Setting Caching Options on the Server

All discussion of the behavior of offline files and folders so far in this chapter has assumed that the caching property of each network share accessed for offline work is set at its default value. This value, called Manual Caching Of Documents, is one of three possible settings. To adjust the caching property, do the following on the server computer:

1. Type%systemroot%\system32\fsmgmt.msc at a command prompt. This runs the Shared Folders management console.

2. In the console tree (the left pane), select Shares.

3. In the details pane (the right pane), right-click the share whose property you want to set and then choose Properties.

4. On the General tab of the properties dialog box, click Caching. The Caching Settings dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 15-4.

   
   

   Figure 15-4. You can use this dialog box to control caching behavior for a network share.
   

note

The Properties dialog box for a shared folder is not available if you’re using Simple File Sharing. To turn Simple File Sharing off, choose Tools, Folder Options in Windows Explorer. On the View tab, clear Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended). For more information about Simple File Sharing, see "Simple File Sharing vs. Windows 2000–Style Sharing."

The default setting, Manual Caching Of Documents, stipulates that only those files and folders explicitly marked Make Available Offline are cached. When you choose Make Available Offline on the client computer, you are guaranteed that the selected item will be available offline. This is the setting you want to use when you take work out of the office on a portable computer.

Disabling Automatic Caching on Particular Computers

If you use automatic caching as a means of maintaining continuity in an environment where network connections are sometimes broken, you can disable this functionality on particular client computers. You might want to do this, for example, if a particular user needs to know when the network is down. Follow these steps to disable automatic caching on a client:

1. Choose Tools, Options in Windows Explorer.

2. On the Offline Files tab, click Advanced.

3. In the Offline Files – Advanced Settings dialog box, select Never Allow My Computer To Go Offline.

   Alternatively, in this same dialog box, you can disable offline work only when connections to particular servers are broken.

4. Select the option Notify Me And Begin Working Offline, and then add particular servers to the exception list.

5. Add specific servers by clicking Add to open the Add Custom Action dialog box.

6. Type or browse to the name of each computer you do not want to cache for offline work and select the option Never Allow My Computer To Go Offline.

The alternative settings for the caching property are Automatic Caching Of Documents and Automatic Caching Of Programs.

Using Automatic Caching Of Documents

When Automatic Caching Of Documents is selected, Windows caches a server-based file or folder automatically as soon as you access it from the client computer. When you open a cached document from a client computer, the cached copy is used, but the original document on the server is also opened to prevent other people from changing the file while you have it open.

Because it doesn’t require the separate step of copying a server resource into your cache, automatic caching is more convenient and easier to use than the default manual caching. On the other hand, with automatic caching, Windows doesn’t guarantee that your server resources remain in the cache. How long they stay there, in fact, depends on usage. As the amount of disk space you’ve allocated to the cache is consumed, Windows discards any documents that have not been used recently to make room for newer ones.

Using Automatic Caching Of Programs

You can use the Automatic Caching Of Programs setting for folders that contain programs and documents that are read but not changed. (In fact, you should restrict permissions on such folders to read-only.) Automatic caching of programs can speed upaccess to programs and documents, because after a file is cached, your system does not have to retrieve it from the server again; only the local copy is opened.

Turning Off Caching for a Specific Share

You can turn the offline files feature off on a per-share basis. To disable caching for a share, clear Allow Caching Of Files In This Shared Folder, in the Caching Settings dialog box (see Figure 15-4).