What's New in Offline Files for Windows Vista

Based on customer feedback, the Offline Files feature has been redesigned for Windows Vista®, and it utilizes many of the improvement available in this version of the Windows operating system.
This document describes some of the functionalities of and changes to Offline Files in Windows Vista. It is intended for general users of Offline Files and system administrators.

What does Offline Files do?


Before the introduction of Offline Files, Windows users could access files available on a shared network resource only when connected to the network. By using Offline Files, Windows users can access files that are available on a shared network resource and continue to work with network files when the computer is not connected to the network.

Offline Files maintains a local cache of remote files and folders on your computer, so that they are available to you when you are working offline. 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 namespaces are preserved.

When your network connection is restored, any changes that you made while working offline are updated to the network by default. If you and someone else on the network have made changes to the same file, you have the option of saving your version of the file to the network, the other user's version, or both.

Who does Offline Files benefit?
Offline Files is useful for:

All Windows Vista users who want to be able to continue to access network files if there is a network outage.
Mobile users who need to access network files while working offline.
Backup administrators who want to centralize data backups from client computers.
Network administrators who want to enhance the experience of users in branch offices who access files and folders hosted by servers on the corporate network.
What new functionality is provided by Offline Files in Windows Vista?

Offline Files has been completely redesigned for Windows Vista, offering a set of new functionalities, which include:

· Better defined modes of operation
· Seamless offline to online transitions
· Optimized file synchronization
· Improved slow-link mode
· Consistent namespaces
· Cache size management
· Per-user encryption
· Scriptable API support

To know more about the new exicting features visit -
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc749449(WS.10).aspx