Offline file attributes for Windows Server 2008

Offline files, as an attribute reserved in Windows Server 2008, are used to ensure that users can normally access files in a remote network shared folder when disconnected from the network. The user's computer caches the files on the server and stores them locally. Once the functionality of the offline file is configured to be enabled, the concept of cached files will be completely transparent to the user, for example, if the user wants to access a file in a shared folder named: MyShare on the Filesrv server, then he can go through a UNC path \\Filesrv\ Myshare\path\to\my\file to visit. Then, when the user tries to access the file through the same UNC path without connecting to the network, the file is opened as usual.

With offline files, you can continue to use network files and programs even if you are not connected to the network. If you disconnect from the network or remove a portable computer, a view of shared network resources that you specify to be available offline will be exactly the same as if you were previously connected to the network. Users can continue to work as usual. Access to these files and folders is identical to the previous connection to the network. When the connection state changes, the Offline Files icon appears in the notification area, and a balloon is displayed in the notification area to notify the user of the change.

When a network connection resumes or plugs into a portable computer, all changes made by the user when offline are updated to the network by default. When users and others on the network make changes to the same file, users can choose to save their version of the file to the network, keep the other version, or save the two versions. Any user modification to a file while offline will be synchronized back to the server after the network connection is restored. The Offline Files feature is especially useful for people who work with laptops and those who travel frequently, or where the office network is unstable. Offline files are cached on the user's local computer to make it easy for users to do their work uninterrupted, and when the network is connected, all the information is automatically synchronized to the server.