Windows Offline Files query
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
I.E. New user - they log in, GPO applies - forces syncing of files to local machine instantly. Is that right?
I don't think that the GPO does anything here other than turning on Offline Folders. Then OF syncs up at appropriate times (e.g. when the files are out of sync but available to be synced.)
OK, then in that case, your suggestion of adding a new file wouldn't actually do anything, because the user never opened the new file.
I agree, that would not work. When did I say that?
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
I don't have an offline folder here to work with, but I'm pretty sure that if you were to update the files with new data, and then have the offline folder pick up those changes, that the new ACLs would apply. It's because the offline folder is still acting as offline and working from the cache that the ACLs don't apply yet.
Oh.. you didn't say put a new file - you said update a file with new data... OK I stand corrected - but, this would only work if the file in question had already been synced, so you'd need to update every file in the folder to ensure this would work.
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
I don't have an offline folder here to work with, but I'm pretty sure that if you were to update the files with new data, and then have the offline folder pick up those changes, that the new ACLs would apply. It's because the offline folder is still acting as offline and working from the cache that the ACLs don't apply yet.
Oh.. you didn't say put a new file - you said update a file with new data... OK I stand corrected - but, this would only work if the file in question had already been synced, so you'd need to update every file in the folder to ensure this would work.
Possibly, I'm not sure how the sync works. Does it work by file or by folder?
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
I don't have an offline folder here to work with, but I'm pretty sure that if you were to update the files with new data, and then have the offline folder pick up those changes, that the new ACLs would apply. It's because the offline folder is still acting as offline and working from the cache that the ACLs don't apply yet.
Oh.. you didn't say put a new file - you said update a file with new data... OK I stand corrected - but, this would only work if the file in question had already been synced, so you'd need to update every file in the folder to ensure this would work.
Possibly, I'm not sure how the sync works. Does it work by file or by folder?
Well, when I get errors, it's always by file. Beyond that, not sure.
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
ell, when I get errors, it's always by file. Beyond that, not sure.
Upon checking just now, there are files which was modified on the 13th of Feb..so it should have triggered the syncing...unfortunately, it didn't synchronize the access list.
Just a little history on the timeline so I think the ACL should have been propagated, but as it turned out, was not:
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Offline availability done months ago.
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Change in ACL done last week, somewhere in between Feb. 6-10
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Checked to be still accessible offline on the 14th.
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Posted to SW and ML on the 15th to check if I have done some mis-configuration which I might be unaware of.
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Even the one file that was modified did not update its own ACLs?
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In what way were the ACLs changed? How would the changes have affected the person in question?
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What's amazing is if you Google this topic, this thread is the top hit!
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I just realized something. I think that the ACLs will never update. Those aren't the same files. That's a cache. It's just an automated process of the end user taking the files that they needed and storing them locally. In theory, if the ACL is updated centrally it should stop the remote user from updating the file to the central repository, but should never cut the end user off from their own copy of the file.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
I just realized something. I think that the ACLs will never update. Those aren't the same files. That's a cache. It's just an automated process of the end user taking the files that they needed and storing them locally. In theory, if the ACL is updated centrally it should stop the remote user from updating the file to the central repository, but should never cut the end user off from their own copy of the file.
Yeah that's a good point - if the whole folder is no longer accessible, even what the OP did to resolve his issue shouldn't have worked, unless that working was to just delete the local copies because access wasn't allowed anymore.
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
I just realized something. I think that the ACLs will never update. Those aren't the same files. That's a cache. It's just an automated process of the end user taking the files that they needed and storing them locally. In theory, if the ACL is updated centrally it should stop the remote user from updating the file to the central repository, but should never cut the end user off from their own copy of the file.
Yeah that's a good point - if the whole folder is no longer accessible, even what the OP did to resolve his issue shouldn't have worked, unless that working was to just delete the local copies because access wasn't allowed anymore.
And I have a feeling that it would never do that - delete the whole thing. Because once it is cached, it is owned by the remote user.
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@vhinzsanchez said in Windows Offline Files query:
To troubleshoot further, I accessed the sub-folder while online and gotten an access error, which is expected. Now, disabled network again--to be offline, the sub-folder was not accessed (as it should).
When you say you accessed the subfolder while online - does that mean through Explorer you just tried to open the folder? And in doing so you got access denied?
