Google has added offline access to Gmail. Here's how to enable this new feature. What if you could set up your Gmail offline and access all your emails without internet? This guide explains how you can set it up.
Now that summer is drawing near, I'm getting ready for vacation. Many of the places I travel to have sporadic (or nonexistent) Internet access; campgrounds, hiking trails, and other out-of-the-way spots off the beaten path.
While I don't regularly plan to access my email from a mountaintop, the motto of any IT pro (and Boy Scout) is 'Be Prepared.' With that in mind, I've been experimenting with the Gmail Offline app for Chrome, which lets you download up to the last month of your mail to work offline (and for me, extensive email use away from civilization really requires a laptop; my mobile devices are too clunky when spending a lot of time on email). Gmail Offline is quick and easy to set up, and works in the background so you don't need to manually download or synchronize data. Subscribe Stipulations for use You must install the Gmail Offline app in Chrome using a live Internet connection and then let it download your email before it is ready for use. Since your mail is stored on the local hard drive it should be obvious that this is not a good choice for a public or shared system you don't completely control or keep secured.
There are also some known issues to be aware of, as shown in Figure A. Figure A Getting Started Sign into your Google account using Chrome, then access the in the Chrome web store. ( Figure B) Figure B Click 'Add to Chrome.' You will receive a prompt shown in Figure C. This view is similar to the standard Gmail interface, with the obvious omission of the ability to compose a new email.
You can read, archive, and delete items quite easily. The down arrow icon in the upper right will provide further options. ( Figure G) Figure G Note the menu button ( Figure H) in the upper left of the Offline Mode screen.
Figure H This button will let you access labeled items as shown in Figure I. Figure I There is also an option to configure how much of your mailbox to download for offline access (the default is to download only the past week of items).
To change this, click the Gear icon in the upper right. ( Figure J) Figure J You will then see the dropdown box as shown in Figure K. Figure K You can specify to download mail from the past week, two weeks, or month.
Click Apply when done. Test first I highly recommend that you test this function in a genuine offline situation (for instance by unplugging your computer from the network and/or disabling the wireless adapter) so you can be sure it works. There is nothing more aggravating then finding out something isn't functioning as expected after it's too late to fix it! When you're ready to work offline you can either do so directly in the above browser tab (for example by hibernating your laptop while Chrome is still running, then powering it up again when you want to access your email offline), or by opening a new tab in Chrome.