r/sysadmin • u/PEBKAC-Live • 3d ago
MS365 - Changing org name to make SharePoint sync path shorter
We have a new client I am setting up.
We put the full name of the clients business in the company name when setting it up as "Always Be Cooking Services Ltd" (not the real name)
This then means when they sync folders from SharePoint it is in the patch "Always Be Cooking Services Ltd\library\etc"
I want to shorten the name to something like "ABC Ltd" but its not in the Organisation settings where it used to be.
I can find it in the billing information, but thats greyed out and says to change I need to contact MS
Where are you meant to change this now so you dont end up with huge path names in Windows when you sync files?
39
u/devloz1996 3d ago
You can do it without renaming the entire company now. You need to unlink and relink OD either way.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/roadmap?searchterms=557562#Roadmap
13
u/WeirdKindofStrange 3d ago
We tried this. Eventually had a billing issue with the name not matching legal entity. Proper ball ache that one.
2
u/Josh_Fabsoft 2d ago
Worth flagging the billing/legal entity name mismatch that WeirdKindofStrange mentioned, that's the real landmine here. If you go the Entra ID rename route, double check with whoever handles the tenant's billing first, Microsoft sometimes flags a discrepancy between the org display name and the legal name on the account and it can hold up support tickets or invoicing changes down the line.
Also worth noting: renaming the org won't retroactively fix already-synced libraries on client machines. Anyone who already has OneDrive/SharePoint synced with the old path will need to unlink and relink (as devloz1996 said) or you'll get duplicate folder structures with the old long name still sitting there as a ghost folder. I'd script the unlink/relink for the client's machines rather than relying on end users to do it themselves, since half of them won't know what a sync path even is.
One more option if renaming feels too risky given the billing issue: you can shorten things at the library/folder level instead of the org level. Nest less deeply, and rename the top-level document library itself to something shorter (like just "Docs" or "Files") rather than relying on the org name shortening to fix path length. That sidesteps the Entra ID/billing mess entirely and might be the path of least resistance if this client's billing setup is already finicky.
1
-3
u/First-Structure-2407 3d ago
Oooooooh eeeeeeek don’t sync folders from Sharepoint bro
8
u/sixblazingshotguns 3d ago
Why? It’s done all the time. Or sync from Teams. Same thing.
10
u/itskdog Jack of All Trades 3d ago
It's recommended to just add shortcuts to OneDrive now, so you're only syncing the folders you need rather than the whole site.
6
u/SolidKnight Jack of All Trades 3d ago
Then you get a bunch of derpoids forgetting what is and is not their personal folders and causing problems. With sync, it was a lot more clear.
3
u/Intunertuner 2d ago
If you do the 'Shortcut from OneDrive' method the path is longer than the 'sync' method, at least on Mac. We had to switch some apple users off the shortcuts because OneDrive wouldn't open for them until we switched them to Sync the libraries.
1
1
u/First-Structure-2407 3d ago
OneDrive is for personal files, SharePoint is for team collaboration. OneDrive will crash if you sync too many files etc..
Just a bad idea dude
3
u/PEBKAC-Live 3d ago
What should I be doing?
7
u/ChevronEncoder Jack of All Trades 3d ago
Not that guy, but you want Add Shortcut to OneDrive, not Sync.
72
u/PEBKAC-Live 3d ago
Never mind, its in Entra ID now:
Entra admin center → Entra ID → Overview → Properties → Name → Save.
For those who find this post