Google Drive lets you work offline so you can view and edit files without an internet connection — but you have to be using the right browser or mobile app, and it still only works with some features. Here’s where you can do it.
Google Operating System points to a Google help documents the current state of play for offline editing and viewing in a recent post. If you want to work offline on a computer, you need to be using Chrome and enable offline mode (under ‘More’ in the left menu). For mobile devices, you need the official Android or iOS Google Drive apps. Here are the options for viewing and editing files offline in each of those environments:
| App | Web | Android/iOS |
|---|---|---|
| My Drive | View | View |
| Documents | View/Edit | View |
| Spreadsheets | View | View |
| Presentations | View/Edit | View |
| Drawings | – | View |
| Other Drive files | – | View |
A couple of notes:
- While you can star files and folders for My Drive using the Android and iOS apps, I don’t think this counts as editing.
- Google has said offline access will soon be available for Sheets.
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