Managing the Cache
Windows maintains a system folder that lists all the server-based files you’ve made available to yourself for offline use. The Offline Files folder, shown in Figure 15-8, also includes information about the synchronization status of each file, the permissions associated with each file, the location of each file’s server counterpart, whether the server is currently online or offline, and so on. Files that are stored on servers set for manual caching (see "Setting Caching Options on the Server," are identified as Always Available Offline. Those that reside on shares set for automatic caching are identified as Temporarily Available Offline. You can launch a cached item (open a document in its parent application, for example) by double-clicking it in the Offline Files folder.

Figure 15-8. The Offline Files folder shows the status of each offline file.
tip
If you don’t have a desktop shortcut for the Offline Files folder, you can get to it by choosing Tools, Folder Options in Windows Explorer. Click the Offline Files tab and then click View Files.
Increasing or Decreasing the Maximum Cache Size
By default, Windows prevents the cache size from exceeding 10 percent of the size of the partition on which Windows is installed. You can increase or decrease that amount by dragging the slider on the Offline Files tab of the Folder Options dialog box (shown in Figure 15-1). You cannot move or extend the cache to another partition, however.
Deleting Files from the Cache
When you no longer need offline access to a network resource, return to that resource in My Computer or My Network Places, right-click the item in question, and clear Make Available Offline. If the share involved is set for manual caching (see "Setting Caching Options on the Server," Windows purges the items from your cache in addition to turning off offline access. If the share is set for automatic caching, items that are currently in the cache remain there. To delete them, choose Tools, Options in Windows Explorer and then click the Offline Files tab. In the Folder Options dialog box (shown in Figure 15-1), click Delete Files. Then select the shares whose items you want to delete.