Changing the Amount of Disk Space Used by Offline Files
I mentioned earlier that
you want to be a bit careful about the amount of data you choose to work
with offline because synchronizing large amounts of data can take quite
a while, and each offline file and folder takes up some disk space on
your own computer. Fortunately, just in case you go overboard, Windows 7
puts a limit on the amount of disk space that it uses for both the
offline files themselves and for temporary offline files. (Temporary
offline files are local copies of network files that you’ve used
recently. Windows 7 keeps these files cached automatically so that you
can use them offline if you need them.)
The default limits on the
disk space used by offline files and temporary offline files imposed by
Windows 7 depend on the size of your hard drive and the amount of free
space on that drive. (More specifically, it depends on the size and free
space of the hard drive where Windows 7 is installed.) In general, the
larger the hard drive and the more free space it has, the greater the
percentage of disk space that Windows 7 sets aside for offline data. The
usual limits are between 10% and 24% of the total disk space. For
example, on a 15GB drive, if Windows 7 sets a limit of 10% of total disk
space, you have 1.5GB available for both types of offline files.
Similarly, on a 190GB drive, if Windows 7 sets a limit of about 24% of
total disk space, you have 50GB available for both types of offline
files.
You can check your current
limits, and optionally adjust them if you find them to be too high or
too low, by following these steps:
1. | Select Start, type offline, and then select Manage Offline Files in the search results. Windows 7 opens the Offline Files dialog box.
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2. | Display the Disk Usage tab. As shown in Figure 3,
this tab tells you the amount of disk space you’re currently using for
offline files and for the offline files cache, and it also tells you the
current limits for both types.
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3. | Click Change Limits. The User Account Control dialog box appears.
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4. | Enter your User Account Control (UAC) credentials. The Offline Files Disk Usage Limits dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 4.
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5. | Use the Maximum Amount of Space All Offline Files Can Use slider to set the limit for offline files.
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6. | Use the Maximum Amount of Space Temporary Offline Files Can Use slider to set the limit for the offline files cache.
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7. | Click OK to return to the Offline Files dialog box.
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8. | Click OK. |
