14 Working with Offline Content
This section covers these topics:
14.1 Online and Offline Mode
Folders and files can be in online and offline mode. In online mode, you need a live connection to the content server to have access to the folders and files on it. You log in to the server and then you have access to all folders and files in accordance with your assigned privileges (see Section 7.10, "Connecting to a Content Server").
In offline mode, folders and files are downloaded from a content server and read-only copies are created in a special cache location on your local computer (see Section 9.5, "Local Caching of Content Files"). This means that you can view these folders and files (in read-only mode), even if you are not connected to the content server; in other words, when you are working with that server in offline mode (see Section 14.6, "Working with a Content Server in Offline Mode"). This may be useful in situations where you need access to content files, but you cannot connect to the server that they reside on. For example, you may need read-only access to a report or a presentation you are giving while traveling. You can then obtain a copy of the current version of that report before you disconnect from the server and have read-only access to that file while working offline.
You make files available offline (called 'syndicate' in Desktop Integration Suite versions prior to 11gR1) using their context menu (Make Content Available Offline for folders and Make Available Offline for files). Please note that if you select the Make Content Available Offline option in the context menu of a folder, it is not the folder itself that is made available offline, but all files in that folder, including files in subfolders. Only content items in a folder show the offline availability icon (blue cylinder; see Figure 14-1), not the folder itself. Also, this action is performed on the snapshot of the folder at that given time. If you add any new files to the folder, these are not automatically made available offline. You will need to make the folder available offline again to include the new files in the folder.
Files that are available offline show a cylinder in their file icon, which can be either blue or gray (Figure 14-1). In addition, the Make Available Offline option in the file context menu has a check mark.
The cylinder is blue if the versions of your locally cached file copy and the original file on the content server match; that is, no new revision has been checked in to the content server since you selected the file for offline availability. In other words, your local file copy is up to date. The cylinder is gray if the offline and online file versions do not match. This would, for example, be the case if someone updated the original item on the content server, and your local copy is still an older revision. In other words, your local file copy is outdated. When online, you can update an offline content folder by right-clicking it and choosing Refresh Offline Content in the context menu. All offline files in that folder are then overwritten with the most recent revisions of those files on the content server.
14.2 Making Folders and Files Available Offline
To make files or folders available for offline use:
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Open Windows Explorer and expand the WebCenter Content Servers node.
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Click the content server which stores the file(s) or folder(s) that you want to make available offline. If prompted, log in by entering your user name and password for that server.
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Navigate to the folder(s) or file(s) in the content folder tree that you want to make available offline.
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Right-click and choose Make Content Available Offline (for folders) or Make Available Offline (for files). The Make Available Offline option is also available on the File menu. The selected folders or files are now available in offline server mode.
Please note that if you select the Make Content Available Offline option in the context menu of a folder, it is not the folder itself that is made available offline, but all files in that folder, including files in subfolders. Only content items in a folder show the offline availability icon (blue cylinder; see Figure 14-1), not the folder itself. Also, this action is performed on the snapshot of the folder at that given time. If you add any new files to the folder, these are not automatically made available offline. You will need to make the folder available offline again to include the new files in the folder.
For content items in a folder to be made available offline, they must actually reside in that folder. This means that content in query folders cannot be made available offline. The contents of these folders do not actually exist in the folders; they are just grouped there because their metadata matches the search criteria. The actual content items may exist under a different folder location, or they may not even appear in a 'standard' folder at all.
14.3 Viewing or Opening Offline Files
To view or open an offline file:
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Open Windows Explorer and expand the WebCenter Content Servers node.
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Click the content server which stores the offline file that you want to view or open. If prompted, log in by entering your user name and password for that server.
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Navigate to the offline file in the content folder tree that you want to view or open, and select it.
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Open the Offline Files node for the server to see all offline files and select the offline file that you want to view or open.
