Offline reader

Anoffline reader(sometimes called anoffline browseroroffline navigator) iscomputer softwarethat downloadse-mail,newsgroupposts orweb pages,making them available when the computer isoffline:not connected to a server.Offline readers are useful forportable computersanddial-up access.

Variations

Website-mirroring software

Website mirroring softwareis software that allows for the download of a copy of an entirewebsiteto the local hard disk foroffline browsing.In effect, the downloaded copy serves as amirrorof the original site.Web crawlersoftware such asWgetcan be used to generate a site mirror.

Offline mail and news readers

See also:Email clientandNewsreader (Usenet)

Offline mail readersarecomputer programsthat allow users to readelectronic mailor other messages (for example, those onbulletin board systems) with a minimum of connection time to the server storing the messages. BBSserversaccomplished this by packaging up multiple messages into acompressedfile, e.g., aQWKpacket, for the user to download using, e.g.,Xmodem,Ymodem,Zmodem,and then disconnect. The user reads and replies to the messages locally and packages up and uploads any replies or new messages back to the server upon the next connection. Internet mail servers usingPOP3orIMAP4send the messages uncompressed as part of the protocol, and outbound messages usingSMTPare also uncompressed.Offline news readersusingNNTPare similar, but the messages are organized into news groups.

Most e-mail protocols, like the commonPOP3 andIMAP4 used forinternetmail, need be on-line only during message transfer; the same applies to theNNTPprotocol used byUsenet(Network news). Most end-user mailers, such asOutlook ExpressandAOL,can be used offline even if they are mainly intended to be used online, but some mailers such asJunoare mainly intended to be used offline.

Off-line mail readers are generally considered to be those systems that did not originally offer such functionality, notably onbulletin board systemswhere toll charges and tying up telephone lines were a major concern. Users of large networks such asFidoNetregularly used offline mail readers, and it was also used forUseNetmessages on the internet, which is also an on-line system. The two most common formats for FidoNet BBS's wereBlue WaveandQWK.Less well-known examples include Silver Xpress'sOPX,XRS,OMEM,SOUPandZipMail.

List

Name	Publisher	License	Platform
Golden CommPass (GCP)	Creative Systems Programming Corporation	Paid	OS/2
Hamster	Mathias Dolidon	Free software	Windows, Linux, OS X, Unix
HTTrack	HTTrack	Free software	Windows, Linux, OS X, Unix
Leech	Universal Commerce, Issaquah	Shareware	Windows
MR/2	Knight Writer Software Company	Shareware	OS/2
MR/2 PM	Knight Writer Software Company	Shareware	OS/2
MR/2 ICE	Secant Alphacat	Shareware	OS/2 Windows
Off Line Xpress	Mustang Software, Inc.	Paid	DOS
ScrapBook	Mozilla Add-ons	Freeware	Cross-platform
TapCIS	CompuServe Information Service (CIS)	Shareware	DOS
Offline Explorer	Metaproducts	Paid	Windows

See also

• Online and offline
• Cache manifest in HTML5(deprecated in favor ofservice workers)
• Progressive web application
• Kiwix,Wikipedia offline reader
• WebWhacker
• Comparison of software saving Web pages for offline use

External links

• Systems, Pocket (2023-11-23)."Offline Browser".getpocket.Retrieved2023-12-26.