Microsoft Windows XP Networking Inside Out

Chapter 15

Making Files

Available Offline

What’s the big deal about making files available offline? Suppose you’ve been working on an important document for the past week. The document is stored on a network server and from time to time other users access the document and make reference to it as well. You need to travel to another city, and it would be great if you could take that document along on your laptop computer, continue working on it, and synchronize with the original document when you return. Can you? Yes, in Microsoft Windows XP Professional, you can use network documents offline using the Offline Files feature, which was originally introduced with Microsoft Windows 2000.

Offline Files allows you to keep copies of network files on your local computer. When you are not connected to the network, you can use the cached copy and continue working. When you reconnect to the network, the offline file is synchronized with the online copy. If only the offline document has been changed, the offline version is copied to the network version. If the network version has changed but the offline version has not, the network version is copied over your offline version. If both versions have changed, a dialog box gives you the option of selecting which one to keep or keeping both files under different names. In all cases, the final result is that both sets of files or folders are synchronized (identical) on the two computers. Because Offline Files works on a synchronization basis, this feature works well for:

●Users working with network documents. You can edit online or offline, and your changes will be synchronized.

●Mobile users. Offline Files is particularly helpful to mobile users who are not connected to the network for long periods of time, but who need access

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to files. Offline Files enables the files to be stored locally so they are always available to the user, whether he or she is connected to the network or not. Any type of document or resource material can be made available this way. Additionally, when synchronization is invoked (either manually or by the Synchronization Manager, which is covered in “Setting Synchronization Options” on page 459), if a change has been made to the document in one location or the other, you’ll be notified and be given the chance to synchronize them. Not only are your documents always available, but you also don’t need to worry about whether you have an old version of a file, which makes file management much easier and more accurate.

●Users with an unreliable connection. Users whose network connection is not stable can use Offline Files to copy needed network files to their local computer and minimize their dependency on a troublesome network connection.

This chapter explores the Offline Files feature. You’ll learn how to enable and configure Offline Files and how to use the files while offline. You’ll also learn how to make files available offline to other users when the files reside on your computer. Briefcase, an earlier offline file feature that has been superseded by the more enhanced features

of Offline Files, will be briefly examined as well in “Using Briefcase” on page 467.

note Offline Files is not available with Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition. If you frequently travel or otherwise work offline from your network, you should consider using Windows XP Professional as your platform.

note Keep in mind that computers that participate in domains already have Fast User Switching disabled.

After Fast User Switching is turned off, you can turn on Offline Files. To enable Offline Files, follow these steps:

1Choose Start, Control Panel, and open Folder Options.

2Select the Offline Files tab.

3On the Offline Files tab, shown here, select the Enable Offline Files option. Click OK.

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tip Any file or folder that you can access via network sharing can be configured for offline use.

Configuring Offline Files Options

Once you enable Offline Files, several additional options become available on the Offline Files tab. These options determine how Offline Files works in terms of synchronization and general file management. The following options can be set:

●Synchronize All Offline Files When Logging On. This option, which is not selected by default, synchronizes all offline files when you first log on to the computer. If you want to make sure your files are synchronized as soon as you log on to the network, choose this option. However, many users become frustrated with having to wait for the synchronization process while they log on, so you might consider not using this option and simply synchronizing at your leisure after you have logged on and are working.

●Synchronize All Offline Files Before Logging Off. The option to synchronize all files before logging off is enabled by default. When this option is selected, a full synchronization occurs before you log off (or shut down). This action ensures that your offline files are completely up-to-date with the server copy so that you have the most current version of the offline files before you log off the network. For most users, this setting is best. However, if you are the only person using the network file, or you are using a reference file that rarely changes, you can clear this option to log off quickly. If this option is cleared, a partial synchronization occurs. In a partial synchronization, you end up with complete copies of the files you’ve marked to be available offline, but you might not have the most current copy of each file.

caution The act of logging off or shutting down prompts Windows to synchronize with the server. If you simply unplug from the network, the offline file might not be current because Windows XP has not had an opportunity to synchronize.

●Display A Reminder Every x Minutes. This option causes balloon reminders to appear in the notification area on the desktop when you work offline. By default, this message appears every hour. So every hour you are working offline, you’ll see a balloon reminder, which might become annoying. If you want a less frequent reminder, adjust the interval rate to another value, such as every four hours.

●Create An Offline Files Shortcut On The Desktop. This option places a shortcut to the Offline Files folder on your desktop so you can easily access any offline files. You might consider initially selecting this option, after which you can move the shortcut to the Start menu or elsewhere.

