Windows 10: Enable or Disable Offline Files in Windows

How to: Enable or Disable Offline Files in Windows

How to Enable or Disable Offline Files in Windows


Offline Files is a feature of Sync Center that makes network files available to a user, even if the network connection to the server is unavailable.

Users can use offline files (if enabled) to make their network files always available offline to keep a copy of the files stored on the network on your computer. This allows users to work with them even when they are not connected to the network or a server is unavailable. The next time the user connects to the network or the server is available, their offline files on your computer will automatically sync to the network files on the server to update.

See also:

• Folder Redirection, Offline Files, and Roaming User Profiles overview | Microsoft Docs
• Work Folders and Offline Files support for Windows Information Protection | Storage at Microsoft

This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable offline files for all users on the computer in Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10.

*Warning You must be signed in as an administrator to enable or disable offline files.

*note In Windows 7, the offline files feature is only available in the Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions.

In Windows 8, the offline files feature is only available in the Pro and Enterprise editions.

In Windows 10, the offline files feature is only available in the Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.


CONTENTS:

• Option One: Enable or Disable Offline Files in Sync Center
• Option Two: Enable or Disable Offline Files using a REG file
• Option Three: Enable or Disable Offline Files via Policy in Local Group Policy Editor
• Option Four: Enable or Disable Offline Files via Policy using a REG file

EXAMPLE: Sync Center notification area icon available when Offline Files is enabled









OPTION ONE [/i] Enable or Disable Offline Files in Sync Center
1. Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Sync Center icon.

2. Click/tap on the Manage offline files link on the left side of Sync Center. (see screenshot below)



3. Do step 4 (enable) or step 5 (disable) below for what you want to do.


4. To Enable Offline Files
A) Click/tap on the Enable offline files button. (see screenshot below)



B) Click/tap on OK, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)




5. To Disable Offline Files
*note This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Disable offline files button. (see screenshot below)



B) Click/tap on OK, and go to step 6 below. (see screenshot below)



6. When ready, click/tap on Yes to restart the computer to apply. (see screenshot below)








OPTION TWO [/i] Enable or Disable Offline Files using a REG file

*note The downloadable .reg files below will modify the DWORD values in the registry keys below.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CSC

Start DWORD

1 = Enable
4 = Disable

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\CscService

Start DWORD

2 = Enable
4 = Disable


1. Do step 2 (enable) or step 3 (disable) below for what you want to do.


2. To Enable Offline Files
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Enable_Offline_Files.reg

Download

3. To Disable Offline Files
*note This is the default setting.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 4 below.

Disable_Offline_Files.reg

Download

4. Save the .reg file to your desktop.

5. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

6. When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

7. When ready, restart the computer to apply.

8. If you like, you can delete the downloaded .reg file.





OPTION THREE [/i] Enable or Disable Offline Files via Policy in Local Group Policy Editor
*note If enabled or disabled, this option will override Option One and Option Two.
1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor.

2. Navigate to the key below in the left pane of the Local Group Policy Editor. (see screenshot below)
*Arrow Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Network\Offline Files




3. In the right pane of Offline Files in Local Group Policy Editor, double click/tap on the Allow or Disallow use of the Offline Files feature policy to edit it. (see screenshot above)

4. Do step 5 (enable), step 6 (disable), or step 7 (default) below for what you would like to do.


5. To Enable Offline Files
A) Select (dot) Enabled, click/tap on OK, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below)

6. To Disable Offline Files
A) Select (dot) Disabled, click/tap on OK, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below)

7. Default Not Configured Offline Files Policy
A) Select (dot) Not Configured, click/tap on OK, and go to step 8 below. (see screenshot below)




8. When finished, close the Local Group Policy Editor.

9. When ready, restart the computer to apply.





OPTION FOUR [/i] Enable or Disable Offline Files via Policy using a REG file

*note If enabled or disabled, this option will override Option One and Option Two.

The downloadable .reg files below will modify the DWORD value in the registry key below.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\NetCache

Enabled DWORD

(delete) = Default
0 = Disable
1 = Enable


1. Do step 2 (enable), step 3 (disable), or step 4 (disable) below for what you want to do.


2. To Enable Offline Files
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.

Enable_Offline_Files_via_policy.reg

Download

3. To Disable Offline Files
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.

Disable_Offline_Files_via_policy.reg

Download

4. Default Not Configured Offline Files Policy
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the file below, and go to step 5 below.

