How To Enable Offline Viewing Of Files In Google Drive

by Tafesse T. Supply Chain Management Team

1. First open up your Google Chrome browser or Install Google Chrome if you haven't already.
2. Launch a new Chrome browser window and go to drive.google.com.
3. Click the gear drop-down and select Set up Docs offline from the menu.
4. In the "Set up offline viewing of Google Docs" dialog that appears, click Allow offline docs.
5. Click Install from Chrome web store next to the dialog box.
6. From the Chrome web store, click Install.
7. Click the Google Docs icon to go back to your Google Drive.

Repeat the above steps for every computer where you'll need offline access to Google Drive. Setting up the offline access can give access tot your personal files so Protect your Google Drive by enabling offline access only on personal computers or computers where you have a password protected account. Enabling offline access on public or shared computers can put your data at risk, since others may be able to view your synced Google documents and spreadsheets.

While you can't edit Google documents and spreadsheets offline, you can view them without an Internet connection. Just point your Chrome browser to drive.google.com and select Google document or spreadsheet to view. View access isn't available for Google presentations, forms, or drawings. Non-Google Docs files that you've stored in Google Drive Can be viewed and also edited. You can both view and edit files such as PDFs, Microsoft Office files, and images, from your Google Drive folder even when you're disconnected from the Internet. Any changes you've made to synced files while offline will sync to all devices with a time stamp when you reconnect to the Internet.