Set network files/folders to offline via script (batch/powershell) - powershell

Question

I'm trying to automate the process of right clicking a folder or file and then clicking the "Always available offline" in windows 7+.
I've not been able to find any command or batch way to do that. So far, I found this powershell script that simulate a right click operation on a context menu item (Always available offline in my case).
$o = New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application
$o.Namespace("Z:\").Self.verbs() | `
Where-Object { $_.Name -eq 'Always &available offline' } | `
ForEach-Object { $_.DoIt() }
It doesn't work.
If I try to pass a folder or UNC path instead of a drive (let's say Z:\foldertomakeavailableoffline), all I get is "You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression." as if the folder I specify doesn't exist.
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks.

Answer 1

It would be rather helpful if you would post your $o.Namespace("Z:\").Self.verbs() result like this:
Mine are:
Name
----
&Open
Git &Add all files now
Git &Commit Tool
Git &History
Git &Gui
Git Ba&sh
Scan for Viruses...
Hg &Workbench
Restore previous &versions
Combine files in Acrobat...
Select &Left Folder for Compare
&Disconnect
&Copy
Create &shortcut
Rena&me
P&roperties
In my eyes the issue here is that you don't see it and that is why id does not work. (It is also atypical menu item as the value are true/false).
I would try to do it the following "pinning" way:
If you need to pin a folder/file for a user try this:
$path = “\\path_to\shared\folder”
$objWMI = [wmiclass]”\\.\root\cimv2:win32_offlinefilescache”
$objWMI.Pin($path, 0x00001221, $true)
Which uses these bits:
0x00001221
OfflineFilesPinControlFlagFill (0x00000001)
Fills the item in addition to pinning it. This results in the item being fully cached as part of the pin operation. If this flag is not
set, the item is only pinned and must wait to be filled by some other
means of synchronization. Note that the Offline Files service
periodically fills files in the background. If immediate offline
availability is not necessary, it may be better (performance-wise) to
not set this flag and let the service fill the file in the background.
OfflineFilesPinControlFlagForUser (0x00000020)
Pins the items for the calling user. This is the flag typically set for a caller of this function. It is important to note that
Offline Files does not support a true per-user notion of pinning. When
an item is pinned for a user, it is pinned for all users of that
machine. An item that is pinned with this flag can be unpinned by any
user who has access to that file. The ability to access that pinned
file depends on the user's access rights to that file computed while
online.
OfflineFilesPinControlFlagLowPriority (0x00000200)
Reserved for future use.
(I like to use this one for it is LowPriority not to clog the system)
OfflineFilesPinControlFlagConsole (0x00001000)
This flag is ignored if the OfflineFilesPinControlFlagInteractive flag is not set. If the OfflineFilesPinControlFlagInteractive flag is
set, this flag indicates that any UI produced should be directed to
the console window associated with the process invoking the operation.