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Offline Files and Folders Directory Structure

Hello! I read one question/answer regarding this but my question is a slightly different scenario. I have laptop users who need to sync their network-based data with a local copy so that they can work when they travel. I have used the cachmov.exe utility to move the offline store to the users' 'd' drives (local NTFS drives with lots of storage as opposed to their 'c' drives). The problem is, as was mentioned in another post, that all the data from their network directory is dumped into the offline folder, without re-creating the directory structure that exists in their network directory. (For a user with 8GB of files, that's a mess). In Exchange 2003/Outlook, when a user archives, the directory structure in the exchange mailbox is automatically re-created in the archive. I'd like to bring that same 'ease of use' experience to the users when they sync their files as they connect and disconnect from the network. Is there an easy way around this disorganized file-dump without rolling out a bunch of group policies? Thanks!

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oBdA

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kwbanks

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Hey oBdA! Thanks for the quick reply. Pardon my ignorance but I'm not totally sure I understand your directions. I'm not sure what you mean by map drives to where the files are persistently.... They already have drive mappings to that directory and they want to replicate that structure automatically, locally via some kind of sync. I've set up briefcases for a couple users and while there is more manual intervention in the 'briefcase' sync process than with the offline files and folders, it seems to be a nice compromise. If you know a way or could expand on your instructions so that I could get that 'briefcase' level of functionality with the offline folder automatic sync and ease of use, I'd be grateful. Thanks!

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Jejin Joseph

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oBdA

Your users may have the drives mapped when they're logging on to the LAN, but those mappings are obviously non-persistent (when mapping using Explorer, the checkbox "reconnect on every logon" isn't ticked, or in a batch "net use /persistent:no").
If you map those drives persistently, the mapped drives will appear in Explorer even when offline and show the files that have been selected to be available offline, just as if there was a connection to the file server.