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Right-click and choose View or Open with... to open the file in read-only or full edit mode, respectively. The View and Open with... options are also available on the File menu. For more information, see Section 10.8, "Viewing Content Files" and Section 10.9, "Opening Content Files."
14.4 Refreshing Offline Content
The offline copy of a file is not automatically updated. This means that if a new file revision is checked in to the content server, your local copy is out of date. This is indicated by a gray cylinder overlay on the file icon (Figure 14-1). You can refresh offline files, so they are updated to their latest released revisions on the content server.
Please note that if you refresh an offline folder, the existing offline files in that folder (and all subfolders) are updated to their latest released revisions on the content server. Any files that were added to a folder after it was made available offline will not be made available offline if you refresh that folder. For that to happen, you need to right-click the folder and choose Make Content Available Offline in the context menu.
To refresh offline files:
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Open Windows Explorer and expand the WebCenter Content Servers node.
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Click the content server which stores the file or folder that you want to refresh. If prompted, log in by entering your user name and password for that server.
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Navigate to the folder or file in the content folder tree that you want to refresh. You can select multiple folders and files if you want.
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Right-click and choose Refresh Offline Content. The selected files are now updated to their latest released revisions on the content server.
14.5 Removing Offline Content
To remove an offline file or folder, so they are no longer available offline:
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Open Windows Explorer and expand the WebCenter Content Servers node.
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Click the content server which stores the file or folder that you want to remove. If prompted, log in by entering your user name and password for that server.
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Navigate to the folder or file in the content folder tree that you want to remove. You can select multiple folders and files if you want.
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Right-click and choose Remove Offline Content. The selected files and folders are now removed from the local cache and they are no longer available offline. Please note that this does not affect the original files and folders on the content server; they remain available.
14.6 Working with a Content Server in Offline Mode
After you have made files and folders (or rather, the files in them) available offline, you have access to them even if you are not connected to the content server; in other words, when you are working with that server in offline mode.
Tip:
Before going offline, you may want to refresh your local offline content to ensure you have the most recent file copies on your computer. For more information, see Section 14.4, "Refreshing Offline Content."
To work with a content server in offline mode:
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Open Windows Explorer and expand the WebCenter Content Servers node.
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Select the content server that you want to work offline with.
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Right-click and choose Work Offline. The server icon now shows a red offline indicator (Figure 14-2). In addition, the Work Offline option in its context menu is preceded by a check mark.
After going to offline mode, you can only access files and folders on the server that you have checked out (see Section 10.10, "Checking Out Content Files") or specifically made available offline (see Section 14.2, "Making Folders and Files Available Offline"). The content server in the integration hierarchy includes an Offline Files node, which lists all files on that server that are offline, including those that are not in a content folder. You can interact with these files directly from the list.
When you have finished working offline and are ready to reconnect to a server, right-click the server and click Work Offline from the context menu. If prompted, provide your login credentials by entering your user name and password.
14.7 Using the Offline Content Manager
This section covers these topics:
14.7.1 About the Offline Content Manager
You will generally work with offline content using the normal integration features provided by Desktop. The Offline Content Manager is a special tool that provides an interface to all integration folders and files that are stored in the offline cache on your local computer. This cache is used as a temporary storage location for items managed by a content server.
The following files are stored in your local cache:
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copies of files that you checked out of the content server,
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read-only copies of files on the content server that you specifically marked to be available offline (so that you can access these files even if there is no connection to the server),
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modified files managed by a content server that you have not yet checked back in to that server (typically checked-out files that were edited), and
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newly created files in Microsoft Office applications that were not checked in successfully (for example, because no server connection could be established).
By default, the temporary storage cache is located in the following directory:
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Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\USER\Application Data\Stellent\SyndicationCache
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Windows Vista and Windows 7: C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\Stellent\SyndicationCache
where USER is the profile name of the current computer user (for example, jsmith). The 'SyndicationCache' directory stores all offline Desktop files in separate subdirectories for each content server.
