We hear from a lot of customers who aren't quite sure about the difference between OneDrive and SharePoint—and that's totally understandable! They're both part of Microsoft 365, and they both work great with Skykit. Let's break down what makes them different and how you can use each one with your digital signage.
🔄 OneDrive vs SharePoint: What's the Difference?
☁️ OneDrive is your personal cloud storage space. Think of it as your own digital filing cabinet where you can store files and access them from anywhere. It's tied to your individual Microsoft account and is perfect for:
👤 Files you're working on personally
🔐 Content you own and manage
📁 Documents you want to keep in your own space
👥 SharePoint is your team's collaborative workspace. It's designed for organizations to work together through shared team sites and libraries. SharePoint is great for:
🤝 Content that multiple people need to access
🎯 Team projects and shared documents
🏢 Organizational resources that need to live in a central location
Both services exist within your Microsoft 365 Cloud environment, and you can access content from either one through Skykit Beam!
💼 Using OneDrive Content
📂 What You Can Upload from OneDrive
📽️ PowerPoint files (.pptx)
📄 PDF files (.pdf)
🖼️ Image files (JPG, PNG).
🎥 Video files (MP4, MOV)
📝 Important Note About File Ownership
Skykit can only upload files that you personally own in OneDrive—not shared files. This is due to Microsoft's limitations. If you need to upload a file that was shared with you, simply save a copy to your personal OneDrive first, then upload it from there.
📤 How to Upload Content from OneDrive
Click the +Content button in the upper right corner of Skykit Beam
Choose Import Files and select Microsoft OneDrive
Sign in with your Microsoft 365 account when prompted
Browse to your personal drive and select the files you want (remember: they must be files you own, not shared files)
Review your selections in the Upload Queue
Click Upload to complete the process
Pro tip: Make sure pop-ups are allowed in your browser for Skykit Beam before you start!
⚡ Auto-Publish for PowerPoint Files from OneDrive
This is where OneDrive really shines! Auto-Publish automatically syncs your PowerPoint files from OneDrive to Skykit overnight whenever you make changes. Set it and forget it!
✨ Why you'll love it:
✅ Your team can edit PowerPoint files and the changes automatically appear in Skykit overnight
✅ Team members who only update slides don't need their own Skykit login—one less password to remember!
✅ No more manual uploads. Seriously, none.
🔧 What you'll need:
Microsoft 365 Business Standard or Enterprise license
Microsoft tenant admin permissions (if you're not sure if you have these, your IT team will know!)
The file must be a PowerPoint file stored in OneDrive (not shared files)
💡 Important notes:
Auto-Publish is a special feature that must be enabled by our Support Team—just reach out and we'll set it up for your tenant!
Since PowerPoint files are auto-syncing from OneDrive, we don't have an Edit option in Skykit—just make your changes in PowerPoint and let Auto-Publish do its thing
🔐 Understanding Auto-Publish Permissions
Auto-Publish requires two permission levels in your Microsoft environment:
Tenant-Level Admin Consent: Authorizes the Skykit application within your Microsoft tenant (this is a one-time approval from your Microsoft admin).
File-Level Access: Grants Skykit read/write access to specific PowerPoint files when you authorize the connection.
Key definitions:
Microsoft Tenant: Your organization's private Microsoft 365 account where users, apps, and settings are managed
Admin Consent: A one-time approval that lets Skykit connect securely to your tenant and access protected resources
📋 Step-by-Step: Enable Auto-Publish for PowerPoint
Step 1: Import Your PowerPoint File
In Skykit Beam, go to the Content page
Click the +Content button (top right)
Choose Import → Microsoft OneDrive
Sign in with your Microsoft 365 Business admin account (the account where you have Microsoft tenant admin privileges)
Select the PowerPoint file you want to import
Step 2: Turn On Auto-Publish
Open the detail page for the PowerPoint file you just imported
Click the settings gear icon (top right)
Scroll down to the Auto-Publish section
Click Request Admin Consent
A pop-up will appear—click Continue
Sign in again with your Microsoft 365 Business admin account
Follow the Microsoft prompts (you may see a message that the app is "unverified"—this is expected and normal)
Toggle Auto-Publish ON
Wait for the save confirmation before leaving the page
That's it! Your PowerPoint file is now set to auto-publish. Any edits made in OneDrive will sync to Skykit automatically every night.
🤝 Using SharePoint Content
SharePoint offers even more content types since it's designed for organizational collaboration.
📊 What You Can Display from SharePoint
📑 Documents:
📈 Excel spreadsheets
📝 Word documents
📋 Forms
📅 Calendars
📽️ PowerPoint presentations
📖 Wiki Pages
📌 Lists:
📢 Announcements
👤 Contacts
✅ Tasks
🎨 Media:
📄 PDF files
🖼️ Images (JPG, PNG)
🎥 Videos (MP4, MOV)
💡 Good to Know
Multi-page content won't auto-advance through pages (but you can still display it!)
👆 If you're using touch screens, PowerPoint and PDF files work beautifully with touch interactions
🤔 SharePoint Dashboard vs SharePoint Upload: What's the Difference?
Some customers wonder why Skykit allows them to create a SharePoint dashboard but doesn't support uploading files directly from SharePoint. Here's the key difference:
📊 SharePoint Dashboard: Uses your SharePoint site URL and credentials to display data within Skykit. No files are uploaded—this is purely a connection to view content in real-time.
📤 OneDrive Upload: Uses Microsoft's APIs to transfer files directly into Skykit. This is fully supported!
🚫 SharePoint Upload: Not available, because Microsoft doesn't provide third-party apps with the necessary file upload integration for SharePoint.
Bottom line: You can create a SharePoint dashboard in Skykit, and you can upload content from OneDrive, but you cannot upload files directly from SharePoint.
🎯 So Which One Should I Use?
Great question! Here's a simple way to think about it:
Use OneDrive when:
⚡ You're working with PowerPoint files and want Auto-Publish
👤 The content is owned and managed by you personally
📤 You need to upload files directly into Skykit
🚀 You want simple, straightforward access to your own files
Use SharePoint when:
📊 You want to create a dashboard that displays live SharePoint data
📅 You need to show team calendars, lists, or shared documents in real-time
👥 Multiple people collaborate on the content and it needs to stay in SharePoint
🏢 You're displaying organizational resources from team sites
🆘 We're Here to Help!
Still confused about whether to use OneDrive or SharePoint for your specific use case? No worries! Our Support Team is always happy to walk you through it and help you figure out the best approach for your content. And if you need Auto-Publish enabled for PowerPoint files from OneDrive, just let us know and we'll flip that switch for you. We've got your back! 💪