Offline Files won't synchronize automatically

[object01]

I was under the impression that if a network connection became active
then Offline Files would synchronize all files on that connection that
had been made available offline. But it seems like I can never get the
Offline Files feature to do this automatically. Instead, whenever a
network connection becomes active, I get the computer icon in the
system tray that has the little 'i' over it, notifying me that the
resource is available for reconnection. If I click on that icon I get
the synchronization dialog, and if I then click 'OK' the files are
synchronized.

But why do I have to manually initiate this action every time? Isn't
it just supposed to keep the files in sync when it can? I'm not
dealing with any open files or other lock conditions that might prevent
it from synchronizing, and it seems simple for the OS to determine that
the files are indeed available. I can't find any group policy or
Explorer settings that govern this behavior. Am I missing something?

 

[beb]

There is a setting to automate what you want. Try and find it. Sometime
removing and reconfigure your settings, will cure the problem.

Click Start, and then click My Computer

Click My Network Places.

Double-click the network place that contains the folder or file that you
want to make available offline.

Right-click the file or folder that you want, and then click Make Available
Offline. The Offline Files Wizard starts. Click Next to continue.

Select the Automatically synchronize the Offline Files when I log on and
log off my computer check box, and then click Next.

Select the Create a shortcut to the Offline Files folder on my desktop check
box, and then click Finish.

The files are copied to your computer, and a "Shortcut to Offline Files"
folder is displayed on the desktop.

 

[Jeff Stewart]

I've tried both those settings, but they only cause synchronization to
occur when I actuall log on or log off using my username and password.
But this isn't the automaticity I'm looking for.

If the server I'm using, say, goes down due to a power outage, then
comes back up after changes have been made on my client, I may not have
logged off and on again in the course of my work. My using the client
shouldn't have had any extra steps (like "you must log off then on
again") introduced just because the server's power went out. But
neither should I have to manually tell my client to synchronize with
the server. I think the client should just synchronize automatically
without interrupting me or requiring that I interrupt my work.
Ideally, I should have never known that the server connection was
broken -- my work should just continue as it would had the connection
-not- been broken.

One scenario where this is troubling is if I'm -absent- while this
power outage occured. I'd like to be able to to return to my client PC
and know that if any synchronization needed to happen, even during a
power outage, it did -- -without- me having to log off / log on every
time I leave my client PC (I generally lock it to save time). And it's
annoying to return to the client and then notice (perhaps much later)
that the client is in offline mode, requiring me to "put it back
online" before I can continue my server work properly.