DSM Version
7.4 7.3 7.2

General

Scope

  • Synology Drive provides centralized file synchronization, cross-site collaboration, web-based file management, secure sharing, desktop backup, and mobile access.
  • Client applications on supported computer and mobile platforms can synchronize files with Synology Drive Server.
  • Synology storage systems in different offices can collaborate through cross-site synchronization.
  • The Synology Drive web portal provides file access and management.
  • Synology Office integration enables online editing.
  • Files can be shared through password-protected and time-limited links.

Requirements and Compatibility

  • Browser compatibility follows the DSM system requirements.
  • For Synology Drive Server 3.0 or above:
    • Connected Synology Drive Client applications, including Synology Drive Client and Synology Drive ShareSync, must also be version 3.0 or above.
  • Install the following packages from Package Center first:
    • Synology Universal Search
    • Synology Application Service
    • Universal Viewer

Application Component

Synology Drive Admin Console

Scope

  • Synology Drive Admin Console lets administrators manage synchronization services, Team Folders, versioning and sharing policies, connected clients, activity monitoring, and storage usage.

Team Folders and Versioning

  • Administrators can enable selected shared folders as Team Folders and apply versioning policies.
  • Each file can retain up to 32 historical versions with deduplication across versions.
  • Historical versions can rotate over 7, 30, 60, or 120 days.
  • Retention can use first-in-first-out rotation or Intelliversioning to preserve significant versions.
  • Files and folders can be restored to a selected point in time.
  • Version Explorer lets administrators switch view roles, browse version history, and download or restore files and folders with minute-level granularity.

Limitation

  • Mounted shared folders cannot be enabled as Team Folders.

Download Restrictions and Watermarks

  • Administrators can enable download restrictions or watermarks for specific shared folders.
  • These controls require Synology Drive Server 3.4 or above.
  • Full functionality requires Synology Drive Client 3.4 and Synology Drive mobile app 3.3 or above.
  • Download restrictions apply only to non-admin users.
  • Watermark text can contain up to 32 characters, with customizable content, font color, angle, and transparency.
  • Watermarking supports files up to 100 MB and only limited to specific file types.
  • Watermarking requires a Synology system with at least 2 GB RAM. (Learn more)

Limitations

  • Watermarking is not supported for sync tasks.
  • Read-only users cannot directly download files from C2 Storage when watermarking is enabled on a Hybrid Share folder.

Sharing, File Requests, and Labels

  • Administrators can allow non-admin users to set sharing permissions.
    • Public links can be protected with a password and expiration time.
    • Files and folders can be shared directly with assigned DSM users or groups.
  • Sharing-link reports can be exported with details about links in selected folders.
  • Administrators can allow non-admin users to create file requests with password and expiration options.
  • Shared labels can be managed centrally.
    • Non-admin users can be granted permission to create them.
    • Shared label ownership can be transferred to another user.

File Locking

  • Connected Synology Drive client applications, including Synology Drive Client and Synology Drive ShareSync, must be version 4.0.0 or above.
  • Shared folders can use automatic or manual file locking so only one user edits a file at a time.
  • Administrators can force-unlock files.

Sync Rules and Device Control

  • Administrators can block file categories (e.g., documents, music, videos, images), file names, file extensions, or files above a maximum size from synchronization for selected users.
  • The client connection list shows device name, username, application type, online/offline status, IP address, and location.
  • Client connections can be unlinked, and synchronized files can be wiped remotely from connected devices.
  • The recommended number of concurrent computer-client connections varies by Synology model. (Refer to your product's specifications)

Search and Indexing

Monitoring and Storage Maintenance

  • System information can be logged and exported for monitoring service disruptions, system health, events, file changes, and shared-folder configuration changes.
  • Administrators can calculate Synology Drive storage usage.
  • Deleted files can be cleaned up manually from recycle bins to free storage space.

Synology Drive ShareSync

Scope

  • Synology Drive ShareSync synchronizes shared-folder data and permissions among Synology storage systems for multi-site collaboration and data distribution.

Multi-site Synchronization

  • Two-way synchronization supports real-time collaboration among multiple Synology systems in different locations.
  • One-way upload or download can distribute or collect data from remote Synology systems.
  • Synchronization can cover an entire shared folder or selected subfolders.
  • Folder and subfolder selection helps prevent unnecessary data from being synchronized.

Permission and Metadata Synchronization

  • Flexible sync mode settings are available for each task:
    • Synchronize all privileges
    • Synchronize only domain-user privileges
    • Synchronize files without permissions and metadata

Task Rules and Conflict Handling

  • Block file categories (e.g., documents, music, videos, images), file names, file extensions, and files above a configured maximum size for each sync task.
  • Version conflicts can keep the latest modified version, or the server version can be retained while the discarded version is renamed and preserved.

Monitoring and Logs

  • Connection and synchronization status can be monitored for each connected server.
  • Detailed synchronization events can be filtered by shared folder, keyword, or date range.

Sync Folder and File Boundaries

  • Files are not synced under the following circumstances:
    • Files with unsupported types or paths containing unsupported characters are not synchronized. (Learn more)
    • File paths longer than 2,048 characters
    • File names longer than 255 characters
  • A Synology storage system can connect to multiple remote Synology storage systems, but the same local and remote system pair can be established only once.
  • A local shared folder cannot be used as the sync folder for multiple remote Synology storage systems at the same time.
  • Mounted shared folders and folders without write permission cannot be used as sync folders.
  • Folders mounted inside a local sync folder are not supported.

