Chromebooks are designed to be used on the web. The driving force behind the Chromebook’s design is that users can do just about anything they need to while using apps and services on the web. Of course, sometimes it’s not possible to be online all the time and you want your Chromebook to still work offline. There is good news. With a little planning, you can use your Chromebook offline without missing a beat.
Using your Chromebook offline
Your Chromebook offers a lot of options (some of which may surprise you) even if you can’t connect to the internet. However, just like Windows and Mac computers, you’ll need to think ahead if you’re going to stay offline to enable some of the features you might need.
You have two options:
- Turn on offline-compatible apps and services that will be available when you’re not connected to the Internet.
- Use third party apps and services that are available offline.
Luckily, Google Apps has built-in offline mode, so you should be fine once you turn them on. As for third-party apps, there’s an easy way to find apps that are compatible with offline mode, but as a general rule, if it works for Android devices offline, it will probably work with your Chromebook offline.
How to use your Chromebook offline
The first option is to enable apps and services that you will use offline to work offline. This is a big part of accessing Google Drive apps, including:
- Checking your email.
- Create and edit documents, spreadsheets and presentations.
- Create and access notes or the ability to take notes.
- Reading saved web pages.
- Play movies, music or games.
First you need to make Google Drive and possibly some specific files available offline.
Make Google Drive Available Offline
You will need to make Google Drive available while you are still online, so it will have time to sync files to your computer before you have no internet access. For this:
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Open Google Drive while you are connected to the Internet and open standalone Google Docs extension .
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Click Add to Chrome .
If the extension button says » Remove from Chrome» or » Added to Chrome» the extension is already enabled.
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Then go to google drive settings (while you are still online).
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In chapter » Offline » of the Preferences dialog box, check the box next to the option to make Google Drive files available offline. It may take a few minutes for this option to be enabled after selecting it.)
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Once the option is enabled, click Ready .
How to Access Offline Files
You have now granted offline access to Google Drive. This will sync your most recently used files to your Chromebook’s internal storage so you can access them when you don’t have internet access. You can make any changes you need to your files offline, and those changes will automatically sync the next time your Chromebook connects to the internet.
To access offline files:
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Click Launcher and then click ^ (up arrow).
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Select Google Drive .
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Find and double-click on the file you want to open and make changes as usual. Your changes will be automatically saved and synced the next time your Chromebook comes online.
Make certain files available for offline use
By default, the files that become available when you enable offline use on your Chromebook will be the files you’ve recently accessed on your Google Drive. If there are other files you’d like to have available, you can turn them on individually while you’re still connected to the internet.
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AT Google Drive select the file you want to include for offline use.
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Select the three-dot menu at the top of the document list.
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Toggle Available offline on On
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Give the document time to sync and you can access it offline.
How to remove offline access
If you no longer need to access a document offline, you can remove it from offline access at any time.