Looks like that “smart files” works differently from “On-Demand files”.
“Smart files” are similar to “On-Demand”, but the former stores some bytes of data on disk, and the latter do not (file size on disk is 0 bytes). When the file is accessed the first time, it gets downloaded, entering in a state I would call “locally cached”.
before opening scrivener
When locally cached, the file IS on the disk and anybody can access it. If OneDrive is running in background, it updates that “local cache” if it get modified from somewhere else.
after opening scrivener
From now on, the file is permanently cached locally, unless I explicitly asks OneDrive to wipe those files (the cached state). After this operation, the file will be downloaded again if anybody asks for it.
To keep it short, it’s virtually the same between enabling or disabling “On Demand” files, because you are only affecting WHEN they will be downloaded, but in the end… they are all files downladed by an external process at some point in time.
Just the first time I open the project on a specific PC. After that, it’s pretty fast as it downloads the edited files only.
Installing and configuring OneDrive for the first time gives you On-Demand files as default, from what I recall. I didn’t explicitly enable it.
However, you are right @AmberV , the two features are a little bit different tecnically, even if they share the same concept. Feel free to keep the FAQ entry as it is.