These are network files or folders that Windows 7 has copied to a
special folder on your computer. When you disconnect from the
network—that is, when you go offline—the
files and folders remain on your computer, so you can view and even
edit the files any time you like. When you reconnect to the network—that
is, when you go online—you can synchronize your offline files with the
network originals.
Activating the Offline Files Feature
Most
Windows 7 systems should have offline files enabled by default.
However, it’s a good idea to check to make sure that your system has
them enabled. Here are the steps to follow:
1. | Select Start, type offline, and then select Manage Offline Files in the search results. Windows 7 opens the Offline Files dialog box, shown in Figure 1.
|
2. | Click
the Enable Offline Files button. (If you see the Disable Offline Files
button instead, offline files are enabled, so click Cancel.)
|
3. | Click OK. Windows 7 prompts you to restart your computer to put the new setting into effect.
|
4. | Click Yes. Windows 7 restarts your computer.
|
Making a File or Folder Available for Offline Use
With the Offline Files
feature turned on, you’re ready to make network files or folders
available offline. First, decide what data you need to take with you.
Remember that the more files you make available offline, the longer it
will take to synchronize everything later, and the more disk space the
files will take up on your system. (Note, however, that Windows 7 places
a ceiling the amount of disk space that offline files can use; see “Changing the Amount of Disk Space Used By Offline Files,” next.)
When you’ve decided which files and folders you want to use offline, follow these steps to set them up for offline use:
1. | Use Windows Explorer to open the folder that contains the shared network files or folders that you want to use offline.
|
2. | Select the files or folders you want to use offline.
|
3. | Right-click any selected item, and click Always Available Offline.
Tip
If your right mouse button doesn’t work, press Alt to display the menu bar, and then select File, Always Available Offline.
|
4. | Windows
7 synchronizes the files or folders for offline use. While the initial
synchronization occurs, Windows 7 displays the Always Available Offline
dialog box. If you’re using quite a few files offline, the
synchronization might take a long time. If so, click Close to hide the
Always Available Offline dialog box.
|
When you make a file or folder available offline, Windows 7 changes the object’s Offline Availability property to Always Available, and it adds the Sync Center icon to the object’s regular icon, as shown in Figure 2. Note, too, the Sync button in the Task pane, which enables you to quick synchronize an offline file or folder; see “Synchronizing Your Offline Files,” later in this chapter.
When the initial synchronization finishes, you can disconnect from the network and work with the files offline.
Tip
A quick way to disconnect is to open a folder set up for offline use and then click Work Offline in the Task pane.