Chapter 15: Making Files Available Offline

●Encrypt Offline Files To Secure Data. This option encrypts offline files on your local hard disk to protect them from prying eyes or theft while the files reside on your computer. The encryption feature works just like the encryption of any other file or folder on your computer. Only you (or a user signed on with your user name and password) can view the offline files. Because all encryption and decryption is handled transparently by Windows XP, you continue to use the file as you normally would. If your offline files are not stored on an NTFS volume, this option will be unavailable.

tip When you open an encrypted document, many applications create temporary files, and these files are not encrypted. For maximum security, you should encrypt the entire folder the application uses to store temporary files.

●Amount Of Disk Space To Use For Temporary Offline Files. When you choose specific files and folders to use offline, Windows XP Professional reserves as much space as those files require, which is only limited by the amount of storage space on your computer. However, if you access network files that are automatically cached (copied) to your local computer when you open them, this setting lets you control the amount of disk space that is reserved for these temporary offline files. By default, Windows allocates 10 percent of your computer’s hard disk space for temporary offline file storage. See “Managing Caching Options on the Server,” page 463, for more information about different types of file caching.

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To make a file or folder available offline, you must have Read and/or Write permission to the file or folder. However, any network share you can access online means that you have at least Read permission, which means you can make any network folder or file you can access available offline. To make the file or folder available offline, follow these steps:

1Using My Network Places, browse to the desired file or folder on the network server that you want to make available offline.

note Remember that you’re making files on other network computers available on your local computer. Because Offline Files runs as a client service, you need to work from your local computer and select the files on each network computer that you want to make available on your computer.

2Right-click the network file or folder, and choose Make Available Offline.

The first time you use the Make Available Offline feature, the Offline Files Wizard appears. Subsequently, the folders or files you choose will be cached without the wizard appearing.

3Read the wizard’s welcome message and then click Next.

4On the second page of the wizard, shown here, you’ll see a single setting that combines the separate log on and log off settings available in Folder Options. You can set different synchronization settings for each network share using Synchronization Manager at any time. Make a choice here or accept the default setting, and then click Next.

5On the third page of the wizard, shown next, make a choice or accept the default settings. Click Finish.

6If you choose to make an entire folder available offline and that folder contains subfolders, you’ll see the Confirm Offline Subfolders dialog box, which asks whether you want to make only the folder you selected available offline or all its subfolders as well. Make your choice and click OK.

The Synchronizing window appears, and the files or folders you selected are synchronized for the first time, which means they’ll be copied from the network computer to your local computer and then appear in your Offline Files folder.

Understanding SMB

SMB is a presentation layer protocol used in file and printer sharing on Microsoft computers. SMB is used to share files, printers, serial ports, and other communication layers, such as named pipes. Using SMB, clients request service from a server, and the server responds to those requests. With SMB, you can cache network files and then write to those files on the server. This process occurs through the use of messages that the client and server pass back and forth. These messages allow the two systems to communicate over the network and to know how to manage a file or other resource between them.

Using Offline Files and Folders

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Figure 15-2. The Offline Files Status dialog box informs you that you’re working offline and lets you choose whether to synchronize when you reconnect to the network.

tip Using the Offline Files Folder

You can find additional information about an offline file and folder, such as its location on the network, its synchronization state, the resource’s permissions, and the status of the server on which the share is located by opening the Offline Files folder. Choose View, Details to see this information. You can also right-click the Offline Files icon in the notification area to access a shortcut menu with commands to open the Offline Files folder, synchronize files, and adjust the Offline Files settings.

Synchronizing Offline Files and Folders

Synchronization of offline files occurs when you log on or log off the network, depending on the settings you’ve chosen on the Offline Files tab of the Folder Options dialog box. If you’ve turned off both automatic synchronization options, you can manually synchronize a file or folder at any time by right-clicking the file or folder and then choosing Synchronize. When you synchronize offline files to the network computer, there are four basic actions that can occur.

●If you have not made any changes to the file since it was cached on your system, Windows will check the server copy for updates. If there are updates on the server, those updates are copied to your computer. If the network version hasn’t changed, nothing happens.

●If you have made changes to the offline file, the file needs to be synchronized with the network copy. If no changes were made to the network version, your changes are written to the network copy so that the network has the latest version. If you connect to the network and access an online file before offline files have been synchronized, you’ll see a yellow warning icon (on the files and on the Offline Files tray icon), which indicates that you are working on the file’s associated network share without having synchronized changes from the local cache. If you click the Offline Files tray icon, you’ll see the Offline Files Status dialog box shown in Figure 15-3 on the next page, which informs you that files need to be synchronized. If you set synchronization to occur automatically when you log on, you won’t see this message once the systems have been synchronized.

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