Viewing Documents Offline
You can save meeting documents to your device so you can read them without an internet connection — on a flight, in a building with poor reception, or anywhere you need to review board materials.
Saving a Meeting for Offline
- Open the meeting you want to prepare for
- Tap Save for offline
- A progress bar shows as the documents download to your device
- When complete, you will see Available offline
All PDF documents attached to that meeting are saved. Non-PDF attachments (such as spreadsheets or images) are not included.
Saving for offline works whether or not your organization allows general document downloads. The copy stays inside Boardwise, it is marked with your name like any other copy, and each save is recorded.
Reading Documents Offline
When you are offline and open a document you have saved, Boardwise automatically displays it in the offline viewer. You can scroll through pages and zoom in or out, just as you would online.
If you open Boardwise while offline without navigating to a specific document, you will see your Offline Library — a list of all meetings and documents you have saved. Tap any document to open it.
Managing Your Offline Documents
Checking What You Have Saved
On any meeting page, look for the status text below the meeting details:
- Save for offline — This meeting has not been saved yet
- Available offline — All documents are saved and ready
- Saved, but viewer may not work offline — Documents were saved, but the viewer components did not cache properly. Try saving again while connected to the internet.
You can also visit the Offline Library from the navigation menu to see all saved meetings in one place, along with the total storage used on your device.
When a Document Has Been Replaced
Your saved copy remembers which version of each document it holds. If a document is replaced with a new version after you saved the meeting, Boardwise tells you the next time you are connected:
- On the meeting page you will see "A document has been replaced since you saved this meeting. Your saved copy is an earlier version." Tap Update saved copy to save the meeting again with the current files.
- In the Offline Library, the document is marked Newer version available, with a link to the meeting so you can update your copy.
Without a connection your device cannot know that a document has changed, so check for this message before you travel.
Meetings saved before Boardwise kept track of versions show "your saved copy may not be the latest" instead. Tap Update saved copy once and the message goes away.
Removing Saved Documents
To free up space on your device:
- Open the meeting page
- Tap Remove next to the offline status
- Confirm when prompted
You can also remove individual meetings or clear all offline data from the Offline Library page.
Storage
Offline documents are stored on your device using your browser's storage. The amount of space available depends on your device and browser, but is typically several hundred megabytes — enough for most board packages.
The Offline Library shows how much storage you are using and how much is available.
What Works Offline
- Viewing PDF documents you have saved
- Browsing your offline library of saved meetings
- Zooming and scrolling through documents
What Requires a Connection
- Saving new documents for offline (the initial download needs internet)
- Viewing documents you have not saved
- Annotating documents (highlights and notes)
- Accessing meetings, notifications, action items, and other features
- Any changes you make online (new documents, updated agendas) will not appear in your offline copy until you save the meeting again
Tips
- Save before you travel. Download meetings while you have a strong connection, ideally on Wi-Fi.
- Re-save if materials change. If a document is replaced, tap Update saved copy when prompted. If new documents are added to a meeting after you saved it, tap Remove and then Save for offline again.
- Use the installed app. For the best offline experience, install Boardwise as an app on your device. The installed app handles offline transitions more smoothly than a regular browser tab.
Troubleshooting
Documents Are Not Available Offline
- Make sure you tapped Save for offline on the meeting page and waited for the download to complete
- If the status shows "Saved, but viewer may not work offline," try removing and re-saving while on a strong internet connection
The Offline Viewer Shows an Error
- The document may not have saved correctly. Reconnect to the internet and save the meeting again.
- Make sure your browser supports offline features (all modern browsers do, but very old browser versions may not)
I Saved Documents but the Offline Library Is Empty
- Offline data is stored per browser. If you saved documents in Chrome but are now using Safari, the data will not carry over.
- Clearing your browser data or cache may also remove offline documents.