How To Download Google Docs Files Offline In Windows

Google Docs is our go-to tool to edit/view docs which can be used online and is synced across all devices. Google Docs includes all the features that we see with Microsoft Word, but this tool is free to use and is more versatile. However, the only downside of Google Docs is that it requires an active internet connection to access and sync data from the server. And you can’t access the data offline.

However, there are a few tips and tricks that you can use to access all your Google Docs offline on your Windows machine.

Also Read: Best Google Docs Add-Ons That You Didn’t Know About!

How To Download Google Docs Files Offline In Windows

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can make Google Docs files available offline on your system.

Step 1: Enable Offline Access in Google Chrome

Before you can access offline Google Docs files using Google Chrome, you must verify that the offline option is activated. Here’s how you can do this:

1. Open Google Chrome: Make sure you are logged in using the Google account that you use for Google Docs.

2. Install the Google Docs Offline Extension: Go to the Chrome Web Store, search for the extension “Google Docs Offline” and add it to your Chrome browser.

Download Google Docs Offline Extension from HERE.

Click “Add to Chrome” button to install the plugin.

Enable Offline Mode: Open Google Drive (drive.google.com) and then click the gear icon at the top-right corner and select ‘Settings’.

Next, check the box next to “Create, open and edit your recent Google docs, sheets and slides files on this device while offline.” under the Offline section.

Now once enabled you can view selected documents even without any active internet connection.

Also Read: How To Use Google Drive – Everything To Know About It!

Step 2: Make Specific Documents Available Offline

Next, navigate back to the list of documents and select the documents that you wish to enable for offline access:

1. Navigate to Google Drive: Open Google Drive in any browser.
2. Select Your Files: Look for any Document in Google Drive that you wish to make available for offline access.
3. Access Files Offline: Now right-click on the document and choose the “Make Available Offline” option, this will enable offline access and you can access that document even when your smartphone or computer is not connected to the internet.

Step 3: Accessing Your Files Offline

Now that you have enabled offline access mode, and the document that you selected is available offline. With the offline feature enabled, you can even edit these files even if you don’t have an internet connection. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Open Google Chrome: Google Chrome is one of the recommended browsers to view Google Docs, both offline and online.
2. Visit Google Docs: Type in docs.google.com in your browser’s search bar or you can copy and paste the address of the file you are using in Google Drive instead. Chrome will notice that you are now offline and will automatically switch to offline mode.
3. Access Your Files: Now you can see all your documents that you had marked to be made available offline. Pick any of these documents and then double-click to open or edit them.

How to Set Up Google Docs Offline on Mobile (Android/iOS)

While we all are working on the go, and this makes having the offline feature for Google Documents even more useful on portable devices like smartphones and tablets. To begin the process, you must have Google Docs app on your smartphone.

Download Google Docs App: Android | iOS

Similarly, for Google Sheets, you must have the Google Sheets app as well.

Now navigate to Menu and under Settings look for a toggle “Make recent files available offline” and enable it. Now every time you open a document Google will ask you to save the document to make it available offline.

To access all the offline documents navigate to Menu and look for a section titled “Offline“, to view all your saved offline documents.

You can even download documents on your smartphone to view the documents later, and even edit those documents offline. This helps if you share a lot of documents by downloading them and attaching these documents over email.

Here is a guide on how to download Google Docs on your smartphone.

How to Download a Google Doc on Your iPhone

You can download Google Docs on an iPhone with the Google Docs app. Here are the steps to follow.

• Step 1: Open Google Docs app and locate the document you want to download.
• Step 2: Now, to download the document, click on the three-dot menu (…) next to it.
• Step 3: Select “Save as Word (.docx)” document or click on “Send a Copy”, and here select the file format as PDF or Word (.docx). And click OK.
• Step 4: Now the download will prepare the file and when a new menu shows up on the screen, choose “Save to Files“. Select the location to store the file by going to File > store.

Also Read: 7 Best Google Drive Plugins To Make Your Work Life More Intuitive!

How to Download a Google Doc on Your Android

• Step 1: Open the Google Docs app on your Android phone and look for the document that you want to download.
• Step 2: Select the three vertical dots (…) next to the document. This will show a menu to perform various actions.
• Step 3: If you want to save/download the document as a PDF, then select the Download option. You can also save it as a Word (.docx) document. The document will be saved in the Downloads folder on your Android device. Use the Files app on your Android smartphone to navigate and look for the file under the Downloads section.

Additional Tips

Here are some additional tips that you can keep in mind to keep your documents synced all across the devices and manage documents efficiently.

Sync Regularly: Whenever you regain internet access, Google Docs will automatically sync your offline edits with the cloud, ensuring that your documents are always up-to-date across all your devices. Try to gain internet access once every few days if possible to make the documents synced with the cloud.

Storage Space: Be mindful of your device’s storage space, as making too many files available offline can consume significant amounts of disk space.

Conclusion

Whether you’re dealing with unreliable internet or preparing for a situation where you won’t have access to the web, downloading Google Docs files for offline access on Windows is straightforward. By following the steps outlined above, you can ensure that your important documents are always within reach, allowing you to stay productive regardless of your connectivity status.

Also Read: How To Use Copilot On Microsoft Windows 10?

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