Folder Redirection (Additional Laptop Info)

Transcription

1 Folder Redirection (Additional Laptop Info) Folder Redirection (Additional Laptop Info) Griffith has implemented a "Folder Redirection" data management solution for all standard staff Windows 10 personal computers. Laptop computers have an additional related feature called Offline Files enabled. The purpose of this document is to provide some additional information for laptop users about interacting with this Offline Files feature. What does the Offline Files feature do? When your laptop isn t connected to the Griffith network, your redirected folders will continue to be available offline. This is possible because the optional "Offline Files" feature is enabled and will maintain a cached copy of all redirected content on the local hard drive. Your computer will automatically synchronise any changes made while offline to the network storage when the computer is next connected to the Griffith network. When connected to the Griffith network (including wireless & VPN), changes to your files and folders will be immediately synchronised. This synchronisation is invisible and will happen in the background, unless a sync problem has occurred. When Offline Files is enabled on a computer the following additional icons and notifications are displayed within Windows File Explorer. Figure 1: Indicators that Offline Files is enabled Griffith University 2017 Apart from fair dealing as permitted by the copyright law of your country, this work may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-profit educational use, provided correct attribution is given. Abstracting with credit is permitted. Other uses should be discussed with the copyright owner. Information Services 11 April CRICOS No E

2 Default Offline Files synchronisation behaviour Like most sync products the most recent change will be the one automatically applied to both the network and local location. This includes delete actions. This isn t normally an issue if you only use only one computer. However if you interact with the same files from a number of different computers it is important to be mindful of the possible impacts of this behaviour. File types incompatible with Offline Files Some types of files are not compatible for use with the Offline Files feature. These are deliberately blocked from being created or moved into redirected folders..mdb and.accdb (Microsoft Access Database).pst (Microsoft Outlook Archive Files).vdi,.vmdk,.vhd,.vmcx,.hdd (Virtual Machines).gho,.ghs,.wim (Disk Images) When an incompatible files is blocked by Windows a message similar to the following is displayed Figure 2: Offline Files incompatible file notification Blocked files will need to be stored in another location on the computer. The recommended location for this content is usually C:\Users\your_username\MyLocalData (e.g. c:\users\s \mylocaldata)

3 What is the Sync Center application? The Sync Center application manages synchronization of the local Offline Files cache with the instance on the network. It will be available only when the Offline Files is enabled. The Sync Center application can accessed from the System Tray in the bottom right section of the Windows desktop. Double click on the Sync Center icon to open the sync center application Figure 3: Sync Center Icon on Taskbar How do I manually trigger an immediate sync? You can use Sync Center to immediately synchronise your data while connected to the Griffith network. Open the Sync Center and click the 'Sync' button. Figure 4: Trigger an immediate sync using Sync Center

4 How will I be notified about sync problems? Synchronisation conflicts arise most often when you use multiple computers to interact with the same data. If the Sync Center has encountered a sync issue, the taskbar icon will change to show either a small, yellow exclamation mark or a red cross. Figure 5: Sync issue indication on Sync Center taskbar icon A yellow exclamation mark indicates a typical sync file version confirmation you can usually address yourself. A red cross may indicate a more serious problem. However, a reboot of the PC will often sort out this condition. If it continues, assistance from IT Service Centre may be required. Open the Sync Centre. It will display a message with the number of issues that need to be resolved. Click the number of conflicts link to open a list of files with sync problems. Figure 5: Sync issue indication on Sync Center taskbar icon Click on each item in the list and click on the RESOLVE button for options. Figure 6: Using the Resolve button within Sync Center

5 What are some common causes of sync problems? Sychronisation conflicts may occur when you use multiple computers to interact with the same data. Scenario 1: Conflict when a file deleted on one workstation and updated from another since last sync You will be provided with the following options in this situation Scenario 2: Both the online & offline versions of the same file have been updated since last sync It is usually the newer version of the file you should keep. If you are unsure you can select Keep both versions. Additional information Staff Windows 10 IT Support Webpage Related Document Folder Redirection Prepared by: Personal Tech Development Team Last modified: 11/4/2017