Note:
You can change the offline cache location on your computer if the defaults do not meet your organization's file storage requirements. For more information, see Section B.2, "Changing the Location of the Local File Cache."
14.7.2 Launching the Offline Content Manager
To launch the Offline Content Manager, do the following:
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Windows 7 and Windows Vista: Open Windows Explorer and then right-click the WebCenter Content Servers item in the folders list (not in your favorites!) while simultaneously holding the Shift and Ctrl keys.
Note:
Make sure all folders are shown in Windows Explorer (which is not the default): click Tools, then Folder Options, then General, and then Show all folders.
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Windows XP: Open Windows Explorer and then right-click the WebCenter Content Servers item in the folders list while simultaneously holding the Shift and Ctrl keys. Alternatively, Shift+Ctrl+right-click the WebCenter Content Servers icon on your desktop.
The context menu now includes an option called Offline Content Manager.... Choose this option to launch the Offline Content Manager (see Section A.28, "Offline Content Manager Dialog").
14.7.3 Filtering the List of Offline Content
The offline folders and files are shown by content server. If you have many offline folders and files, you may want to limit what is shown in the list of offline content. You can filter the list to show only certain types of offline content or content from particular servers. You can choose to display any combination of the following:
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Checked-out content: You may choose to show or hide all content files that you have currently checked out of the content server.
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Offline content folders: You may choose to show or hide all content folders that you have marked to be available offline. This means that you can view these folders and the files in them (in read-only mode), even if you are not connected to the content server.
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Offline content files: You may choose to show or hide all content files that you have marked to be available offline. This means that you can view these files (in read-only mode), even if you are not connected to the content server.
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Content from certain servers: You may choose to show or hide offline folders and files from one or more specific content servers.
To choose what to display in the list of offline content:
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From the Offline Content Manager, click Filter....
The View Options dialog opens (see Section A.29, "View Options Dialog").
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Select or clear the check boxes of the items you want to show or hide in the offline content list.
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Click OK.
14.7.4 Performing Content Management Tasks on Offline Content
You can perform a number of content management tasks for the items in the offline content list. After selecting the item, you can use the buttons in the main Offline Content Manager window (see Section A.28, "Offline Content Manager Dialog") or you can right-click and use the context menu.
Note:
You can also perform any of the tasks below directly in the integration hierarchy in Windows Explorer or your e-mail application (Microsoft Outlook or Lotus Notes).
Checking the Status of Offline Content
To check the current status of a selected item, click the Check Status button. When you check the status of an item, Desktop verifies that the item still exists on the content server. If so, it compares the content management status of the locally cached copy with that of the item on the content server and reports any discrepancies. For example, it notifies you if a file was checked out of the content server by someone or if your locally cached copy is no longer the latest revision. (You can then use Refresh to get the latest revision.)
If an item no longer exists on the content server, you will be given the opportunity to remove it from the offline content list.
To open the selected item in its associated application in read-only mode, click the View button or right-click and choose View in the context menu. For more information, see Section 10.8, "Viewing Content Files."
To refresh the selected item, click the Refresh button or right-click and choose Refresh Offline Content.
If you refresh an offline file, the offline copy in your local cache is updated to the latest released revision on the content server.
If you refresh an offline folder, the existing offline files in that folder (and all subfolders) are updated to their latest released revisions on the content server. Any files that were added to a folder after it was made available offline will not be made available offline if you refresh that folder. For that to happen, you need to right-click the folder and choose Make Content Available Offline in the context menu.
To remove the selected item from the offline cache on your computer, click the Remove button or right-click and choose Remove Offline Content in the context menu. Use this option with care, as you may be removing files that have not yet been checked in to the content server.
To check the selected file in to the content server, click the Check In button or right-click and choose Check in in the context menu. Depending on the server configuration, you may be prompted for your login credentials or provide metadata prior to check-in.
Viewing Properties of Offline Content
To view the properties of the selected offline folder or file, click the Properties... button or right-click and choose Properties... in the context menu.