Synchronizing to SharePoint in SharePoint Workspace 2010

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SharePoint sync is the new focus of the product, and here in Support, we get a lot of questions about how it works. What kinds of data can be synchronized? How much data? What SharePoint versions are supported? Does the product still use Groove servers? In this article, I review some of the common points of confusion.

Your options

SharePoint Workspace 2010 has two ways to synchronize content with SharePoint sites:

  • A SharePoint workspace can take many types of site content offline, but only from Microsoft SharePoint Server 2010 or SharePoint Foundation 2010. When the SharePoint Online servers are upgraded to 2010 technology, you will also be able to use a SharePoint workspace for SharePoint Online sites.
  • A SharePoint Files tool in a Groove workspace (formerly called a "Standard workspace") will synch to either a 2007 or 2010 server, but can only take a single document library offline. To use the SharePoint Files tool, you must choose the option to create a 2007-version Groove workspace. The SharePoint Files tool is unchanged since Office Groove 2007.

Note: When reading the help or other product documentation, remember that "a SharePoint workspace" is only one of the workspace types included in "SharePoint Workspace". If you are not aware of the difference, some information may appear contradictory.

So which should you use? If possible, use a SharePoint workspace. SharePoint workspaces work with SharePoint 2010 technology to gain better integration than the old SharePoint Files tool can. They use the same storage and transport services as most other Office 2010 applications that can work with files stored on a SharePoint site. (The odd one is this case is OneNote, which has its own mechanism for storing file data synchronized with SharePoint.) These services provide load-balancing and transport optimization, making synchronization more efficient than in the SharePoint Files tool. In most cases, you will have a better experience with a SharePoint workspace.

There are really only two situations in which you might want to use the old SharePoint Files tool:

  • If you need to share SharePoint files with someone who does not have access to the SharePoint site.
  • If you need to synchronize files with a document library on a 2007 SharePoint Server.

Content types

A SharePoint workspace can sync almost anything that it can store in a Documents tool or a Lists tool. These means most SharePoint lists and libraries are supported, although some heavily customized lists may have problems.

The following content types cannot currently be synchronized by a SharePoint workspace:

  • Calendar/Events lists
  • Wikis
  • Blog sites
  • Portal sites
  • Form libraries
  • Slide libraries
  • Surveys
  • Site directories
  • OneNote notebooks stored in document libraries (because OneNote uses its own storage method)
  • IRM-protected document libraries (individually protected files are okay, within constraints)
  • Anything other than lists and libraries

Anything else should work, although there are some special requirements for external lists.

To prevent confusion and aid in accessibility, lists and libraries that SharePoint Workspace cannot synchronize (or that you choose not to synchronize) are still listed in the workspace. In the default view, they are displayed under the heading Available on Server. When you highlight an entry for unsynchronized content, the SharePoint workspace provides a link to open the list or library in a browser. If the content type is supported, you will also have an option to connect the entry to the list or library.

Getting started

You can create a SharePoint workspace from the Launchbar, but it's often easier to do it from the SharePoint site itself. When you are viewing the site in the browser, open the Site Actions menu, and choose Sync to SharePoint Workspace. You can use Configure to adjust the content downloaded, or just leave it at the default.

Troubleshooting workspace creation

If you don't see Sync to SharePoint Workspace in the Site Actions menu, then either the SharePoint server is not at 2010, or the SharePoint administrator has disabled Workspaces. In the latter case, you may also find that you don't have options such as "Edit in Word" for a Word document.

If you see Sync to SharePoint Workspace, but when you try to use it, SharePoint Workspace reports that it can't contact the server (the one you are viewing in your browser!), then the SharePoint administrator has probably disabled FSSHTTP (File Synchronization via SOAP over HTTP), which SharePoint Workspace requires to synchronize file data. Other Office applications that use Workspaces use this protocol as well, but will usually fall back to Web-DAV if FSSHTTP is not available. SharePoint workspaces require FSSHTTP to support a rich client experience for SharePoint.

Warnings about the number of synchronized items

SharePoint Workspaces, like several other office applications, uses the Office Document Cache (ODC) to store files taken offline from SharePoint. When the Office Document Cache (not a particular workspace) exceeds 500 files, SharePoint Workspace will warn you about the cache size at startup. When the cache exceeds 1800 files, or when a particular operation - whether that is taking a new site offline or fetching a single new file - would take you over the 1800 file limit, SharePoint Workspace will display a warning and switch to downloading headers only for any new content taken offline.

Finding files stored in SharePoint workspaces

Note that although SharePoint Workspace uses the ODC, files in SharePoint workspaces are not visible in the Upload Center. However, files in SharePoint workspaces and 2010 Groove workspaces are easier to find than ever before!

By searching:

You can use Windows Search -- either from Windows or within SharePoint Workspace -- to search the following content:

  • Files stored in the Documents tool (including SharePoint workspace document libraries)
  • Items in the Lists tool (including SharePoint workspace lists, the 2010 Discussion tool, and other Lists-based tools)
  • Items in the Calendar tool
  • Entries in the Notepad tool
  • Messages in the Message History

By browsing:

If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, you can access files in the Documents tool (including SharePoint workspace document libraries) via the Workspaces folder in your personal folder.

Note that 2007 Groove workspaces are not accessible using these methods, so if you have a workspace created with a previous version of Groove, or you set the Workspace Version option to 2007 when creating a new Groove workspace, content in that workspace will not show up in a Windows search, and the workspace will not be listed in your Workspaces folder.

Groove servers

So does SharePoint Workspace 2010 use Groove servers? That depends on what product features you use. Groove servers are not used by SharePoint workspaces. Beyond that, the subject probably deserves its own post.

That's all for today! Is there some SharePoint Workspace feature or change you'd like to see covered here? Leave a comment to let me know.