Enable or Disable Offline Files in Windows 10 | Use it Correctly

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If you want to skip the basic knowledge about offline, directly go to the corresponding part. Syncing the network drive to the local drive through the offline files folder is complicated, so try an easier way.

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What are offline files in Windows?

The offline files are a part of Sync Center in Windows 10 and are used to keep copies always available offline on your computer of files stored on the network. You can work with them, even when your server is slow, not connected or unavailable.

All the data made offline are saved to the Offline Files folder and it's located in C:\windows\CSC folder if your system drive letter is C. You can see them at any time, but it's limited to this. By default, the network folders online-only are empty, with no files, if your computer is not connected to the network drive.

Besides enabling offline files in Sync Center and always available offline mode, your network files may also be offline in the following situations.

• The connected server is unavailable.

• The network connection is slower than a configurable threshold.

• Work offline mode is enabled in  File Explorer

Then, how to sync files with the offline files folder or Sync Center? The first thing is to enable offline files and activate the Offline Files folder. Then you can manage offline file disk usage, schedule sync them, etc. Please keep reading below to learn the detailed steps.

Part 1: enable or disable offline files in Windows 10

Before enabling offline files, please make some preparations in the following.

1. Create a shared folder to save all the network files and folders you want to sync. Remember the path of it. Usually, it consists of two backslashes and the IP address or hostname, followed by the shared folder.

2. Map the network drive to local computer. Thus, you can use it as a local drive just the other drive (eg: C:) currently on your computer.

If you don't know how to sync the network drive to the local drive, please follow the steps below:  

Open This PC and select Map network drive under the Computer tab. In the pop-up window, type the path of your shared folder and click Finish to complete this process.

Then, go to the mapped network drive, also called offline files folder or its subfolder, right-click the files or folder you want to access at your local computer, and select Always available offline option from the context menu.

After that, it will start to prepare and make these files offline, saying “ your files will be available offline”, just wait and then disconnect your network drive after this task ends. 

Now, you can turn on or off offline files in Windows 10, there are 3 commonly used ways, and you can try one of them in the following. Of course, these methods are still applied in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

Method 1: Configure offline files in Windows 10 by Sync Center

Step 1. Go to Control Panel, switch its view to "Large icon" or "Small icons", then find Sync Center and click it to open.

Step 2. Click Manage offline files, then you will access the Offline Files window, which allows you to enable or disable offline files.

Step 3. To enable offline files, click Enable offline files under the General tab. After that, you will be asked to restart your computer, please do so. Otherwise, you will encounter "Offline file is enabled but not yet active" in Windows 10 and your network files will not be synced to the local mapped drive.

Note: After enabling offline files in Windows 10, you will see the other 3 options next to General, namely, Disk Usage, Encryption, and Network. You can manage offline file's disk usage, encrypt the offline files, etc.

Step 4. To disable offline files, click Disable offline files in the Offline Files window. By default, after you enable offline files in the Offline Files window, this option will change to Disable offline files.

Method 2: Enable/Disable offline files in Windows 10 using GPO

Step 1. Type group policy in the search box and then select group policy editor from the start menu list.

Step 2. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrator templates > Network > Offline Files key

Step 3. Scroll down the Offline Files Setting and double-click Allow or Disallow the use of Offline Files feature. Then you can enable or disable offline files per your needs.

Step 4.  To enable offline files,  select Enabled in the next window.

Step 5. To disable offline files, select Disabled in the next window.

Method 3: Enable/Disable Offline Files in Windows 10 using Registry

Step 1. Open the registry editor by typing registry in the search box and selecting it. 

Step 2. Go to the CSC and CscService key in order with the following path. Then, right-click on the blank, select new and DWORD (32-bit) Value (so do computer with 64-bit), and set its name as Start.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CscService

Step 3. To enable offline files, set the start value of CSC and CscService to 1 and 2 in order. 

Step 4. Restart your computer and make changes available.

Step 5. To disable offline files, set the start value of CSC and CscService to 4 and restart your computer to save changes.

Tip: Some users say they are unable to enable offline files in Windows 10, if you are in such a case, you can read my previous article: Windows 10 Sync Center Not Working - Fix or Replace It.

Part 2: Sync offline files in Windows 10

Regarding offline files syncing in Windows 10, you have two options, including syncing offline files manually and automatically. 

Method 1: Sync offline files manually

Step 1. Go to File Explore > This PC > network locations, then select the mapped network drive created in advance.

Step 2. Right-click folders that contain offline files, then select Sync > Sync selected offline files.

Method 2: Sync files automatically

Step 1. Open Sync Center again. 

Step 2. Click Offline Files folder, then you will see all the shared folders for offline files sync. Click Sync to sync the network files to a local computer immediately. or click Schedule to make your files always in sync.  

Note: If you want to view your files, just double-click the shared folder you see (for example, Documents) under the Offline File folder.

Troubleshooting: conflicting files in Offline Files

If certain files do not sync, you may see conflicting files in Offline Files. It occurs when you edit a file offline and somebody else edits the same file on your network. After that, these files will not be synced and marked as conflicts.

Don't worry. It's very easy to fix.

Step 1. Go to Sync Center, click View sync conflicts on the left panel and then you will see a list of conflict files.

Step 2. Right-click the conflicted files and click View option. Now, you have three options: Keep the version that you created while you were away, Keep the version on the server that someone else edited while you were away, Keep both versions, and rename the one that you created.

