Here's how to access Google Drive files even when offline
What's the story
The biggest disadvantage of cloud storage is that files remain inaccessible if you aren't online. Now, Google Drive has announced that you will be able to access your files offline, after enabling access through a few simple steps. The new feature will be a boon to those in remote areas with patchy internet connectivity and frequent travelers. Here's how to enable offline access.
Generally available
Users must have Google Drive desktop app installed
Google began beta testing offline access to files on Drive way back in 2019. Now the ability to access PDFs, images, and Microsoft Office Suite documents offline has been made generally available. The most important prerequisite for offline access is that you must have the Google Drive desktop app for Windows or Mac already installed.
How-to
Select and switch on 'available offline' toggle for required documents
To enable offline access, first, open the web version of Drive using a browser and click the gear icon on the top right-hand side to open Drive settings. Here, make sure "Offline" access is enabled. Once that is done, just right-click on a file you want to access offline. From the menu that appears, just toggle on the "Available offline" switch.
Details
Offline access uses your computer's installed program to open files
In its support post detailing the new feature, Google said that these non-Google files "need to be opened using apps installed on your computer through Google Drive Web when offline". This means that the files marked for offline access will be opened using Microsoft Office, Google Chrome, or your installed PDF reader. These files are badged on Drive (online) with a download icon.
Free
New feature is available to free and paid Google accounts
Google is providing offline access at no additional charge to all personal Google accounts and G Suite Basic and Business customers. This includes those who hold Cloud Identity Free and Cloud Identity Premium accounts. Google Drive offers 15GB of free storage for all accounts. This can be upgraded as desired using a Google One subscription.