About Offline Files In Windows Vista/Windows 7:
Offline Files is a very useful feature in Windows operating systems including Windows Vista and Windows 7.This maintains a local cache of remote files and folders on your Windows computer, so that they are available to you when you are working offline, improving the experience for mobile (laptop) users.You continue to access these files in the same way that you accessed them when you were online because the shared network resource paths and name spaces are preserved.When your network connection is restored, any changes that you made while working offline are updated to the network by default.
Now, with Microsoft’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 operating systems, there is a button right in the Explorer tool bar called “Work Offline” that automatically forces the transition to offline mode.When you click that button again, it changes from “Work Offline” to “Work Online” so that you can force the transition back.
Because of security reasons, it is better to disable offline folders in your network or simply to avoid the problems that will inevitably crop up when users try to take advantage of offline folders.This feature sometimes cause a large delay in logon process in Windows Vista or in Windows 7.
Prevent use of Offline Files in Windows Vista or in Windows 7:
- Click on Windows Vista/Windows 7 Start menu button and type gpedit.msc in the search box and press Enter key.
- In the Local Group Policy Editor click to expand the folder
Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\Offline Files
- Settings as follows:
Allow or disallow use of offline files feature: Disabled
Prohibit user config: Enabled
Sync all offline files when logging on: Disabled
Sync all offline files before logging off: Disabled
Sync offline files before suspend: Disabled
Remove ‘Make offline’: Enabled
Prevent use of Offline Files folder: Enabled
- Click Apply and then OK button.
- Close Local Group Policy Editor window and restart your computer.
Note:
- Offline files, available only in Windows Vista Business and Enterprise editions.
- The Offline files feature is similar to Folder Redirection (FR), currently available within Windows XP.
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October 16th, 2009 at 6:19 am
This is wrong. This setting only prevents the user from viewing the offline files, it does not turn off the feature. It still allows files to be cached, you just can’t view them. What you want to do is set “Allow or Disallow use of the Offline Files Feature” to Disabled. This effectively turns off Offline Files and prevents caching of anything.
October 28th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
I notice all the Offline File policies are supported on: “Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and windows 2000 operating systems only”. I am using Windows 7 RSAT. Is this an M$ oversight in updating the “Supported on” value or will they not work on Windows 7?
Thanks