Offline Google Doc

Offline: How does offline work?Print
Google Docs uses Gears, an open source browser extension that enables web applications to run offline. When you aren't connected to the Internet, Google Docs uses information stored on your computer's hard drive rather than relying on information sent across the network. When you're offline, your edits are stored on your own computer until you re-connect, at which point your changes are synced with Google Docs' servers and made available to collaborators.


Offline Help Guide

1. Overview
A. What is Google Docs offline?
Google Docs now allows you to view and edit your word processing documents offline, without an Internet connection. To do all of this, Google Docs uses Google Gears, an open source browser extension that adds offline functionality directly to the browser. Google Docs can be accessed offline by typing http://docs.google.com into your browser or by clicking on the desktop shortcut that is downloaded during the installation process.

Offline editing for presentations and spreadsheets is not available at this time.


B. How does it work?
Google Docs uses Google Gears, an open source browser extension that enables web applications to run offline. When you aren't connected to the Internet, Google Docs uses information stored on your computer's hard drive rather than relying on information sent across the network. When you are offline, your edits are stored on your own computer until you re-connect, at which point your changes are synced with Google Docs' servers and made available to collaborators.


C. Enabling Google Docs offline
To install or enable Gears for Google Docs, click on the Offline link in the upper right corner of your Docs list.
When you see the following dialogue box, click on the "Get Google Gears now" button.



You will then be asked to allow https://docs.google.com as a trusted site. Check the box next to "I trust this site. Allow it to use Google Gears." Then, click the Allow button.


Once you've enabled Google Gears for Google Docs, you will be able to edit your existing documents anywhere, even without an Internet connection.

To access Google Docs offline, just open a browser and type in http://docs.google.com or simply click on the Google Docs desktop shortcut, as shown below.




D. Syncing docs for the first time
The first time you sync your Docs after enabling offline access, there may be a short waiting period until all your docs get synced with the server. Once you see "Status: synchronized", you're set. If your Docs don't sync, please try once more. If the problem continues, please try manually refreshing your browser or uninstalling and reinstalling Google Gears.


E. Working offline
You can edit any of your existing word processing documents while offline. You can also view your spreadsheets. At this time, you cannot create new docs offline.
To share or publish your docs, just log back on to http://docs.google.com when you go back online.


F. How to tell when you're working offline
There are a couple ways to tell if you're working offline.
To share or publish your docs, just log back on to http://docs.google.com when you go back online.
From your Docs list, you'll see a status indicator in the upper right corner. When working offline, this indicator will turn gray. When working online, you'll see a green checkmark inside a dot to the right of your user name.
From your doc, you'll also see a message in yellow at the top of your word processing documents indicating that you're working offline.



Please note that if the offline indicator turns red, and the arrow inside is replaced by an exclamation point, which means that offline editing isn't working. In this case, to be safe, discontinue editing. Don't close your browser or the window in which your document is open. Instead, wait until you're back online to make sure your changes are saved.


G. Saving changes while working offline
Just like when you're working online, your changes will automatically be saved while working offline. However, in order for these changes to be saved to the server, you'll need to log on to Google Docs with an Internet connection from the same browser and same computer you used offline. Your changes will automatically be saved to the server when a network connection is detected by Google Docs.


H. Security precautions while working offline
The Google Docs offline feature is meant for use only on your personal computer. To protect the privacy of your docs, please do not use the offline feature when working on a public or shared computer.
If you sign on to your Google Docs account on a public computer and get a message to enable Gears, you should not accept.


2. Google Gears
A. How do I install/uninstall Google Gears?
To install Google Gears, follow these steps:
Note: You need to be connected to the Internet to install Google Gears.

Sign in to an account with administrative rights.
Download Google Gears from the Gears homepage.
Open the downloaded file.
Restart your browser. Gears won't be usable until your browser has been restarted.

To uninstall Google Gears on Windows XP or Vista, follow these steps:
Open Add or Remove Programs (on XP) or Programs and Features (on Vista) from the Windows Control Panel.
In the window that opens, find Google Gears and select it.
Click the Remove button.

If you're running Mac OS X or Linux, you can uninstall from Firefox. To do so, follow these steps:
Open Firefox.
Go to Tools > Extensions (Firefox 1.x) or Tools > Add-ons (Firefox 2.0+).
Find Google Gears and select it.
Click Uninstall.

Please note: Uninstalling will not clear any offline information you currently have on your system.


B. Changing Gears settings
To adjust your settings for Google Gears, go to Tools > Google Gears Settings. In the Settings window, you can remove items from both your 'Allowed Sites' and 'Denied Sites' lists.


