How to Quickly Start Using Gmail Offline (With Chrome)

Most of us get dozens of emails each day. For most of us,
checking and responding to those emails means you have to be connected to the
Internet.

Yet, the Internet isn't always available. Your connection
might be down, or you might be traveling where a connection is unavailable.
Ordinarily, no connection would mean no access to your Gmail messages.

But if you're working on a Chromebook or other
Chrome-enabled device, you're in luck. You can use the Gmail Offline Chrome app
to read and reply to messages even though you're not connected. You can even
search through and archive or delete your messages while you're offline.

As soon as an Internet connection becomes available, the
Gmail Offline app automatically syncs and updates your Gmail account to
include the changes you made while you were not connected. The Gmail Offline
app can help you turn what would normally be down time to productive time.

In this tutorial, I provide step-by-step
instructions on how to set up and start using the Gmail Offline Chrome app. Learn how to access Gmail offline and work with your emails when you don't have an internet connection.

How to Use Gmail Offline (Quick Video)

The following screencast quickly explains how to do some of
the tasks you can perform using the Gmail Offline app when you are not
connected to the Internet. It's what you need for offline Gmail access. 

For more detailed information on how to use Gmail
Offline, review the step-by-step instructions below. I'll also explain how to remove the Gmail Offline app if you decide it's not for you.

How to Access and Start to Use Gmail Offline

1. Download the Gmail Offline App

Your Internet must be connected to download the Gmail Offline
app. Also, you must be using a Chrome browser on your computer or device.

Start by opening the Chrome browser. Access the Gmail Offline app in the Chrome web store.
The following screen appears:

Click the Add to
Chrome button in the upper right corner. A confirmation prompt appears.
Click Add app. The app is added to
your Chrome browser.  The Apps screen displays.

Step 2. Enable Gmail Offline

Next, you need to enable your Gmail for offline mode. If the Apps screen is still open, click the Gmail Offline icon. You can also enable
Gmail Offline through the main Gmail Offline
link, https://mail.google.com/mail/mu/.
Either way, you'll see the following screen.

First, check the Gmail address in the lower left corner. It
should match the account you are trying to enable Gmail Offline mode for. Next,
click the toggle to the left of the Allow
offline mail option. Finally, click the Continue button.

You should see your offline inbox. The Gmail Offline Chrome app
will now synch with Gmail each time your device is reconnected to the Internet.

Step 3. Configure the Gmail Offline App

Click the
Settings icon (it looks like a gear)
in the upper right corner of the Gmail Offline Configuration screen. You'll see some setting options for the
Gmail Offline app in the right pane.

Use the right pane to set up some of your Gmail Offline app
defaults. Start by determining how far back you want the Gmail Offline app to search for
messages. The default is a week, but if you click the down arrow next to Download mail from past, you'll see
other options.

Select the time period of your choice.

Next, you can set up a Vacation
Responder message using Gmail Offline mode if you need to. A Vacation Responder
message is an automatic reply to messages that are sent while you are
unavailable. It is sometimes called an out-of-office message.

To
activate this feature, slide the toggle button to the right. The Vacation Responder options display on
the right of the screen.

The default start date for your Vacation Responder message
is today's date. Change it by clicking in the date field. A calendar appears.

Select the date you want your Vacation Responder message to start from the calendar. Selecting an
end date for your Vacation Responder
message is optional, but you can do so by clicking in the box labeled End and using the calendar to select an
end date.

Use the scroll bar to move down. You'll see an area where
you can type a Vacation Responder
message.

Type the subject line and message.

Finally, you can elect to send the Vacation Responder
message only to people in your Contacts
list. This option is available because you may not want spammers or casual
contacts to know you are on vacation. To make this choice, slide the toggle
button to the right.

When you are satisfied with all your choices, click the Apply button in the upper right corner
of the screen. You'll receive a confirmation that your preferences are saved.

To learn more about Vacation Responder Email messages, study
this tutorial:

• 
  Email
  
  
  How to Set Up a Gmail (Out of Office) Vacation Responder Email
  
  
  Laura Spencer

2. How to Use the Gmail Offline App

The messages in the Gmail Offline Chrome app are only as
current as the last time you were connected to the Internet. Nevertheless, you
can perform many Gmail tasks while you are offline. In this section, I'll show
you how.

Step 1. How to Access Gmail Offline

Once you are offline, open your Chrome browser.
Click on the Apps icon in the upper
left corner to display the Apps
screen.

Click the Gmail
Offline icon to access your Gmail inbox. The Gmail Offline inbox
screen displays.

As you notice, the most recent Gmail messages appear on the
left. On the right is a content pane for each message.

Even though you are offline, you can perform several tasks
from this screen, including:

• Browse messages


• Reply to or forward a message


• Search message


• Archive messages


• Delete message

As soon as your device or machine is reconnected with the
Internet, your Gmail Offline account syncs with your Gmail account. Any
changes you made while offline are applied and any messages you composed are
sent.

Let's look at each offline action you can perform
separately.