Synology Drive Web Portal

Scope

  • The Synology Drive web portal provides browser-based file organization, search, sharing, collaboration, and package backup workflows.

Browser Support

  • Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge are supported.
    • Chrome 110 or above is required to open Synology Office files.

File Organization

  • Files can be accessed through My Drive and Team Folders.
  • Personal labels, shared labels, and stars can categorize or highlight important files.
  • Files can be sorted by title, modified time, type, owner, or size.
  • Hotkeys are available for file organization and navigation.

Sharing and Permissions

  • Files and folders can be shared with selected DSM users.
  • Public sharing links can be protected with a password and validity period.
  • Granular file and folder permissions support different sharing scenarios.

Synology Office and Synology Chat Integration

  • Synology Office integration enables collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and slides.
  • Send important notifications via Synology Chat.

Activity Monitoring and Package Backup

  • Detailed user actions and events are logged, including file operations, permission changes, and version rotations.
  • Hyper Backup can back up Synology Drive settings and data to local or remote destinations and restore the package to an earlier point in time.

Limitations

  • Files deleted from a Team Folder are placed in a Recycle Bin that only system administrators can access.
  • Symbolic-link files and folders are not displayed in the Synology Drive web portal.

Utilities

Synology Drive Client

Scope

  • Synology Drive Client lets users synchronize files with Synology Drive Server, access and share files from the computer file browser, back up computer data, use file locking, and enable On-demand Sync.

System Requirements

Platform Requirement
Windows Windows 10 version 2004 or above; Windows on ARM and Windows Server editions are not supported
macOS macOS 12 Monterey or above (64-bit)
Linux Ubuntu 20.04 or above, limited to officially supported versions
Synology storage system Synology Drive Server must be installed

File Synchronization

  • Files are accessible from the computer file browser and can synchronize with My Drive, Team Folder, and Shared with me.
  • Tasks can use two-way synchronization, one-way upload, or one-way download.
  • Windows clients can create up to 64 synchronization tasks.
  • Block selected file names, file extensions, and files above a maximum size for each sync task.
  • File operations such as downloads, deletion, and renaming are monitored and logged.

Computer Backup

  • Computer files can be backed up to Synology Drive Server in continuous, manual, or scheduled mode.
  • Backed-up files and folders can be restored from the client.

Limitation

  • Only one backup task can be created for each account.

File Locking

  • File locking allows only one user to edit a file at a time to reduce editing conflicts.

On-demand Sync

  • On-demand Sync reduces local storage consumption and server overhead by downloading file content when it is needed.
  • The feature is available on Windows 10 version 1809 or above and macOS 12.3 or above.

Limitations

  • A local folder already used by Synology Drive On-demand Sync, OneDrive Files On-Demand, or iCloud Drive cannot be selected for another On-demand Sync task; its child folders are also excluded.
  • Drive-root directories such as C:\ or D:\ cannot be selected.
  • User home directories such as C:\Users\<username> cannot be selected.

Synchronization Boundaries

  • Each Synology Drive Client can synchronize up to 500,000 files; exceeding this number can reduce performance and cause unexpected errors.
  • Certain file and drive types are not supported for synchronization. (Learn more)
  • .pst files are not supported because they are not guaranteed to be portable.
  • A folder already synchronized, or an ancestor or child of a synchronized folder, cannot be selected for another sync task.
  • Files inside a folder mounted through another file protocol might not synchronize because Synology Drive cannot detect changes inside the mount point.

Synology Drive Mobile App

Scope

  • The Synology Drive mobile app provides file access, organization, search, sharing, synchronization, offline access, mobile backup, and in-app editing on iOS and Android.

System Requirements

Platform Requirement
iOS iOS 18.0 or above
Android Android 10.0 or above

Sharing and App Security

  • Files and folders can be shared with selected DSM users.
  • Public links can be protected with a password and validity period.
  • Application access can be protected by a passcode, with fingerprint authentication on supported devices.

Synchronization and Offline Access

  • Two-way and one-way synchronization tasks keep files and folders up to date.
  • Custom synchronization rules can be configured for each task.
  • Multiple files can be stored for offline access and updated automatically on the local device.

Mobile Backup

  • Photos and videos can be backed up to a custom destination path.
  • WeChat file backup is available only in the China version.

Synology Office, Text, and PDF Editing

  • Synology Office documents and spreadsheets can be edited in the mobile app when Synology Drive Server 3.2.0-795 or above, Synology Office 3.5 or above, and Android 10.0 or iOS 14.0 and above are used.
  • .txt and .md (Markdown) files can be edited in the app, including Markdown syntax for .md files.
  • PDF annotation includes text highlighting, notes, and signatures.
  • On iOS, PDF annotations update the original file in Synology Drive.
  • On Android, an annotated PDF can replace the original file or be saved as a new file.

Limitations

  • On iOS, Synology Slides cannot be viewed from a sharing link that does not allow downloads or copies.
  • PDF annotation is available only for documents that allow editing.
  • On Android, annotations can use any character type inside the Synology Drive mobile app, but third-party apps display them only when they use Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), Cyrillic, Greek, Japanese (Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji), Korean (Hangul and Hanja), or Latin characters.

File Integration and Display

  • iOS Files and the Android document provider provide a shared entry point for browsing, opening, editing, and moving files among storage apps.
  • General supported file formats can be viewed in the app.
  • Cache management improves file loading speed.
  • Dark theme is available.