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While Google Docs and Sheets are powerful tools, they have a reputation for being memory-intensive apps. If your computer is slowing down while using these applications, there are several easy ways to reduce their RAM usage and improve performance.
1Restart Your Computer
Restarting your computer can help reset the browser’s state by clearing all the resources used while running Google Docs and Sheets. This process can free upphysical memory (RAM)and other system resources previously tied up by these applications.
Hopefully, when you open these Google apps again, they will consume less RAM and run more smoothly, improving overall performance and user experience.
2Disable Offline Mode for Google Docs and Sheets
When youenable offline mode for Google Docs and Sheets, your browser will keep the files locally so they are quickly accessible without an internet connection. This can increase RAM usage, particularly if you have a lot of offline documents.
That’s why disabling offline mode for apps can free up some RAM since the documents will now be accessed from Google Drive instead of locally.
To disable offline mode for Google Docs, click thethree-line iconin the top-right corner and selectSettings. In the pop-up, toggle offOfflineand then clickOK.
The process for disabling offline mode is also the same for Google Sheets and Slides since their home pages have a similar interface.
With offline mode for Google Docs and Sheets disabled, uninstall the Google Docs offline extensions as well. This will prevent them from running background processes that consume RAM.
3Optimize Large Documents and Spreadsheets
The more complex a Google document or spreadsheet is, the more RAM it requires to process, display, and sync properly. By optimizing it, you’re able to reduce its physical memory demands. This can be useful if the document or spreadsheet is large or you have an old or less powerful computer.
To optimize a Google Docs document, try the following:
To optimize a Google Sheets spreadsheet, try the following:
Just like an offline document, optimization is key.
4Uninstall Add-Ons You Don’t Need
Any unused add-ons you’ve installed for Google Docs and Sheets can cause them to consume more RAM than necessary. Take stock of the installed add-ons and remove any you don’t need.
To remove an add-on, clickExtensions > Add-ons > Manage Add-ons.
Click thethree-dot iconin the top-right corner of the add-on’s card and selectUninstallin the menu.
Then, clickUninstall Appin the pop-up to remove the add-on from Google Docs or Sheets.
5Clear the Google Docs and Sheets Cache
As you use Google Docs and Sheets, their temporary files and data can accumulate in your browser’s cache. This cached data can contribute to these apps using too much RAM.
Clearing your browser’s cachecan get rid of the excess data. This will likely reduce the memory usage of Google Docs and Sheets as the browser works with fresh data.
In addition to clearing the cache, you should also attempt to improve your browser’s overall performance so it works efficiently with Google Docs and Sheets. For instance, you canoptimize Google Chromeby updating it, closing any unnecessary tabs and extensions, and enabling memory saver mode.
