How To Use Google Docs Offline

lIn the past one of the benefits of using native desktop applications such as Microsoft Word is that it can be used regardless of whether you have an internet connection. This means that when you’re traveling in locations that do not offer a reliable connection, you can still get your work done.

Web-based applications such as Google Docs back in the day did not support offline use. This meant that when you lose your internet connection, you lose the ability to edit documents, but that has changed because Google has since added the ability for users to use Google Docs offline.

However, the feature does need to be enabled so here’s you can go about turning it on for your computer, iPhone and iPad, and Android devices.

How To Use Google Docs Offline On Your Computer

1. Download the Google Docs Offline Chrome extension
2. Install the extension
3. Go to the Google Docs website
4. Make sure you’re signed into your Google account
5. At the top left corner, press the icon with the three lines
6. Select Settings
7. Under Offline, make sure that the toggle has been turned on
8. Once it has been enabled, you should be able to use Google Docs offline

How To Make Individual Google Docs Files Available Offline

1. Tap the three dots icon located next to each file
2. Click the Available offline toggle

1. Open the Google Docs file you wish to make available offline
2. Go to File > Make available offline

Note that with methods 2 and 3, you will only be making specific files available offline, versus the entire Google Docs. If you wish to be able to access your entire Google Docs when offline, you will need to use method 1.

How To Use Google Docs Offline On Your iPhone And iPad

1. Launch the Google Docs app
2. Tap the three dots icon located next to each file
3. Select Make available offline

1. Launch the Google Docs app
2. Open the Google Docs file you want to make offline
3. Tap the three dots icon at the top right corner of the app
4. Toggle Available offline

How To Use Google Docs Offline On Android

1. Launch the Google Docs app
2. Tap the three dots icon located next to each file
3. Select Make available offline

1. Launch the Google Docs app
2. Open the Google Docs file you want to make offline
3. Tap the three dots icon at the top right corner of the app
4. Toggle Available offline

Using Google Docs Offline With Multiple Accounts

If you have multiple Google accounts, such as one for work, one for school, and one for personal use, you might run into some issues when trying to access Google Docs offline. To avoid this problem, you will need to create a separate Chrome account that will sync with your main account and its settings, and here’s how you do it:

1. Click your profile photo icon located at the top right corner of Chrome’s screen
2. A window will popup, click Add person
3. Select a name and an icon to represent the second user and click Add
4. A new Chrome window will appear
5. Sign in with your second (or third) Google account and you will be all set

Using Google Docs, Sheets, And Slides Offline

The methods we mentioned above apply not just to Google Docs, but it will also apply to Google Sheets and Google Slides files, so feel free to go through the same process to make those files available offline as well. However, we should point out that making all your files available offline does take up storage space on your computer, so depending on how many files you have in your Google Drive, this could end up consuming a lot of storage.

Filed in General. Read more about Google, Google Docs and Google Drive.