How Do I Sync Microsoft Offline Files?

Enabling and syncing Microsoft offline files

Microsoft's Offline Files feature, available in the Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions of Windows, allows you to access network files even without an internet connection.

Step 1: Enable the offline files feature

1. Open the Control Panel. The easiest way is to press Win + R, type control, and press Enter.
2. Switch the view to Large icons or Small icons from the "View by" dropdown menu.
3. Select Sync Center.
4. In the left pane, click Manage offline files.
5. Click the Enable offline files button.
6. You will be prompted to restart your computer. You must restart for the changes to take effect.

Step 2: Make network files available offline

After enabling the feature and restarting your computer, you can select which files and folders to make available offline.

1. Open File Explorer and navigate to the shared network folder you want to sync.
2. Right-click on the specific file or folder.
3. From the context menu, select Always available offline.
4. The files will begin to sync to your computer, and a small sync icon will appear on the folder.

Step 3: Manually sync offline files

While offline files automatically sync whenever you reconnect to the network, you can force a manual sync at any time.

Sync from Sync Center

1. Open Sync Center from the Control Panel.
2. Click View sync partnerships on the left.
3. In the main window, right-click on the Offline Files partnership and select Sync > Sync selected offline files.

Sync from File Explorer

1. Open File Explorer and find your network location.
2. Right-click on the specific folder or file that has been made "always available offline".
3. Select Sync > Sync selected offline files.

Step 4: Schedule automatic synchronization

To ensure your offline copies are always up to date, you can create a custom sync schedule.

1. Open Sync Center from the Control Panel.
2. Click View sync partnerships on the left.
3. Select the Offline Files partnership and click the Schedule button on the toolbar.
4. Follow the wizard to create a new sync schedule. You can set the sync to run at a specific time or trigger it when an event occurs, such as a user logging on or off.

Step 5: Resolve sync conflicts

Conflicts can occur if a file is modified both on your offline copy and on the network server. The Sync Center will notify you of any conflicts.

1. Open Sync Center from the Control Panel.
2. Click View sync conflicts in the left pane.
3. The Sync Center will show a list of conflicting files.
4. Right-click on a conflicted file and click Resolve. You will be given a choice to keep your version, keep the server's version, or keep both.

Advanced synchronization configurations

• Always Offline Mode: For users with slow or unreliable network connections, you can force a computer to always work in offline mode, even when connected to the network. This is configured via Group Policy by enabling the "Configure slow-link mode" policy and setting the latency to 1 millisecond.
• Background Sync on Metered Networks: By default, Windows does not perform background synchronization over metered networks (e.g., cellular data). You can override this in Group Policy under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > Offline Files by enabling the Enable file synchronization on costed networks policy.

Troubleshooting common offline files issues

• Synchronization fails or is pending:
  • Ensure your network connection is active and stable.
  • Check for any antivirus or third-party sync software that might be interfering with Sync Center.
  • Reinitialize the offline files cache. This is a more drastic step and may require administrator privileges.
• Missing "Always available offline" option:
  • Ensure the Offline Files feature is enabled in Sync Center and you have restarted your computer.
  • Confirm your network storage device is not blocking offline file support.
• Cannot access network files when online:
  • If you can only see offline files when connected, you may be stuck in "Work Offline" mode. Go to the network location in File Explorer, find the Easy access menu in the ribbon, and uncheck Work offline.