Offline Browser

Definition - What does Offline Browser mean?

Offline browsers are used for viewing downloaded copies or content from websites while not connected to the Internet (offline). They are used in offline website development and in email readers. Normal browsers may have an offline mode that enables users to view and navigate through Web pages that have been downloaded or stored in the browser’s cache memory. Offline browsers do not need an active Internet connection, and are hence found to be useful in portable computers and dial-up access.

Offline browsers are also known as offline readers and offline navigators.

Techopedia explains Offline Browser

Offline readers render Web pages from stored HTML pages and saved websites. They enable users to view mirrored copies of websites without having to connect to the Internet. An offline working mode is available with many Web browsers. While in offline mode, the browser is not able to connect to URLs whose content is not stored in the local memory. Such pages cannot be displayed and an error message is generated. Offline working mode enables users to work securely with website development and other related work.

The variations of offline browsers include:

Website mirroring software
Offline mail readers

Some of the features of offline browsers are:

Downloading and viewing of websites
Saving links
Saving images and files
Selecting the download depth level
Searching for keywords while working offline
Saving Web pages as images

In addition to using an offline browser, offline viewing of websites can be done manually by saving the complete Web page and storing it on the local drive for offline viewing with any browser.