Hands on: Turn on to Offline Files

Choosing your offline files
Having configured the Offline Files settings, you start using it by browsing to a shared folder or individual file and right-clicking its icon. You should then see an item marked either Make available offline (XP) or Always available offline if using Vista.

The very first time you do this in XP an Offline Files wizard will normally be run, asking again how you want to synchronise your files, whether you want reminders and whether or not to create a desktop shortcut to the Offline Files folder.

If there are subfolders, you may also be asked if you want their contents to be made available offline.

Otherwise, Windows simply displays a message showing the progress of the synchronisation as the initial copies are created. Full copies are made at this point, so if there are lots of files or they’re particularly big, it could take a long time. Subsequent updates, however, should be a lot quicker as only the changes need to be replicated.

So that you know when you’ve configured a file or folder to be available offline, its icon will be changed to include a ‘roundtrip’ arrow in its lower left corner. Removing the option is just a matter of right-clicking and unchecking the ‘Make available offline option’ (XP) or ‘Always available offline’ if using Vista.
Thereafter it’s business as usual, with the selected files accessible in their usual locations whether connected to the network or not.

Managing offline files
There’s not much you have to do to keep on top of Offline Files. Most of the time synchronisation can be left to happen automatically, but it is possible to force an update by right-clicking the file or folder concerned and selecting Synchronize (or Sync in Vista). You may also be asked to arbitrate when conflicts arise, typically when the network share and local copies have both changed while disconnected. You’ll be asked how to resolve the situation, with the option of applying the same rule to all future conflicts.

Because Windows only ever copies over changes to and from the Offline Files store, the synchronisation process is usually pretty quick, however you may still want to minimise the time involved. In Windows XP this can be done using the Synchronization tool, which you’ll find on the Start, All Programs, Accessories menu. In Vista you’ll need to open the Sync Center, either from the taskbar, if it’s already running, otherwise you’ll normally find it in the Network and Internet folder in the Control Panel.

The options are much the same on both platforms. For example, you can force a manual sync or schedule synchronisation for specific times. Alternatively, it’s possible to sync only when the client system is idle and, on XP machines, there are facilities to synchronise files differently depending on the connection involved. So you could arrange for large files to be synchronised only when directly connected to the Lan and to update only small documents when attached remotely via a VPN connection.

Finally it’s worth noting that the Offline Files option is primarily driven and managed by software on the client PC. Nothing extra is needed at the network share end, so it can be used with any PC or server that supports the SMB/CIFS file-sharing protocols used by Windows. That includes Linux servers running open-source Samba and network-attached storage (Nas) appliances. But, if used with Windows shares, extra options are available, including the ability to stop particular files and folders being made available offline ­ typically, to prevent sensitive data being copied to local hard disks where it might be lost or stolen.

Possible Vista networking fix
I’ve had a number of emails from readers recently claiming that they’ve managed to overcome problems networking XP and Vista PCs together, simply by downloading and installing the LLTD Responder for XP.
The Responder can be downloaded free from the Microsoft website and adds support for a new protocol called Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD), used by Vista to build graphical network maps. However, it’s not essential and I’ve certainly been able to network XP and Vista machines, and share files and printers in both directions, without it.

Neither have I been able to check out the claims that it also ‘fixes’ interoperability problems - principally because I haven’t been able to reproduce the problems in the first place. I’ve also looked to see if these extra benefits have ascribed to it elsewhere, but haven’t found any reference to it doing more than adding support for LLTD, either on the Microsoft website or in any user forums.

That said, I have had several emails claiming the same miraculous networking cure. These all appeared to be from readers who had upgraded from XP to Vista rather than installing from scratch, so it could be that by installing the responder other networking settings not correctly modified during the upgrade procedure are reset.

Whatever the mechanism, it seems to have worked for a number of PCW readers, and is worth trying if you have interoperability problems. At best it could fix all your problems at a stroke. At worst you’ll still have them but be able to include Windows XP machines in Vista network maps.