Step 3. Sync files with Sync Center again.

Now, you may already know how to use offline files to sync network files locally in Windows 10. It's very useful for users who want to work with network files, it allows you to access and see them at any time after making them offline on your computer.

However, the steps of it are a little complicated, and if you use it for the first time, you may feel dizzy. In addition, the sync does not always go smoothly, you may encounter various errors, such as offline file conflicts, access denied, sync pending, etc.

Then, is there any easier way to sync network files and make them offline in Windows 10? Absolutely yes, you can use a powerful file sync software to complete this task in simple steps. And I will introduce you to one of the best software I have found in the next part. 

Easier way to sync network files and make it offline in Windows 10

Don't be confused by the word offline files, it has two meanings, a folder to store the files you sync from network to local computer, or a synonym for a file as opposed to a network-shared file. In a simple word, after syncing, you will have two copies, one is on the network, and the other is on your computer. 

You can easily complete this task with the help of a reliable file sync software, AOMEI Backupper Standard, for example. Below are some advantages of it:

Besides the Sync feature, this software still allows you to backup files to external hard drive or local disk for data protection. It greatly reduces data loss risk, because it will compress all the files to an image file and no one can see it before restoring.

Then, you can start to sync network files to your local computer automatically with AOMEI Backupper Standard. In the first place, download and install it on your computer. To sync files between Windows Servers, you could try its Server edition. 

AOMEI Backupper

Best free Windows sync software for personal use.

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Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Standard, and click Sync and Basic Sync in order. 

Except for Basic Sync, you can also use the following 3 sync solutions (in the advanced version). 
❤ Real-Time Sync is to sync files and changes instantly once detected. Try this feature if you change files very frequently or have the need for real-time sharing.
❤ Mirror Sync ensures that the files or folders kept in the destination are exactly the same as the source, thereby preventing others from modifying your files or maliciously dropping viruses.
❤ Two-way Sync ensures all the changes in the source directory will be synchronized to the destination, and vice versa. 

Step 2. Click + Add folder > Share/NAS and select your files or folders on a network drive. 

🔗 If this is the first time to sync network files, you need to add network location first. Click Add Share or NAS Device in the following window, type the IP address, username, and password, and save the information.

Step 3. Then, click the folder-shaped button to select a local drive to receive your network files.  

Step 4. To tweak this task more flexibly, click Schedule Sync and select the sync frequency you think properly. And more you can specify the backup date, time, and intervals. 

Tips:
❤ Wake the computer to run scheduled task: It is to wake your computer from sleep or hibernate mode and then automatically perform this task 2 minutes later.
❤ After the scheduled task is completed, the computer will shut down, restart, sleep or hibernate: This is a pre-set option, which lets you go away during the sync task, without any worry. 

Step 5. Finally, confirm the file sync process and click Start Sync to sync network files locally in Windows 10.

Notes:
❤ Don't modify the source folder name, otherwise the sync task will fail.
❤ The single file over 4GB can’t be synced to a FAT/FAT32 partition, because the FAT32/FAT only supports file sizes up to 4GB. 
❤ If you still have other questions, please visit FAQ about AOMEI File Sync. 
❤ Besides syncing the network drive to the local drive, you still can sync local folders to cloud drives or other storage devices. For free users with a few GB of cloud storage, it's suggested to create a cloud backup with AOMEI Cloud, a cloud drive developed by AOMEI Tech, which offers 1TB of free space from the time you sign up until 15 days.

Conclusion

The Offline Files feature is very useful for users who need to always work with network-shared files, and many of you may want to enable offline files in Windows 10/11 and sync network files locally. Surely, it will be OK if you want to turn off offline files.

However, the process is complicated and not user-friendly. You can choose to try an easier way, it's using a file sync software -AOMEI Backupper Standard to sync any files on the network drive to a local computer in simply 5 steps. What's more, you can customize the sync frequency, from hourly to monthly.

To enjoy its advanced features,  such as Real-Time Sync, Mirror Sync, and Two-Way Sync, please upgrade to the Professional edition. In addition, it's also a versatile file backup software. It will compress all the files into an image file and save them to a safe location. 

AOMEI Backupper

Syncing network files to local drive through the Offline Files folder is complicated and error-prone, so it is a wise choice to employ Windows file sync software - AOMEI Backupper Standard to do it.

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Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7

FAQ on Enable Offline Files on Windows 10

1. Why should you enable offline files in Windows 10?

Enabling offline files in Windows 10 has 2 most obvious advantages. The first one is to make an exact copy of network files you want to protect and work with. The second is you can access and see them at any time, especially when your computer is not connected to the network and server.

2. Are there any limitations or considerations I should be aware of when using offline files in Windows 10?

Yes, there are a few limitations and considerations to keep in mind:

• Offline files require sufficient disk space on your computer to store synchronized files.
• Large files or folders may take longer to synchronize, especially over slower network connections.
• Changes made to offline files will only synchronize with the network when you're connected, so it's essential to regularly reconnect to ensure updates are applied.

3. How can I troubleshoot issues with offline files on Windows 10?

If you encounter any issues with offline files, you can try the following troubleshooting steps:

• Check your network connection to ensure you're connected to the network.
• Verify that the network share is accessible and that you have the necessary permissions to access offline files.
• Restart the Sync Center or try manually synchronizing files to resolve synchronization errors.
• If all else fails, you can disable and re-enable offline files or consult the Windows support documentation for further assistance.