11.1 Using Caching Mode

Caching mode stores a copy of your network mailbox, including your messages and other information, on your local drive. This allows you to use GroupWise whether or not your network or Post Office Agent is available. Because you are not connected to the network all the time, this mode cuts down on network traffic and has the best performance. A connection is made automatically to retrieve and send new messages. All updates are performed in the background so your work is not interrupted.

You should use this mode if you have enough disk space on your local drive to store your mailbox.

11.1.1 Understanding Caching Features

Most GroupWise features are available in Caching mode, with the exception of subscribing to other users’ notifications.

Several users can set up their Caching Mailboxes on a single shared computer.

Figure 11-1 Mailbox View with Caching Mode Selected

If you run Caching Mode and Remote Mode on the same computer, the same local mailbox (also called the Caching Mailbox or Remote Mailbox) can be used to minimize disk space usage. For information about Remote mode, see Section 11.2, Using Remote Mode.

If disk space is limited, you can restrict the items that are downloaded to your local mailbox. You can specify to get the subject line only or specify a size limit.

Your system administrator can specify settings that do not allow you to use Caching mode or that require you to use only Caching mode.

11.1.2 Setting Up Your Caching Mailbox

Setting up a Caching Mailbox requires enough disk space (either on your local hard drive or another network drive) to store all the data in your mailbox.

  1. Make sure GroupWise is installed on the computer where you want to set up your Caching Mailbox.

  2. Click File > Mode > Caching.

    or

    Click Caching on the drop-down list above the Folder List.

    Mailbox view with Caching selected from the drop-down list

  3. Type the path for your Caching Mailbox, then click OK.

    GroupWise automatically updates the Caching Mailbox with an image of the Online Mailbox. The initial update or “priming” should not be interrupted until it is complete. You are prompted to restart GroupWise to change to the Caching Mode.

    After the Caching Mailbox is primed, you might want to run GroupWise in Caching Mode without changing modes from Online to Caching.

    GroupWise automatically starts in the mode that it was last in.

11.1.3 Changing to Caching Mode

To change to Caching mode from any other mode:

  1. Click the Mode Selector, then click Caching.

    If your Caching mailbox is not located at the location currently specified in the Caching mailbox directory field under Tools > Options > Environment > File Location, you are prompted for the location. This could happen if you run GroupWise on a workstation that is shared by multiple GroupWise users who have local Caching mailboxes.

    If your Caching mailbox password is different from your Online mailbox password, you are prompted for your Caching mailbox password. For more information about passwords, see Section 16.2, Managing Mailbox Passwords.

  2. When you are asked to restart GroupWise, click Yes.

    When GroupWise restarts, you are in Caching mode.

11.1.4 Setting Caching Properties

You can set properties that determine how your caching mailbox functions.

  1. In Caching mode, click Accounts > Account Options > Properties > Advanced.

  2. Make sure the IP address and port are correct.

  3. To change the password, click Online Mailbox Password, type the old password, type the new password twice, then click OK.

  4. Select whether to get only the subject line, get the contents of mail messages regardless of size, or to get the contents of any messages smaller than the sizes you specify.

    This option helps you limit the sizes of messages you retrieve from your mailbox. Limiting the sizes of messages speeds download times and preserves space; however, you might not get the complete messages.

  5. Select whether to synchronize options between the caching mailbox and your online mailbox.

  6. Specify whether (and when) to refresh your address books and rules.

  7. Click OK.

11.1.5 Working in Caching Mode

Some GroupWise features work slightly differently in Caching mode than they do in Online mode.

  • The Accounts menu is displayed in Caching mode, but not in Online mode.

  • In the Sent Items folder, the number in square brackets shows how many items are pending to be sent from Caching mode. If you try to exit GroupWise while items are pending, a message warns you that you have unsent items.

  • If you change any mailbox options under Tools > Options while working in Caching mode, the settings are transferred to your Online mailbox.

  • Changes in shared folders are updated whenever you connect to the master GroupWise system.

  • Changes in shared calendars are updated whenever you connect to the master GroupWise system.

  • When items are archived from your Caching mailbox, they are also removed from your Online mailbox during the next synchronization.

