Hi @ all, I have synchronised a folder to make it available while being offline. When I am in online mode I want to read the files directly from the server and not like set in the standard from the local cache. Is there a way to force Windows 7 to read the files directly from the Server instead of the local cache when being in online mode? BR Marcus

Hi Marcus, When the computer is on the network, it is able to access the files on the remote file server. I would like to check if you met a synchronization issue, such as when it is in online mode, it will not synchronize. If this is the case, please just try to synchronize manually in Sync Center. More information: Understanding offline files What's New in Offline Files How the synchronization in Windows 7 Offline Files works Regards, Sabrina TechNet Subscriber Support in forum. If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tngfb@microsoft.com This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees, and confers no rights. |Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Hi Sabrina, thanks for your reply. I already read these articles before I posted. In another article I found the following table Table 1 Where access requests are satisfied for each mode of operation Mode Open or create file Read from file Write to file Browse folder Online Server Local cache (if in sync with server) Server and cache Server Auto offline Local cache Local cache Local cache Local cache Manual offline Local cache Local cache Local cache Local cache Slow-link Local cache Local cache Local cache Local cache My question refers to the underlined behaviour. Is there a way to change that behaviour to force "read from file" to be done from the server instead of the local cache? Regards Marcus

Hi Marcus, I'm having exactly the same issue. When my Laptops are online, they don't seem to be using the SERVER versions of the files. No sync problems. I want to be able to FORCE the Laptop to use the SERVER VERSIONS ALWAYS, unless the server is categorically offline (Like it used to work in XP Pro). Then I will sync up OFFLINE cache at a schedule OR log on/off. I'm finding that within my office of 8 Laptops, many of the laptops can connect and edit files without them even checking to see if the files are locked for editing, or worse still are seeing outdated versions of the files on the server! In my opinion, unacceptable behaviour for offline file use. Please help as this problem has been unfixed since the release of Vista. The way the sync should work SHOULD be as below: Table 1 Where access requests are satisfied for each mode of operation Mode Open or create file Read from file Write to file Browse folder Online Server SERVER Server and cache Server Auto offline Local cache Local cache Local cache Local cache Manual offline Local cache Local cache Local cache Local cache Slow-link Local cache Local cache Local cache Local cache To be honest, I don't even care if when it writes the file, it doesn't write the cache. The users sync the cache at log on/off anyway. Thanks, Marty

I think you misunderstande about the loacl cache. In fect we always use the local cache to display on the client, even in online mode, in writing the file. The syn needs time and bandwide to finish. So the system first get the data from the serve to the local cache to display, if you want work offline, the system could store the local cache. When you write a file, also in this way. The only different is that, when you write a online file, in online mode, the server will protect that file, and other one could not edit it, it looks like you access the file on the server directly. But it still work on you local cache. After you open a online file on the server, in every second, there are chance, someone had modify the date in that file. So if you want the data you read is just in time, you need update the data all the time. Its means, you network will be crashed immidiatly. I think to set a short syn time, make the syn more frequently is the best way for you.

Hi Reditalo, thanks for your post. We don't misunderstand anything about the local cache. What we want is to read from the SERVER when we are online and NOT from the local cache. We know that it takes time and bandwidth (which shouldn't be an issue being on a Gbit-Network and file sizes about 50 KB), but, let me repeat, when being online we actually want to work completely online on the SERVER and not in the OFFLINE file cache. Why should we work in the offline file cache when we actually are online? I understand that bandwidth considerations explain it, but as I mentioned I don't care about bandwidth. Just give us a possibility to work like in Windows XP where it all worked fine... (And no, the solution to install an old OS is not what I intend to do unless MS tells me there is no other way...) Regards Marcus

hi Marcus: I do not think, the ms will let it happen. They will not allow you to read the serve directly instand of the local cache. If they do so, after you enable the syn. There have some chance, that the data in local cache and the serve maybe in different version. After you enable the syn, The only safe way is ,frist read data from the server to the local cache, then display the data in the local cache. And in auto cache mode, the MS seems just update the cache once at you opening the file. So its seems after you open the file, the data should syn with the server. and after that, any modify about the file, will not display on the client. I do not know what kinds of the no syn, you are. If in auto cache and online mode, when you open the file, is not the same in the server. I guess maybe something wrong about the network. maybe the computer did not detect the network at very time. I find that, in win7 ,the system detect the network more slowly than in winxp.

