Ok, Win 7 Enterprise SP1 with administratively assigned offline folders. GPO setup so that users can't make additional folders offline. All works ok until I work from home on VPN (slow link mode disabled apparently). If I open a spreadsheet via a VPN connection, (that is not in a synced folder) the spreadsheet is cached locally and is forevermore available offline (for my comfort and convenience). So, I could do without that little feature but it gets worse, when I'm back at work I can open the same spreadsheet ok and make edits, when I come to save I get "document not saved" and have to "sync all" in the sync centre, then I can save the file! Ideally, I would want the feature of Windows caching files itself to stop, if not, I would like it to sync efficiently, on its own rather than me having to do it manually. I've searched for this issue all over but it seems that plenty of people have offline files issues and plenty of others have the "document not saved" issue but apparently not together. Any ideas anyone? I'd love to get to the bottom of this.

You can configure related policy to keep the folder works offline in a slow link mode. Please refer to: “Configure slow-link mode” policy on Vista for Offline Files http://blogs.technet.com/b/askds/archive/2009/02/11/configure-slow-link-mode-policy-on-vista-for-offline-files.aspxPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

You can configure related policy to keep the folder works offline in a slow link mode. Please refer to: “Configure slow-link mode” policy on Vista for Offline Files http://blogs.technet.com/b/askds/archive/2009/02/11/configure-slow-link-mode-policy-on-vista-for-offline-files.aspxPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

Arthur, Thanks for the post, I have attached a screenshot of the appropriate GPO settings as below. As you can see slow link mode, transparent caching and economical offline files are all supposed to be disabled. The behaviour still exists. I've been experimenting a little more hence the time between posts. I have setup another file share on a different server (2008 R2) as well as the original share (2003). I copied an affected XLS file to that new share and cleared my offline files. If I stay away from VPN, both files are not made available offline. Once I go onto VPN both files are made available offline (along with a number of others). As an aside, the apparent randomness of the files chosen to be available offline may be related to their inclusion in recently used lists in startmenu pinned lists. I picked an XLS file that I process every day and I edit the server 2003 copy in the same way that I edit the 2008 copy. the 2003 copy displays the "document not saved" issue as in the first post but the 2008 copy NEVER displays this issue. If I move each file to the other files' location, transposing the 2008 copy to 2003 and vice versa, the "document not saved" behaviour stays with the 2003 server, the previously affected file which has now moved to the 2008 server is now unaffected. I guess all this is interesting but what I really need is for files not to be made available offline unless I specifically say so as part of the administratively assigned folder behaviour. This issue is now the number 1 issue stopping our Win7 rollout from XP.

Anyone got any ideas where this behaviour comes from? Could do with someone throwing me a bone.