Maximizing Productivity - File and E-mail Synchronization

September, 2006

Because of the increased demand for a mobile workforce users are finding it necessary to have their data with them at all times. If employees needs to work on a document over the weekend or while on the road they would usually be required to copy the document to their laptop and then manually copy it back to the server. If the company uses a Microsoft Exchange Server for email storage and distribution then the user would not be able to use Outlook to view old emails or retrieve contact information. Fortunately there is a better way for mobile users to work while away from the office. The Offline Files feature in Windows XP Professional enables you to store a copy of network files on your laptop. First, you should verify that Offline Files is enabled and review the synchronization options. Open up My Computer and go to Tools and then Folder Options. Select the “Offline Files" tab and you will see several synchronization options.

If Enable Offline Files is not checked go ahead and check it. In order to ensure automatic synchronization when you log off and on, make sure that “Synchronize all offline files when logging off" and “Synchronize all offline files when logging on" are enabled. I would recommend synchronizing on log off and log on to ensure that all data is kept up to date. There are several other options on this screen which you can enable as well.

Additional configuration options are found in Synchronization Manager. To access this go to Start – All Programs – Accessories – Synchronize. For our purposes there isn’t a need to change any of these settings except for the option that involves receiving a prompt before synchronization. This can be helpful for someone that prefers to have the ability to approve synchronization before it occurs. If you wish to enable this option simply click on “Setup" in the Synchronization Manager window and check the box labeled “Ask me before synchronizing the items."

We are now ready to setup synchronization on network folders/files. Simply right-click the network folder or file that you would like synchronized and choose “Make Available Offline." Depending on the amount of data being synchronized this could take a few seconds to a few minutes to complete.

Now if you change the local copy of a file it will automatically update the copy on the network and vice versa. If both copies are changed you will receive a message asking you (1) would like to keep both copies and save the network copy under a different name (2) keep the local copy and replace the network copy or (3) keep the network copy and replace the local copy.

You are now able to work away from the office and still maintain the ability to work with you network files.

If your company uses Microsoft Exchange Server as their e-mail platform they can have similar functionality within Outlook. Using Outlook in Cached Exchange Mode will enable you to access your mailbox while disconnected from the Exchange server. A copy of your mailbox is stored on your laptop and is updated every time you connect to the Exchange server.

In order to configure Outlook open up Outlook and go to Tools and then E-mail Accounts. Make sure that “View or change existing e-mail accounts" is selected and click Next. Verify that Microsoft Exchange Server is selected and click Change. In the Exchange Server Settings box you will see an option to “Use Cached Exchange Mode." Make sure that this option is enabled. After you have enabled Cached Exchange Mode, click on “More Settings." Select “Manually control connection state" and “Choose the connection type when starting and then click Ok. Now when you open Outlook you will have the options to connect to the Exchange server or work offline. This will help you to open up Outlook quickly when you are working offline because it will not go through the process of trying to connect to the Exchange server.

You should now be back to the “Exchange Server Settings" box. Click on Next and then Finish. By using the Offline Files feature as well as the Cached Exchange Mode you should be able to maintain your productivity while away from the office.

Enabling Offline Files and Cached Exchange mode gives you the ability work with network data regardless of whether or not you have access to the internet. Whether it’s editing a document while traveling on a plane or retrieving important contact information from your Exchange mailbox while riding in a cab, these two features will help you to work more affectively if your job takes you out of the corporate office.