SharePoint Online: Sync Button Missing in a Document Library?

Problem: Sync button missing in SharePoint Online library.

How to Enable the Sync Button in SharePoint Online?

The Sync button enables you to synchronize a SharePoint Online library to your local storage, which can be helpful if you need to keep your documents in sync between your computer and the cloud. If you’re missing the Sync button in your SharePoint document library, This article will show you how to enable it.

Step 1: Check the Sync Settings at the Site level

To enable the Sync button in SharePoint Online, we have to set the offline client availability of the Document library and site to “Yes”. Because Sync configuration for all lists and libraries in the site is controlled by a site-level setting, “Offline Client Availability”. So, let us verify if it is enabled.

1. Browse to the site >> Click on Settings >> Site Settings.
2. On the site settings page, click on “Search and offline availability”.
3. Set the option for “Offline Client Availability” to “Yes”.
4. Click on “OK” on the bottom of the page to save your changes.

To set the “Offline Client Availability” use this PowerShell

Here is the PowerShell to exclude the site from offline clients:

#Parameters
$SiteURL = "https://Crescent.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing"
 
#Connect to SharePoint Online site
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SiteURL -Interactive
 
#Get the Web
$Web = Get-PnPWeb -Includes ExcludeFromOfflineClient
 
#Set "Allow items from this site to be downloaded to offline clients?" to "Yes"
$web.ExcludeFromOfflineClient = $True
$web.Update()
Invoke-PnPQuery

Write-Host "Offline Client Availability is Enabled!" -f Green

Step 2: Enable Sync for the Document Library

Follow these steps to enable the sync button for a document library,

1. Go to the Library Settings >> Advanced Settings
2. Set “Yes” for “Allow items from this document library to be downloaded to offline clients?” under “Offline Client Availability”.
3. Click OK to save your changes.

That’s all. This enables the Sync button for the library.

Turn-On Sync for a document library using PowerShell

Similarly, to exclude a list or library from Offline clients, use this PowerShell:

#Parameters
$SiteURL = "https://crescent.sharepoint.com/sites/Marketing"
$ListName = "Branding"

#Connect to PnP
Connect-PnPOnline -url $SiteURL -Interactive

#Get the Library
$List = Get-PnPList $ListName

#set Allow items from this document library to be downloaded to offline clients?
$List.ExcludeFromOfflineClient = $False
$List.Update()
Invoke-PnPQuery

How about disabling sync for a SharePoint Library? Well, you have to perform the reverse! SharePoint Online: How to Disable the “Sync” Button in Document Library?