Bates College: ILS: Helpsheets: Windows My Documents Network Backup

ILS: HELPSHEETS: ENABLING WINDOWS MY DOCUMENTS SYNCHRONIZATION

Enabling Offline File Synchronization for My Documents Folder

PLATFORMS

OPERATING SYSTEM

APPLICATION

Windows

Offline File Synchronization

Most Windows applications default to storing a user’s documents and data within the My Documents folder, which is located on the local hard disk. This presents a problem when the hard drive fails, and all of the user’s documents are lost.

Enabling the Offline File Synchronization program solves the problem by telling Windows that it should keep a copy of each document on the local hard drive as well as secured network storage. If the computer is removed from the Bates network, Windows continues to allow the user to work on the local copy of the documents. When the computer is reconnected to the network, Windows will synchronize the files with those in the network storage.

Note: By default Offline File Synchronization is turned on for an individual folder, and covers all of the files and folders contained in it. Permissions are set for the user to access the file only, not shared. We do not want to copy the entire My Documents folder to the network because it often contains personal files that we do not want to store on the network. We're going to create a folder called Bates Work, within the My Documents folder and all Bates work will then be stored there.

Please contact Help Desk Services, x8222, AOL IM = bateshelpdsk1855 with any questions or concerns about these instructions.

Create a folder called Bates Work and turn on Offline File Synchronization:

The goal is to create a Bates Work folder on a network share, the path will look like this, [substituting your Bates username at the end] ex: \\mexico\Backups\username
To create this folder:

Click on Start button
Choose run
Type in \\mexico
Double click on Backups folder
Double click MakeMyFolder icon
A folder will appear in the window labeled with your username
Double click to open that folder
Right click, choose new, folder, and label it Bates Work

Right click on Bates Work, and then click:
“Make Available Offline”. The Offline Files Wizard should launch.
Click Next.

Make sure that there is a check next to:
“Automatically synchronize the Offline Files when I log on and log off my computer”.
Click Next.

Make sure that there is a check next to Enable reminders.

Make sure that there is no check next to Create a shortcut to the Offlines Files folder on my desktop.

Click Finish.

At this point, the icon for Bates Work should have changed to include
two small blue arrows, arrows which indicates that Offline Synchronization is enabled.

test

Create a shortcut to Bates Work within our My Documents folder:

Right click on your Bates Work folder, and select Copy.

Open your My Documents folder.

Right click within My Documents, and select Paste Shortcut. A new file called Shortcut to Bates Work should appear. Rename the shortcut Bates Work.

Next, we need to adjust some of the Synchronization properties:

While the My Documents folder is still open, click on Tools, which is located in the menu bar. Then click on Synchronize… The “Items to Synchronize” window appears.

Click on Setup

A window with three tabs should appear. The first tab is labeled Logon/Logoff. Make sure that there are checks next to “When I log on…” and “When I log off…”.

Click on the On Idle tab. Under Offline Files, make sure the box is selected next to the pathname for your network share, and next to Synchronize the selected items while my computer is idle.

Click on Advanced.
Enter appropriate values for how often Windows synchronizes your computer when it is idle.

Click OK until you are back in the “Items to Synchronize” window. Click Close.

Now you should move your Bates files and directories into your Bates Work folder. By default, Windows will recognize that you are copying your files and directories to a different hard disk. You will therefore have another copy of your files. After you have verified that the files have been copied to their new location, you should delete the originals.

Please remember that you should not use your Bates Work folder for storing personal files, or media. Access databases will not synch successfully to the network in this manner.

Please also consult the Frequently Asked Questions concerning Windows File Synchronization Process.