Google Drive: offline mode is being rolled out

Google Drive will finally allow you to view all your documents offline. After several months of beta testing, this feature is currently being deployed worldwide. You can therefore open documents stored online without requiring an Internet connection.

In 2019, Google launched an offline mode for Google Drive. This mode was only accessible in beta version. The online storage application allowed you to select the files you wanted to view when you did not have an internet connection.

These selected documents, whether a PDF file, an image or a Microsoft Office file, could be opened with a web browser in the absence of a Wi-Fi network. To access this beta, G Suite administrators had to first activate Drive File Stream, as did offline viewing on their domain.

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How do I choose which files are available offline on Google Drive?

From now on, Google Drive will offer this feature to all of its users around the world. For the record, the application has exceeded 5 billion downloads on the Google Play Store. “Users can access all of their important Drive files offline, for example when traveling or when there is poor internet connectivity”, Google explains in a blog post published on September 2, 2021.

For select non-Google files as available offline, right-click on a file and select “Make Available Offline”. The Mountain View giant specifies that “Non-Google files such as PDFs, images and Microsoft Office files” will need to be opened with the help of applications installed on your computer via Google Drive on the web.

As announced, the option will be offered on all Google Drive accounts, also on personal accounts. The feature was rolled out worldwide a few days ago. This is a server side deployment that could take up to 15 days. There is no update to install to take advantage of it. What do you think of the arrival of this novelty? We await your opinion in the comments.