Hi Reditalo, Why was it possible in Windows XP? The application spectrum of offline files is large and there are many situations in which it makes perfectly sense to access files directly from the server instead of the local cache. e.g. There is a group of salesman sharing a folder with marketing containing presentations. A salesman happens to be in the office. His files will be synchronized at logon. During the day a marketing person makes a change to a presentation. 10 Minutes later the salesman wants to make a change to the same presentation. Instead of modifying the new version of it he opens the version from his local cache which is OUTDATED! He makes the changes without knowing that he works with an outdated file. Not until he saves the file he knows that there is a synchronisation conflict. If he'd worked on the server, there wouldn't be a conflict at all. And when he leaves the office the files are synchronised again. But anyway. I don't want to discuss if it makes sense or not. For me in my environment, and obviously for WKDMarty it makes perfect sense to work ONLINE on the server when being in online mode. And until Windiows Vista it seemed to make sense for MS as well. And performance issues are quite a lame excuse given the actual network speeds. So let me get back to my question: (And I would appreciate if MS would take time and answer it, since nothing in that thread came from MS after the initial post about reading some articles which definitely do NOT answer my question) Is there a way to change the behaviour of reading synchronised files from the server instead of the local cache when being in online mode? (Tweaking the registry?) Regards Marcus

Hello Marcus, Short of disabling offline files, No, we don't have a "always read the network share version". However, we check versioning so it should read the network version if you are online if that file is a newer version than the one in your cache. You are describing a scenario that should be caught by Sync Center and prompt the user for a version conflict decision: A sync conflict occurs when Sync Center can't reconcile differences between a file stored in one location and a version of the same file in another location, thereby stopping sync from being completed. This usually happens when a file has changed in both locations since its last sync, making it difficult to determine which changes to save. Sync Center will ask which version should be left unchanged (kept as the master copy) and which version should be updated. Selecting one version to sync with will resolve the conflict. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Resolving-sync-conflicts-frequently-asked-questions If you can reproduce your scenario and cause data loss, we would recommend opening a support case for further investigation as it would be considered to be improper behavior. Best Regards, Pat

I'm trying to figure out if I have the issue described here... Since upgrading my PC to Windows 7, (most others here are on XP) I have problems working with server files. I am [always] online, so always want to be working directly with the files on the server. I shouldn't need to be synchronizing at all. I have shortcuts to a couple of files on my desktop. The shortcuts APPEAR to map directly to the files on the server, yet they open something DIFFERENT than what's on a server - I'm assuming it's a file has been saved to my local cache. And the changes I make aren't saved to the server. When I save the file, it simply shows up in my Sync Center as a conflict - and I would never know this if I didn't check out the Sync Center from time to time. No error messages ever pop up. Major nightmare - everyone else is working with a different version of the file than I am! It seems the only way I can update the file on the server (rather than just the file on my local cache) is to go to the Sync Center and resolve Sync Conflicts to use the file on my PC. And that's dangerous, because I don't know what changes others might have made to the file... So: why is the conflict being created in the first place? I DON'T want a LOCAL version of the file! This is majorly confusing to me - never had this problem with XP...

Hi Marcus, I ran into similar issues at my organization and what I found was that the file was being read from the offline cache when I was wireless and it looked at the server version when it was connected via ethernet. I see that you have mentioned that you have a gigabit backbone so I am not sure if you are actually running via ethernet or wireless. At any rate, atleast what I found was that by going to Control Panel, the Sync Center, Manage Offline Files, Network and by changing that to 1 minute, I was able to wait for about 1-2 minutes and the network share ( it was a network share that I had made available offline) was live and not using the local cache. Not sure if this helps. Also for some users who could not wait that 1-2 minutes, we disabled offline files and used a program called Allway Sync. It is free and it seems to be working really well. It is very granular in what it does. http://www.allwaysync.com/

Hi Jane, You can simply disable offline files from the sync center and it will not create a local copy. Be sure to restart your computer for the disable of offline files to become active.

Hi Sorry this may be a bit late but I had a client with the same issue. They made files availble offline in their local office and then went to a branch office which was connected via VPN over a slow ADSL link to work. When they arived at the branch office and started working on their PC with the offline files all was as expected. Unfortutnley they realised they had forgotton to make some key files avialble offline which they needed to access. Normally this should not be an issue as the server was reachable via the ADSL link but the issue was that they could not see the file as the Win7 workstation was in an offline mode (showing slow connection in the status window at the bottom of explorer) I discovered that in the exporer bar there is an icon which says "work online" and when I hit this they were able to see their unsyncronised file on the server and access it. To work offline again and gain all the speed benifits all the user has to do is hit the button again which now shows "work offline" and they are back to where they were. It seems that this would work for the user who has an issue on the "slow wireless link" or those that would like to read their files direct from the server instead of the local cache when offline files have been enabled. Hope this info helps someone Rgds Clive