Install and use offline
You can use Spelling Creator in an ordinary browser tab, or install it so it opens in its own window like any other app on your computer, tablet or phone. Either way, your lessons are saved in the browser on the device you're using, so you can keep writing and printing lessons without an internet connection.
Installing on a computer
Most sessions happen on a computer, so this is the place to start.
Chrome or Edge (Windows, Mac, ChromeOS or Linux):
- Open Spelling Creator in the browser.
- Click the Install app button in the top bar. It's a small download icon next to the light and dark mode switch. You can also go to Settings and use Install app in the This device section.
- Confirm when the browser asks.
The app then opens in a window of its own, without the browser's tabs and address bar. You'll find it with your other apps: in the Start menu on Windows, in Applications and Launchpad on a Mac, or in the app launcher on a Chromebook. You can pin it to your taskbar or dock from there.
The Install app button only appears when your browser can install the app, and it disappears once the app is installed. If you don't see it, the browser's own install icon at the end of the address bar does the same thing.
Safari on a Mac doesn't show the Install app button. Recent versions of Safari can still add the app to your Dock: choose File, then Add to Dock.
Firefox doesn't install web apps. You can keep using Spelling Creator in a Firefox tab, and the offline features below still work there.
Installing on a phone or tablet
iPhone and iPad: use Safari. Other browsers on these devices can't install the app.
- Open Spelling Creator in Safari.
- Tap Install app. On an iPad it's in the top bar. On an iPhone held upright the top bar is too narrow for it, so open the menu, tap Settings, and find Install app under This device.
- The app shows you the two steps: tap the Share button in Safari's toolbar, then choose Add to Home Screen.
Android: in Chrome, tap Install app (in the top bar on a wide screen, or under This device in Settings), or use Install app or Add to Home screen from Chrome's own menu.
The app then has an icon on your home screen and opens full screen.
What works without internet
The app has to have been opened once on this device while you were online. After that, it opens and works offline whether or not you installed it.
Works offline:
- Opening the app, the editor, On this device and Settings
- Switching between the lessons saved on this device, and starting new ones
- Writing and editing lessons: adding, moving and deleting sections and blocks
- Pictures you've already added to a lesson
- Version history: browsing earlier versions and restoring one
- Export DOCX and Print PDF
- Pictures in published lessons you've looked at before
Needs internet:
- The Lesson hub, published lesson pages, profiles and comments
- Save to cloud (publishing a lesson or keeping a private backup)
- Proposing changes to a lesson you forked
- Search images
- AI help, such as Generate with AI and Fix with AI in Check lesson, and the fact check
- Collaborate
- Signing in, and Save to Google Docs
- Downloading a natural voice, translation or summary model the first time you use it
These buttons stay where they are when you're offline. Using one without a connection shows an error instead, and it works again once you're back online.
Your lessons live in this browser on this device. Another computer, or another browser on the same computer, won't have them unless you publish them or save them to the cloud. Clearing the browser's data for the site deletes them, so be careful with that.
Updates
When a new version of Spelling Creator is ready, you'll see a message saying A new version is available, with a Reload button. Your saved lessons aren't affected. If you're in the middle of something, close the message and reload later; the app will offer the update again. An installed app checks for updates about once an hour while you're online.
Signing in from the installed app
If you sign in with an emailed link, the link may not open in the app:
- On an iPhone or iPad, email links always open in Safari, which can't sign in the installed app.
- On a computer, the link opens in a normal browser tab. That signs you in, but leaves you in the tab instead of the app window.
The same email also contains a code. On the Check your email screen in the app, type it into Code from the email and press Sign in. A code signs you in wherever you type it. On a phone, the keyboard may offer the code for you.
If your Spelling Creator uses usernames and passwords instead of email, signing in from the installed app works the same as anywhere else.
Freeing up space
Some features download a model so they can run on your device: natural voices for reading aloud, summaries, translation, and reading imported text. These can add up to a few gigabytes. To see how much space they use, go to Settings and look at Downloaded AI models under This device. Delete models frees that space without touching your lessons. Each feature downloads its model again the next time you use it.
For how the installable app and offline support are built, see Installable app & offline use.