Google this week began rolling out offline functionality to its Slides presentation software, continuing its efforts to bring its popular Internet apps to the desktop.
With the new capability, users can now edit, comment on, and present their slideshow projects without an Internet connection. Google previously added similar functionality to its Docs word-processing software, as well as its Gmail and Calendar apps.
Any new presentations or changes made with Slides while offline will be automatically updated the next time users connect to the Web, Google Slides software engineer Michael Frederick wrote in a blog post Wednesday. “You can continue polishing slides on your next flight, and head to your upcoming presentation without worrying about whether there’s going to be Wi-Fi.”
To enable the new offline functionality, users will need to use the Chrome browser or ChromeOS, Google said. Those who already have offline editing for Docs enabled won’t have to make any changes to work with Slides offline. If not, offline access for Slides and Docs can be set up in two-steps by following these instructions.
Google also said it’s working to add offline capabilities to its Sheets app so users can work on their spreadsheets offline. The Web giant said users should “stay tuned” for an announcement about that.
Meanwhile, Google this week also unveiled a revamped version of Google Images based on user feedback for “a better search experience.” With the new version, rolling out over the next few days, images will be displayed in an inline panel (see below), and users will be able to quickly flip through photos using their keyboard. To the right of the image, users will now see the title of the page and domain name it came from, as well as the image size.