Work with Gmail Offline

An article by Darin Wagner

At the end of January, Gmail Labs released an experimental feature that allows you to work with Gmail even when you are offline. If you are a Gmail user like me, this might be one to try. I know that I have come to rely more and more on Gmail to aggregate all my email accounts.

Basically, it works this way. If you lose your network connection, and we all do at times, Gmail then automatically switches to offline mode. Data stored on your computer’s hard drive will be accessed in lieu of the data sent across the network. Even when offline, you can search, read, and delete messages, as well as sort and label them. Want to send a new message? Go ahead and compose it. The email will be moved to your outbox and sent automatically the next time you are connected. According to Gmail Labs, you should be able to do all of the things that you are used to doing except that you are offline.

I just installed the Gears software required to enable this feature, and am now ready to test. Will let you know how it works.

For more information about this feature, please visit: Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Offline Gmail