A feature that lets you continue working with shared network resources after you disconnect from the network. Shared files and folders from any computer that supports SMB-based file and print sharing (such as Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows NT 4, Windows 98, and Windows 95) can be made available for offline use by Windows 2000 clients.
Windows 2000 clients that are configured to use offline folders can cache the network resources in a local folder. When disconnected from the network, the client can continue working normally on the cached files. The client can then synchronize the contents of the cache with the network share when the connection is restored.
To enable offline file support on a computer running Windows 2000, open My Computer and choose Folder Options from the Tools menu. Select the Offline Files tab and check Enable Offline Files.
Specify synchronization options, a cache size, and additional advanced options. To make a share on the network available for offline use, select the share in My Computer (where it might appear as a mapped network drive) or My Network Places (where it will appear as a network share) and choose Make Available Offline from the File menu. The contents of the network share will be copied to the local computer’s cache in a process known as synchronizing. You can specify additional synchronization settings by selecting Settings in the Synchronizing dialog box.
Graphic O-1. Synchronizing with a network share using Offline Files in Windows 2000.