That part makes sense.Then after going offline again, what? You still see the folder, but get an access denied message?
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I wonder what would happen if while offline, the user updated a file while you were removing their access to a sync'ed folder? I'm guessing you'd get an access denied sync message.
I'm guessing those 8 people didn't make any offline updates to files in that folder, so Windows never checked to see if there were new versions.
But let's say that the server side version was updated during that time, ACL still allowed access, when the mobile device comes back online, will it pickup the file changes automatically? or will they be ignored until the user opens one while on the network?
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
But let's say that the server side version was updated during that time, ACL still allowed access, when the mobile device comes back online, will it pickup the file changes automatically? or will they be ignored until the user opens one while on the network?
I'm pretty sure it knows that there is an update and pushed it out when it is available. That's the whole point. Kind of a useless system if it doesn't do that.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
But let's say that the server side version was updated during that time, ACL still allowed access, when the mobile device comes back online, will it pickup the file changes automatically? or will they be ignored until the user opens one while on the network?
I'm pretty sure it knows that there is an update and pushed it out when it is available. That's the whole point. Kind of a useless system if it doesn't do that.
I agree. But is that at the folder level or only the file level?
Though in either case, when the system attempted to sync, it should have failed because the ACL no longer allowed access - I wonder if there was a sync failure silently logged? that's something the OP should be able to check for.
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
But let's say that the server side version was updated during that time, ACL still allowed access, when the mobile device comes back online, will it pickup the file changes automatically? or will they be ignored until the user opens one while on the network?
I'm pretty sure it knows that there is an update and pushed it out when it is available. That's the whole point. Kind of a useless system if it doesn't do that.
I agree. But is that at the folder level or only the file level?
Though in either case, when the system attempted to sync, it should have failed because the ACL no longer allowed access - I wonder if there was a sync failure silently logged? that's something the OP should be able to check for.
It should have decided not to sync the new file, correct. But should have left the old one.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
But let's say that the server side version was updated during that time, ACL still allowed access, when the mobile device comes back online, will it pickup the file changes automatically? or will they be ignored until the user opens one while on the network?
I'm pretty sure it knows that there is an update and pushed it out when it is available. That's the whole point. Kind of a useless system if it doesn't do that.
I agree. But is that at the folder level or only the file level?
Though in either case, when the system attempted to sync, it should have failed because the ACL no longer allowed access - I wonder if there was a sync failure silently logged? that's something the OP should be able to check for.
It should have decided not to sync the new file, correct. But should have left the old one.
It sounds like it did just that. But only when a user manually tried to look at the directory that they no longer had access to, was access to the file on the local machine more or less lost. I wonder if the location machine actually removed the file from the local cache once the new ACL was recognized by the caching system?
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
But let's say that the server side version was updated during that time, ACL still allowed access, when the mobile device comes back online, will it pickup the file changes automatically? or will they be ignored until the user opens one while on the network?
I'm pretty sure it knows that there is an update and pushed it out when it is available. That's the whole point. Kind of a useless system if it doesn't do that.
I agree. But is that at the folder level or only the file level?
Though in either case, when the system attempted to sync, it should have failed because the ACL no longer allowed access - I wonder if there was a sync failure silently logged? that's something the OP should be able to check for.
It should have decided not to sync the new file, correct. But should have left the old one.
It sounds like it did just that. But only when a user manually tried to look at the directory that they no longer had access to, was access to the file on the local machine more or less lost. I wonder if the location machine actually removed the file from the local cache once the new ACL was recognized by the caching system?
Was the local access ever lost? I thought that it was not.
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@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
Even the one file that was modified did not update its own ACLs?
@scottalanmiller said in Windows Offline Files query:
In what way were the ACLs changed? How would the changes have affected the person in question?
Yes, this group previously had access then was revoked. The online folder made sure that they do not have access, however, when I did check to access it offline from one of the group's member, the folder was accessible.
Tried to access it online (which prompted access error--as it should) then offline again...that ensured that ACL was propagated..manual updating. Fortunately, there's only a handful of those in a group.
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@Dashrender said in Windows Offline Files query:
I'm guessing those 8 people didn't make any offline updates to files in that folder, so Windows never checked to see if there were new versions.
They have Read-Only access to the network folder. Another group is tasked of updating it.