C. Where is my data stored when I work offline?
Your computer's operating system, and the browser you're using, determine the location of your data. Your documents are stored by Google Gears in a special data format. Below is a list of these locations:

Windows Vista - Internet Explorer
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\LocalLow\Google\Google Gears for Internet Explorer

Windows Vista - Firefox. Database files are stored in the user profile directory.
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{PROFILE}.default\Google Gears for Firefox

Windows XP - Internet Explorer.
C:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Google Gears for Internet Explorer

Windows XP - Firefox. Database files are stored in the user profile directory.
C:\Documents and Settings\%USERNAME%\Local Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\{PROFILE}.default\Google Gears for Firefox

Mac OS/X - Firefox. Database files are stored in the user profile directory.
Users/%USERNAME%/Library/Caches/Firefox/Profiles/{PROFILE}.default/Google Gears for Firefox

Linux - Firefox. Database files are stored in the user home directory.
~%USERNAME%/.mozilla/firefox/{PROFILE}.default/Google Gears for Firefox



D. System Requirements
To use Google Gears, you’ll need one of the following:
Microsoft Windows XP or Vista with Firefox 1.5+ or Internet Explorer 6+
Apple Mac OS X (10.2+) with Firefox 1.5+
Linux with Firefox 1.5+

Note: Firefox 3.0+ beta is not yet supported.
If your browser isn't listed here, stay tuned; we’re working to make Gears available for more browsers in the future.


E. Using multiple computers
Each computer syncs offline data separately. If you plan to use Google Gears on more than one computer, you'll need to sync each computer with your online data. Un-synced changes on one computer won't be reflected on another computer.


F. Using multiple browsers
Each browser syncs offline data separately. If you plan to use Google Gears on more than one browser, you'll need to sync each browser.


G. Connection issues
Below are several possible causes for the connection error you're receiving. Please determine which of these causes may be applicable to you and follow the instructions to resolve the problem.

Your firewall, anti-virus software, or proxy is preventing the program from accessing the Internet. In this case, you need to add it to your security software's exceptions list. If you're using Windows firewall, you can add this program by following these steps:
Click "Start" in your Windows Taskbar and choose "Control Panel" > "Windows Firewall."
Select the "Exceptions" tab.
Click the "Add Program" button.
Click "Browse" and select "My Computer" from the left side of the window.
Select "Local Disk (C:)" and click "Open."
Double-click "Program Files" > "Google" > "Common."
Select the folder with the highest number and open it.
Choose the file "googleupdate.exe."

If you're using other firewall software, please visit that program's website for specific instructions to add applications to the exceptions list.

You may not have the latest updates for Windows XP. If you're not currently running Windows XP Service Pack 2, please try upgrading Windows.

You’re on an authenticated proxy server that isn't supported. Currently, we support the Negotiate authentication scheme. This includes both Kerberos and NTLM, depending on what is available. Additionally, proxies using "integrated authentication" are supported, provided that the current user is authorized to go through that proxy. Please determine if you're on a supported proxy server.

Your computer's Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) isn't starting properly. If this is the case, you may want to verify that BITS is correctly configured. To ensure that BITS is enabled, please follow these steps:
Click the "Start" button in your Windows taskbar and select "Settings" > "Control Panel" > "Administrative Tools" > "Services."
Select "Background Intelligent Transfer Service" from the list.
Right-click “Background Intelligent Transfer Service” and choose "Properties" from the menu.
From the "General" tab verify that the "Startup" type is set to either "Automatic" or "Manual." Make sure this setting is not "Disabled."

If you continue to have difficulties with BITS, make sure you have write access to the following folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\Network\Downloader\
To determine if you have write access, right-click the folder and choose "Properties." If you see an empty box next to "Read-only" in the "General tab," you do have write access. If you see a checkmark or a green box, click the box until it's empty and click "OK." If you're unable to click the box, please speak with your system administrator.



3. Troubleshooting
A. Persistent error messages while offline
If you're getting a persistent error message while working offline, make sure you do the following:


Keep your browser window open until you can go back online. Once you're back online, Google Docs will start syncing and saving your changes.


If Google Docs does not sync once online, copy the content of your document to a text file in order to make sure you've backed up your work.


If you've already closed your browser, it's possible some content has been lost. However, go back online making sure to access your documents from the same browser and thesame computerthat you used to edit them while offline. You'll want to be sure to check for your changes under revisions.



B. Offline changes not visible online
If you're accessing the document online, and the changes you made while offline still aren't showing up, make sure you visit Google Docs with an active Internet connection from the same browser and computer you used offline. This will allow your changes to be synchronized to the server.


If, after this, you still don't have access to your changes, you may need to reset your offline access. To do this, remove docs.google.com as an approved domain in Google Gears, add it back and then start the activation process again. Note that this will discard any offline changes you made previously that were not synchronized to the server. However, it could prevent any further problems if syncing between your online and offline versions simply isn't working.



C. Adding and removing Google Docs as an approved domain
To remove Google Docs as an approved domain, please follow these steps:
From your browser's menus, go to Tools > Google Gears Settings.
Click the Remove link next to docs.google.com
Click the Save button to save your changes.
Restart your browser. Gears won't be usable until your browser has been restarted.


To add Google Docs as an approved domain, follow these steps:
From the Docs list, click the Offlinelink.
In the dialog that appears, click, Enable offline access.
In the next window, check the box next to I trust this site. Allow it to use Google Gears and click Allow. This will re-enable docs.google.com as an approved domain in Google Gears.



D. Working with collaborators offline
Your collaborators and viewers will not be able to see any of your edits made offline until you're back online and Google Docs has synchronized with the server. To access a document you edited offline, and sync changes you've made, just open Google Docs in the same browser on the same computerthat you used when working offline. In your Docs list, you'll notice that "Edited offline" appears next to those documents.