Offline Files also handles synchronization. It tries to keep the local folders up to date with the network folders. When you copy files manually, you need to sync the files periodically to ensure that the files you have on local machine are the latest. Offline files takes care of this automatically. And the whole thing is transparent from the user point of view. The files you used to access with UNC path ex: serversharefile1. So all the applications which access these network shares will continue to work without causing any issues with file paths.
It also handles synchronization from client to server. Suppose you modified files on your machine in disconnected mode. When you connect the machine to network, Offline Files copies the modified files to the network share.
Offline files can also identify synchronization conflicts in scenarios like some one else modifying the same files before you sync your changes.
The logic behind Offline Files is very simple. When we mark a folder for offline cache, Offline Files copies all the files from the network share and stores them on the local disk. When the machine is disconnected from the network, Offline Files detects it and forwards all file access requests to the local copy. I marked a folder servershare for offline cache.
I am connected to the network. Which one is used when I try to access serversharefile1. Server copy? Offline Files comes into picture only when the share is offline i.
So when you are online, all the file access requests go to the server as usual. We will also enable reminders and put a shortcut to the Offline Files folder on our desktop.
If the shared folder has automatic caching enabled, the files that we open on a share will be automatically copied to the cache on a local computer. With the Offline Files, the copy of a network file or folder is placed on a local system. Here we can see all files that are synced with shared folder. As we can see, in our case we have one file in the cache. Shared folder can also be configured with automatic caching. There is one file in that folder.
In our case we have simply opened that file and then close it. Because of Automatic sync feature, it was automatically synced with our offline files. Now we can work with that files even if we are not connected to the network. If we make changes while we are not connected to the network, files will be synced when we connect back. We can also manually sync files that we want. Here we can select which items we want to sync. Click Synchronize to sync files. We can also delete files from our cache to free up disk space.
To do that, just right click a file in the Offline Files Folder and select Delete. When we delete a file from our cache, the file on the network remains intact.
We can also delete files using Folder Options. Go to Offline Files tab, and click Delete Files. Here we can choose from which shared folders we want to delete our cached files. We can choose to delete only temporary offline versions, or to delete both temporary and always available cached files. If this is the first time that you do this, the Offline Files wizard will allow you to set some extra configuration options.
If you selected a folder that contains subfolders, you will need to specify whether you want to include these as well. If you synchronize files in Windows XP like this, the files will appear as if they were online even when they are not actually available. You can access them the same way you usually do. If they are available via the network, you get the "live" copy; if they are not available, you get the offline copy.
An icon in the notification area will inform you if you are working offline. As soon as you connect your laptop to the network again, you need to synchronize your files. When both your local copy and the network copy of a file have changed, Windows will ask what you want to do. When only one of the copies has changed, it will overwrite the un-changed copy.
Another way of accessing your files in your office environment is by using remote control software. Windows XP has its own built-in remote access feature, called remote desktop RDP , but that is often limited when your office network uses a firewall. It works like a charm and passess through most firewalls, because it uses the standard http internet port to remotely access your pc.
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