Briefcase Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (274752)

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• QUESTION: How do I install and use Briefcase?
  
  ANSWER: For information about how to install and use Briefcase, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  142574 How to Install and Use Briefcase

• QUESTION: The My Briefcase icon was converted to a folder; how do I get the My Briefcase icon back?
  
  ANSWER: To change the My Briefcase icon from a folder to a briefcase, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click an empty area on the desktop.
  2. On the shortcut menu, point to New, and then click Briefcase.
     
     A new Briefcase is created on the desktop.
  3. Right-click the old Briefcase.
  4. On the shortcut menu, click Delete.
• QUESTION: How do I uninstall Briefcase? It is not in the Add/Remove Program list.
  
  ANSWER: For information about how to uninstall Briefcase, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  132653 Cannot Uninstall Briefcase in Add/Remove Programs

• QUESTION: When I delete a file in Briefcase and then click Update All, why am I not prompted to delete the original file?
  
  ANSWER: This behavior can occur if you modify the original file before you delete the copy in Briefcase. To work around this behavior, delete the original file, and then delete the copy of the file in Briefcase.
• QUESTION: When I copy or move a Briefcase that is larger than the capacity of the storage media (for example, a 1.44-megabyte [MB] floppy disk), why can I synchronize the files on the first disk, but not the files on subsequent disks?
  
  ANSWER: This behavior can occur because the files that are copied to subsequent disks are not identified as belonging to the Briefcase on the first disk. To work around this issue, use either of the following methods to reduce the size of a Briefcase so that it will fit onto a single disk:

  Method 1: Reduce the number of files in the Briefcase so that the total size of all the files is no greater than the size of one disk in the storage media that you are using.
  
  Method 2: Store the files in multiple Briefcases so that the total size of any one Briefcase is no greater that the size of one disk, and then copy or move one Briefcase to each disk.

• QUESTION: When I click Update All on the Briefcase toolbar, why can I see neither the entire path nor the time and date information of the files that I am trying to update?
  
  ANSWER: This behavior can occur for either of the following reasons:
  • You have selected a desktop theme or color scheme with large fonts, or you have otherwise edited your desktop fonts to be too large for a standard window.
    
    You can resolve this issue by reducing the size of your desktop fonts.
  • The dialog box is a system-modal dialog box that requires input before it can continue, and it does not support resizing.
    
    To work around this issue, move your pointer onto the file, and then wait a moment for the entire path to be displayed.
• QUESTION: When I right-click a file or folder, point to Send To, and then click My Briefcase, why is the file or folder not sent to Briefcase?
  
  ANSWER: This behavior can occur if User Profiles are enabled on the computer. To work around this behavior, copy the file or folder to Briefcase instead of using the Send To command.
• QUESTION: How can I get Briefcase to save a folder name with an extension?
  
  ANSWER: Create a briefcase folder using a name that does not contain an extension or that contains two or more extensions. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Right-click a blank area on the desktop, point to New, and then click Briefcase.
  2. Type the name that you want for your briefcase folder.
     
     Either do not type an extension or type two extensions, as in the following example:

     test.1.1

     NOTE: The Test.1.1 briefcase folder appears as the Test.1 folder on the desktop, but the folder properties contain the full name.
  3. Press ENTER.
• QUESTION: Why didn't Briefcase install on my computer when I ran a typical setup?
  
  ANSWER: For information about installing Briefcase and other Windows components, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  188125 Windows 98 Components for Typical, Portable and Compact Setup