Bizhack.net

Since 31 May 2008 Google has been rolling out offline functionality for Google Docs giving you access to your files in the absence of an internet connection.

Here at Bizhack.net we’re big fans of Google Docs. For us, its simplicity, portability and superior collaborative tools have become must-have attributes especially when fleeting from computer to computer and trying to juggle blogging with our day jobs.

For those that don’t already know, Google Docs is a mini office suite which exists online (on Google servers.) You currently have the ability to create written text, spreadsheets and presentations and save or edit them wherever you have an internet connection. If you need to, you can export them as a file to your computer in a wide variety of formats including the Microsoft Office and Openoffice formats or even .pdf. Google allows you to share your online documents with anyone you like and many people can work on the same document at the same time, with a pretty efficient revision history setting should you need it. Google have also exploited their vast database of online information enabling you to input publicly accessible data into your spreadsheets which will then update and change in real-time (for example with share prices)

Online editors like Google Docs are by no means unique, but they are widely considered to be one of the leaders of the pack (also check out Zoho Office) in terms of what they have to offer as well as the reliability of their servers (without which until recently you would not be able to access your documents as often as you would like)

However, where online editing excels as a collaborative and portable tool, it fails miserably if you cannot access the internet. For single users in the western world this might be more of an inconvenience rather than a hindrance as it is only a matter of time before one can find a WI-FI enabled hot spot, but for businesses (which Google is actively targeting) complete reliance on the internet might have been a turn off.

Google Offline Docs is made available by an open source extension called Google Gears which, once installed, will make your documents available within the browser itself. Any changes made offline will be saved in your browser and will automatically update on Google servers when you next go online. Google Gears will create a shortcut on your desktop to give you quick access to your offline content.

Having said all that, at present, only documents themselves can be edited offline, spreadsheets and presentations can only be viewed. Whilst you can not create a new document of any sort whilst offline, an easy work-around is to save a few empty documents online which will then be editable offline.

Offline functionality has been a widely anticipated and much sought after addition to Google Docs but at the moment this is only a step in the right direction. Whilst single users will rejoice at the opportunity to read their work on the plane, many businesses will opt to wait for more headway in offline functionality before a complete switch to Google can be considered.