  • If you have a POP3 or IMAP4 account, you have the option of having the account available in Caching mode but not in Online mode, as described in Section 12.4.2, Using POP3 and IMAP4 Accounts in Remote and Caching Modes.

  • Subscribing to other users’ notifications is not available in Caching mode.

11.1.6 Changing the Download Interval Time for Your Caching Mailbox

You can specify how often GroupWise refreshes the items in your GroupWise Caching mailbox.

  1. Click Accounts > Account Options.

  2. Click General Options.

  3. In the Send/Retrieve All Marked Accounts every x minutes field, specify the number of minutes to refresh the accounts.

  4. Click OK.

11.1.7 Synchronizing Your Caching Mailbox with Your Online Mailbox

Use the following steps to update or synchronize your Caching Mailbox items, rules, addresses, documents, and settings with your Online Mailbox.

  1. To synchronize items, click Accounts > Send/Retrieve > Novell GroupWise.

  2. To synchronize rules, click Tools > Rules, then click Refresh.

  3. To retrieve addresses from an address book, click Tools > Address Book.

    Select the system address book, click View > Retrieve System Address Book.

    To retrieve your personal address books, click Retrieve Personal Address Books.

  4. To specify that the system address book, your personal address books, and rules be downloaded to your Caching Mailbox on a regular basis, click Accounts > Account Options, click your GroupWise account, click Properties, click Advanced, then select and specify the number of days in the Refresh Address Books and Rules Every field.

  5. To update all of the items in your Caching Mailbox at one time, click Tools > Retrieve Entire Mailbox.

    Updating your entire Caching Mailbox can take a lot of time and bandwidth (just like the initial “priming” of your Caching Mailbox) and monopolize resources in your client and at the server. You should use this complete synchronization sparingly, such as for suspected database corruption of your Caching Mailbox.

If you have GroupWise Library documents in your Mailbox, marking a document as In Use prevents others from modifying the document. If you don’t mark a document as In Use, someone can edit it while you have the copy in your Caching Mailbox. If you then edit the document and return it to the Master Library, your document is saved as a new version and the edits are not saved to the other version. If you don’t plan to edit a document, don’t mark it In Use. When you exit an In Use document, you’re asked to send the document to the Master Library and mark it as Available. If you’re done with the document, the document should be marked Available to allow others editing access to it.

11.1.8 Opening a Different Version of a Document in Your Caching Mailbox

  1. Click a document in your Caching Mailbox.

  2. Click Actions > Version List.

  3. Click Remote Libraries to display the versions you previously retrieved into your Caching Mailbox.

    or

    Click Master Libraries to display the versions available in your master GroupWise system.

    If you chose to search the Master Libraries, you can connect to your GroupWise system immediately or save the search request until you are ready to connect later.

  4. Click the versions you want to open in the Versions list box.

  5. Click Actions > Open.

11.1.9 Viewing Pending Requests

Whenever you perform an action that requires information to be sent from your Caching Mailbox to your Online Mailbox, GroupWise creates a request that is placed in the Pending Requests list. When you connect to your GroupWise system, all the requests are sent to your Online Mailbox. Use Pending Requests to check for outstanding requests.

  1. Click Accounts > Pending Requests.

    Pending Requests dialog box

In Caching mode, GroupWise immediately uploads send requests and other important messages. If a Caching request hasn’t been processed yet, you can delete it by clicking the request, then clicking Delete. Only requests that haven’t been sent to the GroupWise system and have the Waiting to be Sent status can be deleted. If you have already sent a request to the GroupWise system, you cannot cancel the request.

11.1.10 Displaying Connection Status

By default, the Connection Status window is not displayed in Caching mode, but you can display it by clicking Account > Show Status Window.

11.1.11 Changing the Download Interval Time for Your Caching Mailbox

You can specify how often GroupWise refreshes the items in your GroupWise Caching mailbox.

  1. Click Accounts > Account Options.

  2. Click General Options.

  3. In the Send/Retrieve All Marked Accounts every x minutes field, specify the number of minutes to refresh the accounts.

  4. Click OK.