Using Offline Files

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The general steps required to use offline files are as follows:

1. Set up your own computer (not the server) to allow the use of offline files.
2. Use the Make Available Offline command to identify folders and files that you intend to use offline.
3. Work offline.
4. Synchronize your offline files when you reconnect with the server.

Setting Up Your System to Use Offline Files

Offline files are enabled by default on Windows 2000 Professional systems but disabled by default on Windows 2000 Server systems. To ensure that they're enabled on your system:

1. In any Windows Explorer window, choose Folder Options from the Tools menu.
2. On the Offline Files tab (see Figure 10-1), make sure the Enable Offline Files check box is selected.

The dialog box shown in Figure 10-1 also includes some other important options. We'll come back to those options later in this chapter.

Figure 10-1. The Offline Files tab of the Folder Options dialog box is the place to turn on or off your system's ability to work with offline files.

NOTE

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If you use the Make Available Offline command without first having visited the dialog box shown in Figure 10-1, the Offline Files Wizard will appear. The wizard simply steps you through some of the options shown in Figure 10-1.

Making Files and Folders Available Offline

You can make both network files and folders (files and folders stored on a network server) and Web pages available for offline use.

To make a network file or folder available offline:

1. Open a Windows Explorer window containing the file or folder in question. For example, open My Network Places and navigate to the folder containing the file you want to use offline.
2. Select the file or folder, open the File menu, and choose Make Available Offline. Or right-click the item and choose Make Available Offline from the shortcut menu. (See Figure 10-2.)

If you apply the Make Available Offline command to a folder, all files contained in the folder become available. If the folder you select contains subfolders, a dialog box appears giving you the option to make all of the folder's subfolders available as well.

Figure 10-2. To make a network file or folder available offline, right-click it and choose Make Available Offline from the shortcut menu.

TIP

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Don't make subfolders available offline unless you really need them. The more files you make available offline, the longer synchronization takes.

When you make a file or folder available for offline use, Windows 2000 immediately copies the item from the server to your local hard disk. The local copy becomes part of your offline cache. You can verify that the file or folder is available offline by selecting it and reopening the File menu. A check mark appears beside the Make Available Offline command. (Windows Explorer also adds arrows to the icons of offline items.)

While you are still connected to the network, when you work with files marked for offline availability, you continue to work with the server copies. To ensure that you have the latest versions of files in your offline cache, you need to perform a synchronization before you disconnect or log off your computer. You can (and should) set up Windows 2000 to synchronize automatically at logoff. See "Choosing Offline File Setup Options." But if you simply disconnect your computer from the network without logging off, you must remember to synchronize manually. See "Synchronizing," below.

The procedure for making a Web page available offline is somewhat different because, as a first step, you need to add the page to your Favorites menu. For information about this, see "Making Pages Available Offline."

Working Offline

While you're disconnected from the network (or from the Internet, in the case of offline Web pages), you can work with your offline files exactly as you would while connected. You access the files the same way, through your applications' menu commands or via Windows Explorer or Microsoft Internet Explorer. The files look exactly the same in Windows Explorer (except for the icon arrows that denote the files' offline availability), and your permissions are the same as they would be if you were connected. The only difference is that you are opening files from and saving them to your offline cache instead of a network server or the Internet. (In the case of offline Web pages, links on the pages might or might not be available, depending on the offline settings you chose for the Web pages.)

Synchronizing

When you reconnect to the network, or just before you disconnect from the network, you'll want to synchronize your offline files. When you do this, Windows 2000 compares the versions in your offline cache to the versions stored in the original server locations and performs the following operations for each offline file:

• If you have changed the file while offline and the server-based copy hasn't been changed, Windows 2000 updates the server copy with your changes.
• If you haven't made changes to your offline copy but the server copy has been changed, Windows 2000 updates the copy in your offline cache.
• If both the server copy and your offline copy have been changed, a dialog box appears. You can keep your version, the server version, or both. If you choose to keep both, you need to provide a new name for your version.
• If either the offline copy or the server copy of a file is deleted, the file on the other machine will be deleted as well, as long as it wasn't changed while you were offline.
• If the server copy has been deleted and you changed your offline copy, a dialog box appears. You can save your version on the server or delete your offline copy.
• If you delete your version and the server copy has been changed, a dialog box appears asking whether you want to use your copy (in other words, delete the server copy), or use the server copy, which will copy the changed server file to your offline cache.
• If a new file has been added to a folder that you have marked for offline availability, the new file is copied to your offline cache.

Depending on how you've set up Synchronization Manager, synchronization might take place automatically when you reconnect. If it doesn't, you can synchronize all or selected offline items by running Synchronization Manager. See "Using Synchronization Manager."

