a top feature request we've received and we're excited to deliver it!"

This change applies only to the consumer OneDrive service, but Mr. Moore notes that it will be coming to OneDrive for Business soon as well.

In addition to the file size limit change, Microsoft also announced the other following changes to OneDrive:

Faster synching. Microsoft has increased the number of files that can be downloaded or uploaded at a given time on PCs and Macs. This "parallel syncing," as Microsoft calls it, results in an approximately threefold increase in syncing speed.

Sharing from File Explorer in Windows. Meeting a top feature request, you can now share OneDrive content directly from File Explorer in Windows: Just right-click the folder or file and choose "Share a OneDrive link" from the pop-up menu that appears to place the sharing URL in the clipboard; you can then paste this into an email message or whatever. This is available now on Windows 7 and 8, and is coming soon to Windows 8.1 and Mac, Microsoft says.

Folder uploads via the web interface. The OneDrive web interface has always allowed you to upload one or more files, but now you will see a Folder option when you click on the Upload button too. Likewise, you can drag a folder from your PC or Mac onto OneDrive.com in your browser to begin the upload.