M365 Changelog: Zip file partial downloads no longer available

MC247658 – Starting May 2021, it will no longer be possible to download individual files or subsets of files within .zip file previews in OneDrive and SharePoint on the web . Instead we recommend downloading the entire .zip file, extracting its contents and using the files needed. In the past, we have received customer feedback that at times when a user selects a subset of files to download from within a .zip file, the files are not downloaded successfully. As we focus our investments on downloading entire .zip files, we are retiring the partial download feature as users can edit .zip files as needed once downloaded.

Key points:

  • Timing: Early May 2021
  • Action: review and assess for your organization

How this will affect your organization:

Users will no longer be able to download individual files from .zip file previews in OneDrive and SharePoint on the web when this change is implemented. Users will maintain the ability to preview and navigate through the contents of a .zip file. If a user wishes to download the partial contents of a .zip file, they must download the entire .zip file. They may then delete any unnecessary files from the downloaded .zip.

What you need to do to prepare:

Please make your end users aware of this change, and update your documentation as needed.

Instead of using .zip file previews to download individual files, we recommend downloading the entire .zip file, and extracting its contents to get the necessary files.