Windows 11 introduced many new features, a fresh design, and improved performance. Among these updates, users have noticed new symbols on file icons. One such icon, a brown box appearing on the bottom left corner, has sparked questions.
This article explains what these icons mean, why they appear, and how to manage them.
Table of Contents
What Does the Brown Box Mean?
The brown box on file icons relates to Windows 11’s OneDrive integration. It’s part of the “Files On-Demand” feature, which lets you access OneDrive files without downloading everything to your device. These icons indicate the storage status of your files.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Brown Box with White Border: This means the file is stored only in OneDrive. It’s not downloaded to your device and requires an internet connection to access.
- Brown Box with Green Check: This shows the file is downloaded and always available offline. Changes you make offline will sync to OneDrive when connected.
- Brown Box with Green Circle and White Check: This means the file is online-only. It’s not on your device but can be downloaded when you open it online.
Why Do These Icons Appear?
These icons are part of the Files On-Demand feature, which helps manage storage more efficiently. Instead of using up space by storing every file locally, OneDrive downloads files as needed. This is useful for users with limited storage but a large number of cloud files.
How to Manage These Icons
You can change a file’s status and its icon by right-clicking the file and selecting an option:
- Free up Space: Removes the file from your device but keeps it in OneDrive online. The brown box with a white border will appear.
- Always Keep on this Device: Downloads the file to your device for offline use. The brown box with a green check will show.
- Clear Space: Removes the local copy to free up storage but keeps the file accessible in OneDrive. This will display the online-only icon.
Final Thoughts
The brown box icons in Windows 11 make it easy to track your files’ OneDrive status. They’re part of a smart file management system that balances local storage with cloud access. By understanding these icons, you can optimize how you use OneDrive and Windows 11, tailoring your file access to suit your needs.
But how do I open the files? I never had problems opening files on one drive before. Please help me disable this so I can access files from any device at any time as before. Thank you!
I have exactly the same problem! I wish MS would not try to ‘fix’ things when they are not broken. I find it really frustrating having to go into onedrive online to open a document rather than from my device. Can I ask if you ever received a reply or solution to this problem?
many thanks
Collette
i’m desperate to get this fixed as well. none of the “fixes” i get at onedrive are helpful at all. none of them work.
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto–Stephanie, Collette and Lisa!
This is QUITE frustrating.
Gary Blakeman
If you right click on icon, there will be a menu choice to “always keep on this device” I an still trying to figure things out but this seems to work
There is no “always keep on this device” option on right click showing up on my Windows Explorer file options. I have tried all suggested solutions without luck.
Nothing is working as suggested here. Amy other ideas please?
no such option choices are showing up.
So on my laptop desktop, I simply right clicked the desktop, no programs or files, just the desktop background and when the menu popped up, there was a refresh button. Clicked it and everything went back to normal.
so frustrating! I can’t open these files at all! thanks a lot Microsoft 😫
This is Microsoft strategy, money making. Maybe they will ask for subscription in the future.
“This is Microsoft strategy, money making. Maybe they will ask for subscription in the future.”
It sounds like a ransomware “feature” set-up.
I started to select “Always keep on this device” on an icon by icon basis, and when completed the petulant little symbols disappeared. It should have worked the other way around (i.e., I should have been given the option of which clouds to store) offline only, and this was an extremely intrusive and risky way to manage my storage, but at least I was able to get it to go away.
Never mind, they’re back ! I’m just going to have to make sure that my files are all properly “identified”. Thinking of moving everything over to Google.
I now have so many files, and photographs, I can no longer open. All have this box. Microsoft please get rid of this feature
My MS account is not synching with OneDrive on my computer. Just last week, all of my files had clouds or checkmarks. This week there are no clouds or checkmarks, only brown boxes, and none of them have borders or checks as described above. The files in in File Explorer don’t match the files in OneDrive online and vice versa. This is a SIGNIFICANT problem. To whom can we appeal???
None of these suggestions work. I cannot open these files. I think I have been able to open them. Why did MS change this?