Make a file or folder available offline

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To make a file or folder available offline

Open My Computer.
In My Computer, click the shared network file or folder that you want to make available offline.
On the File menu, click Make Available Offline.
Follow the steps in the Offline Files Wizard.

Important

Make Available Offline appears on the File menu only if your computer is set up to use Offline Files. For more information about setting up your computer to use Offline Files, see Related Topics.

Notes

To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
You can make individual files from a shared network folder, or an entire shared network folder, available offline. If an entire folder is made available offline, any files placed in that shared folder will automatically be made available offline the next time the computers are synchronized.
If a shortcut to a file is made available offline, that file is made available offline. If a shortcut to a folder is made available offline, the contents of that folder are not made available offline.
When the status of your network connection changes, an Offline Files icon appears in the notification area, and a reminder balloon appears over the icon to notify you of the change. If the reminder balloon notifies you that you are offline, you can continue to work with your files as you normally do, or you can click the Offline Files icon in the notification area for more information about the status of your connection.
When you open files on a shared folder marked for automatic caching, those files are automatically cached and become available to you when you are offline.
To stop making a file or folder available offline, right-click the item, and then click Make Available Offline to remove the check mark.

Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.