Default_Offline_Files_policy.reg

Download

5. Save the .reg file to your desktop.

6. Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

7. When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.

8. When ready, restart the computer to apply.

9. If you like, you can delete the downloaded .reg file.

That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Share Files and Folders Over a Network in Windows 10
• How to Add Sync Center Context Menu in Windows
• How to Set or Unset Network Files as Always Available Offline in Windows
• How to Encrypt or Unencrypt Offline Files Cache in Windows
• How to Create Offline Files Folder Shortcut in Windows
• How to Change Offline Files Disk Usage Limits in Windows
• How to Manually Sync Offline Files in Windows
• How to Create New Offline Files Sync Schedule in Windows
• How to Delete Offline Files Sync Schedule in Windows
• How to Edit Offline Files Sync Schedule in Windows

:)

 

Change Offline Files in Windows 10 to "Disable offline files"

I want to change the "Offline Files" in Windows 10 to "Disable offline files". All I have seen so far is how to disable or enable Offline Files. I can do those functions thru a GPO, etc.. but what I want to do is

1. turn on the usability of Offline Files for the users

2. Change the default so that Offline Files is turned off, unless the user turns it on

 

offline files acces denied (file name database.xml)

We appreciate your response. Based on the details that you've shared, we'd recommend disabling and re-enabling offline files on your device. This will refresh the operating system and will isolate bugs that could have transpired after installing the update.
To do this, you can perform the following:

• In the Offline Files pop-up window, click on Disable offline files.
• Click on Apply, and then press OK.
• From Sync Center, click Manage offline files.
• Click on Enable offline files.
• Click Apply, and then press OK.

Once done, check if you'll be able to view and access your offline files. In the event that you still experience your concern,
we'd recommend performing a system restore to revert your device to an earlier point in time. Restore points are usually created automatically prior to a change in your computer. To do this, you can perform the steps posted in the Restore from a system
restore point section of this link.

We look forward to an update on your concern.

 

Offline files in Windows 10

Hi Dave,

Thank you for posting on Microsoft Communities.

I will be glad to help you with the issue you have with the computer. I understand the frustration when things don't work the way it should.

Please follow the below steps to move offline file cache in Windows 10:

• Create a folder for your offline file cache. Something like D:\Offline.
• From an elevated command prompt type the following: Takeown /r /f C:\Windows\CSC.
• Open the Sync Center and go to Manage Offline Files.
• Click Disable Offline Files and restart the machine.
• 
  From an elevated command prompt issue the following commands:
  
  
  (or whatever your folder name is, but be sure to use the quotes if you have space(s) in the name).
  
• 
  Reopen the Manage Offline Files window and Enable Offline Files.
  
• Restart the machine.
• All files/folders that are made available offline should now be redirected to whichever folder you specified.

Hope this information is helpful. Please post in case you have any further issues, we will be glad to help you further.

Thank you.

 

Offline Files Won't Enable in Windows 10 Pro


Hi there, sorry that I have neglected you!
Your reply was the solution - many thanks indeed.
In addition, the final step to sucsess was deleting the sfc folder. When I first tried to enable offline files after the re-install, I was told that the offline files service was not running and I needed to restart. The solution to this was taking ownership of the sfc folder and deleting all contents.
Very many thanks once again.

 

Microsoft enables offline play for Windows 10 games

Most Windows 10 games will support offline play, but you'll have to work at it.





"Larry Hryb, the man known to the world as Major Nelson, announced on Twittertoday that Microsoft has "made some backend updates to improve your experience playing @Windows 10 games offline." Basically, if you're going to be somewhere that lacks online coverage—on a submarine, for instance—it will still be possible to play your games. But there are some restrictions.

"Most games available in the Store on your Windows 10 device support offline play, but check the details of the game to make sure yours is supported by searching for your game at http://www.xbox.com," the Xbox support site says. "Most games with a campaign mode will be playable offline, but games with network co-op or multiplayer features will not work while you’re offline. While playing offline, some features, such as the ability to purchase additional items from the Windows Store, will not be available. Additionally, any leaderboards will be unavailable while you're offline."

Obviously, online features like buying stuff from in-game stores won't be available when you're offline, but the bit about "games with network co-op or multplayer features" not working while offline really isn't clear. We tested with Gears of War 4 and confirmed that the offline features like campaign and LAN multiplayer worked just fine when disconnected.

There are more caveats, though. You're limited to just one "designated offline device" at a time, and you can only change your designated offline device three times per year. Switching into offline mode isn't all that easy, either. First, you'll need to set your designated offline device:

• Make sure that you’re online.
• Check that your device has the latest Windows updates: Go to Start,Settings, Update and security, and then Windows Update and see if any relevant updates are available.
• Open the Store. You’ll be prompted to sign in if you haven’t already.
• Select the Me icon (this is your profile picture).
• Select Settings, and then under Offline Permissions, make sure that the toggle is set to On.

After that, you'll have to "prepare" your games by launching each one that you want to play offline while you're still online, and logging into your Xbox Live account. This is a bit like launching Steam into Offline mode while you still have an internet connection... but you'll have to prepare each individual Xbox game this way before going offline.

Once you've logged into the game while you're online, you can exit at any time and you'll be set. Of course, if you change your mind and want to play something you haven't properly prepared, you're out of luck.

The upside is that this only affects Windows 10 games, but it still seems wildly complicated and restrictive to me. Worse, while improved functionality is always welcome, I can't see how this does anything but beg for unflattering comparisons with Steam: When I want to play my Steam games offline, I set Steam offline, restart it, and I'm on my way—and I can do it as often as I want. Microsoft's implementation of offline play is an improvement, but only because it wasn't available at all previously. As a step toward becoming more competitive with Steam, though, it falls woefully short."

http://www.pcgamer.com/microsoft-enables-offline-play-for-windows-10-games/