You can synchronize an individual file or folder by selecting it in a Windows Explorer window and choosing Synchronize from the File menu, or by right-clicking it and choosing Synchronize from the shortcut menu. If you've enabled Web content in your Windows Explorer folders, you might also see a Synchronize button, similar to the one shown in Figure 10-3. Click the button to synchronize the current folder.

Figure 10-3. If you enable Web content in folders, you might see a Synchronize button when items need to be synchronized.

Choosing Offline File Setup Options

Now let's return to the setup options available in the Folder Options dialog box, shown in Figure 10-1. As a reminder, you get to this dialog box by opening the Tools menu in any Windows Explorer window, choosing Folder Options, and clicking the Offline Files tab. Alternatively, you can select Folder Options in Control Panel.

Synchronizing at Logoff

It's an excellent idea to select the Synchronize All Offline Files Before Logging Off check box. An automatic synchronization at logoff makes logging off take a little longer but ensures that you have the latest versions of your offline files when you disconnect from the network. Note, however, that you must also select the items you want synchronized automatically at logoff in Synchronization Manager. See "Using Synchronization Manager."

Enabling Synchronization Reminders

When you reconnect to your network after working offline, Windows 2000 can periodically remind you that it's time to synchronize your files. This feature is turned on by default, and the reminders appear (in the form of a balloon above the status area of your Windows taskbar) at 60-minute intervals as long as your system contains any unsynchronized files. If you turn reminders off, you can still get information about whether you need to synchronize. While you're offline, a computer icon appears in your status area informing you that the network connection is not currently available. A moment or two after you reconnect, a message appears above this computer icon, letting you know that there's new information about the status of your connection. Clicking the icon brings up a dialog box, from which you can perform a synchronization.

Creating a Shortcut to the Offline Files Folder

Windows maintains a system folder that lists all the server-based files you make available to yourself for offline use. This folder, shown in Figure 10-4, also includes information about the status of each file, the location of its server, whether the server is online or offline, and so on.

Figure 10-4. The Offline Files folder shows the status of each offline file.

If you select the fourth check box on the Offline Files tab of the Folder Options dialog box shown in Figure 10-1, Windows creates a desktop shortcut that simplifies access to this folder. If you prefer not to have the shortcut on your desktop, you can get to the Offline Files folder by clicking the View Files button in the Folder Options dialog box. Alternatively, you can open Synchronization Manager and click the Properties button. See "Using Synchronization Manager," below.

Setting the Maximum Cache Size

By default, Windows 2000 prevents the cache size from exceeding 10 percent of the size of the hard disk on which Windows 2000 is installed. You can increase or decrease that amount by dragging the slider in the Folder Options dialog box. You can't divert the cache to a different hard disk, however.

Using Synchronization Manager

Synchronization Manager is a tool that lets you choose which share resources or Web pages you want to synchronize. You can also use it to schedule automatic synchronization. To run Synchronization Manager, either open the Tools menu in any Windows Explorer window and choose Synchronize, or open the Start menu and choose Programs, Accessories, Synchronize. Synchronization Manager is shown in Figure 10-5.

Figure 10-5. Synchronization Manager lets you synchronize selected items or schedule automatic synchronization.

Synchronizing Selected Shares or Web Pages

To synchronize selected network shares or Web pages, select the items you want to synchronize and click Synchronize. If you select one or more offline Web pages, Synchronization Manager activates your Internet connection and downloads the latest versions of the selected pages.

Scheduling Automatic Synchronization

To set up scheduled synchronization, click the Setup button in Synchronization Manager. The dialog box shown in Figure 10-6 appears.

The three tabs in the Synchronization Settings dialog box shown in Figure 10-6 let you schedule synchronization at logon or logoff, during periods when your computer is idle, and at particular dates and times. Note that if you want synchronization to occur automatically whenever you log off, you must also select the Synchronize All Offline Files Before Logging Off check box in the Folder Options dialog box shown in Figure 10-1.

On each of these three tabs, you can specify which offline files and Web pages you want synchronized. You can click the Advanced button of the On Idle tab to stipulate how long your computer must be idle before the synchronization begins. (You can also select a check box that disables the on-idle synchronization when your computer is running on battery power.)

To schedule a date-and-time synchronization, click the Scheduled tab, and then click Add. You'll be handed off to a scheduling wizard that functions just like the one used to create scheduled program executions. For details about using that wizard, see "Running Programs on Schedule."

Figure 10-6. You can schedule synchronization to occur at logon or logoff, during idle times, or at particular dates and times.