Step 2. Browse Gmail Messages Offline

You can easily scroll through your Gmail messages using the
up and down arrows on your keyboard. The selected message is highlighted in
blue. The contents of the selected message appears in the right panel.

When you see a message you'd like to read or respond to,
click the message's subject line in the left pane. The content of the message in
the right pane changes to the content of the message you just selected.

You can also browse through your message folders
and tabs using the Gmail Offline app. Click the Folders icon in the upper left of your screen (it looks like three
horizontal lines). All your Gmail folders and tabs display in the left pane.

Click the name of a folder or tab to open it and see the
messages inside.

Step 3. Reply to or Forward a Message

You can reply to a message and schedule it to be sent even
though you are offline. The message is sent as soon as your device reconnects
with the Internet.

To reply to or forward a message, click on the Reply icon (it looks like a curved
arrow) on the right side of the right panel. The Reply and Forward
buttons appear.

From this screen, you have two choices. You can reply to the
message. Or, you can forward it to someone else.

How to Reply to a Message 

To reply to a message in Gmail Offline mode, click the Reply button. The Reply
dialog box opens.

Type your message into the Reply dialog box. To send the message, click the Send button in the upper left corner.
You can also save your reply as a draft by clicking the Save button or discard your reply by clicking the Discard button.

For more details on how to compose a professional email,
study the tutorial:

• 
  Email
  
  
  How to Master Proper Business Email Format - and Avoid Professional Disaster
  
  
  Laura Spencer

If you saved the reply as a draft, you'll see the word
"Draft" in red letters next to your message.

If you sent a reply, you'll find it in your Outbox folder. To check your Outbox folder, click the Folders icon in the upper left of the Gmail Offline inbox screen.

How to Forward a Message

To forward the message to someone else in Gmail Offline, click the Forward button. The Forward dialog box opens. The original
message you are forwarding appears below with a space above to type a short
note to the new recipient.

Type the email
address of the person you are forwarding the email to in the To field. If you like, type a brief
note above the original message to explain why you are forwarding the email
message. Then, use the appropriate button to send, save, or discard your
forwarded message.

Note: Your message will not be sent or
forwarded until you are connected to the Internet.

Step 5. Search Messages in Gmail Offline

You can also use the Gmail Offline Chrome app to search for
a specific message by typing a word or phrase into the search field that
appears above the messages in the left pane of the Gmail Offline inbox screen.

After you type your search phrase, press the Enter key. A list of messages that meet
your search criteria appear in the left pane.

Step 6. Archive Messages in Gmail Offline App

You can also use the Gmail Offline app to schedule messages
to be archived from your primary inbox to any tab or folder.

Click the checkboxes to the left of the messages
you want to archive.  As you select each
message, you'll notice a list of selected messages appears in the right pane of
the screen.

Note: Your action syncs with Gmail once you are connected to the Internet.

Step 7. Delete Messages

The process for deleting a message in the Gmail Offline app
is almost the same as the process for archiving a message. Select the messages
you want to delete from the right pane. When your messages are selected, click
the Delete button at the top of the
right pane to schedule the selected messages to be deleted.

Note: Your action syncs with Gmail once you are connected to the Internet.

3. Remove the Gmail
Offline App

There are two steps to removing the Gmail Offline app. First,
you must clear your cookies from the Chrome browser. Second, you must remove
the app.

Let's examine each step in more detail:

Step 1. Clear Cookies.

Type Chrome://settings/cookies
into your browser. The Cookies and Site
Data screen appears.

Click the Remove all
button. Then click Done.

Step 2. Remove the Gmail Offline App

Click the Apps icon
in the upper left corner of the browser window. The Apps screen appears. Right-click on the Gmail Offline icon. You'll see a drop-down menu.

From the drop-down menu, click the Remove from Chrome... App info option. A prompt appears asking you
to confirm the removal. Click the Remove
button.

You'll notice that the Gmail
Offline icon no longer appears on the Apps
screen. The Gmail Offline Chrome app has been removed from your system. You
will have to reinstall the app if you'd like to use Gmail Offline.

Recap: Access to Gmail Offline is Useful

If you're like most of us, you probably spend a considerable
amount of time checking and processing email messages. Normally, handling email
messages requires an Internet connection.

With the Gmail Offline app and Chrome, you don't have to
wait for an Internet connection to deal with your messages. You can read and
respond to your messages even if no Internet connection is available. You can
even delete and archive messages while offline.

As soon your Internet connection is re-established, the
actions you made using the Gmail Offline app are synced to your Gmail account.

If you travel a lot, or if your Internet connection is
sometimes unavailable, the Gmail Offline app can save you a lot of time by
allowing you to process your email messages even when the Internet is not available.

More Helpful Gmail Tutorials

This is just one useful tutorial in a series of
Envato Tuts+ Gmail tutorial guides: 

• To study our introductory Gmail tutorial series,
  review Gmail
  Ultimate Beginner Guide. 


• For more advanced Gmail tips, take a look at Your
  Ultimate Guide to the Best Gmail Tips and Tricks.

Using Gmail with offline access is just one helpful productivity workflow. Stack a few tips and tricks together and you'll save quite a bit of time with how you approach email management everyday.