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We have a user who is using large files. Instead of working on the network he is copying the files to his local machine for better performance. This isn't ideal as it's an error-prone manual process to keep the documents synced.

I have been looking into the Windows 7 Offline Files feature. I found how to make a folder available offline and then tell Windows to work offline in that folder. The problem is that Windows then treats the whole of the root DFS share as offline; sibling folders of the offline folders are showing a grey X folder icon. Sibling folders to the parent folder (f the offline folder don't show up at all.

I would like to be able to make one specific folder available offline and work in offline mode for that folder, but not every other folder on the same DFS share. Any ideas how, or if this is even possible?

I say Reinstate Monica
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leinad13
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2 Answers2

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If working Offline it will treat the whole DFS share as offline, there is no way to bypass this. If slow-link mode is causing the issue you can disable this in Group Policy.

In order to disable slow link mode for a specific folder in Group Policy:

Open gpedit.msc (for locally managing it) or the Group Policy MMC for your domain with a Domain Administrator / Account with permissions to edit Group Policy Objects. Make sure to set the policy in an object that affects the user.

Go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > Offline Files.

Double-click the setting "Configure slow-link mode" > Pick Enabled > In the UNC Paths field you need to enter value for DFS share and MS example:

    Value Name                                    Value

\\Servername\share\folder\folder2                 10000
EntMobSec
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Create a separate share on the server for the folder that contains the data your user needs to work with offline, then map a drive directly to that share. This will bypass the DFS root and enable the user to make that folder available offline without impacting the other folders in the DFS root.

Another option would be to create a separate DFS root for the folder in question. This would be the necessary solution if you are using DFS namespaces and/or replication and need to use these features with this folder.

I say Reinstate Monica
  • 26,651