GUIDE: WebDAV for SkyDrive

Box.net access via WebDAV in Windows Explorer has been available for a few years. The convenience of using Windows Explorer to manage your Box.net account is, of course, fantastic. In contrast WebDAV access to Windows Live Skydrive has been much harder to obtain. Having used both Gladinet Cloud Desktop and SDExplorer, I continued looking for a method using the built-in WebDAV features of Windows.

Windows native WebDAV access to Windows Live SkyDrive is now possible. Much like the Box.net method, access is available, though not widely promoted by the service provider.

1) Download SkyDrive Simple Viewer for WebDAV.
2) Unzip and run the SkyDriveSimpleViewer utility.
3) Sign in using your Live ID.
4) Click on one of the folder names in the left-hand pane: the WebDAV address for that folder will be displayed on the right. Copy this address to your clipboard.

5) Open Windows Explorer.
6) Click the Map network drive button just below the address bar. (Alternatively, you can right click Computer in the left-hand Windows Explorer pane and select "Map network drive...")

7) In the Map Network Drive dialog, paste the WebDAV address in the Folder textbox.

8) Windows automatically selects an unused drive letter for you. You may choose a different, unused letter to your liking.
9) Most likely your Windows Live ID and password are different than your Windows login name and password. Enable “Connect using different credentials”.

10) Ensure “Reconnect at logon” is enabled. This allows the drive letter mapping to persist after a reboot. Despite being notified that “Windows could not reconnect all network drives” after each reboot, the drive mapping with your user name and password will be retained and automatically populated for you. You will only need to click on each drive and hit enter at the login prompt.
11) Click Finish.

12) Windows will prompt you to enter your user name and password. Enter your Windows Live ID and password. Enable “Remember my credentials”.

13) After a short moment, you should be greeted by a Windows Explorer window with the contents of the SkyDrive folder you selected in step 4.

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Repeat the process for each folder for which you wish to have drive letter access.

NOTES
• I wrote this guide using Windows 7 Professional x64. However it should apply for all editions of Windows 7 and Vista. I am unsure if this will work for Windows XP.

• If you are using Microsoft Office 2010, you can obtain the WebDAV address using Save to SkyDrive.

• I did not need to remove "https:" or change any of the "/" to "\" as suggested in my linked sources. Furthermore, I did not need to change my folder location to "^2Documents" from "Documents". If you are unable to connect to SkyDrive, try making those changes as suggested.

• If Windows Explorer is taking more than a few minutes to access, refresh or otherwise connect to Windows Live SkyDrive, try toggling off the following setting:

Control Panel > Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings > Automatically detect settings​

SOURCES
How to Map Drives in Windows 7 | Windows 7 Tutorials
Mount box.net account in Windows Explorer
SkyDrive Simple Viewer for WebDAV
How to connect to SkyDrive with WebDAV – and my Office 2010 awakening - Mike Plate
How to Upload & Sync Files to SkyDrive from Windows Explorer

 

Nice guide. It should come in handy for some of our members.

 

Thanks for the great guide!
Worked for me perfectly.