Currently, I have Steam set to start automatically in Big Picture Mode when my Windows 8 machine boots. The idea is that this computer will mostly be used for gaming, so it is a good default. Part of my ideal experience is that I will be automatically logged and brought directly to my library of games.
This is mostly accomplished. The only catch is that when I do not have network access (rare, but sometimes the case), Steam does not automatically logged me in. Instead, it feels the needs to ask me whether to try again, or whether to log in using offline mode.
Is there a way to have Steam automatically log in using offline mode, but only if there is no network access?
Best Answer
Playing around with Steam offline mode is somewhat tricky, since it sometimes just won't work. Anyway, you can create a local copy of the
steam.cfg
file with the following settings in it:Put the newly created
steam.cfg
file in your Steam directory and it should start in offline mode.Doing it automatically based on your internet connection may be possible, if you know how to achieve this using a Batch file. This would be something for Stackoverflow, though.
The steps you'd need to do:
somethingelse.txt
inside your Steam directory.steam.cfg
mentioned above in place:somethingelse.txt
.(If it's there, Steam is offline. Period.)
RENAME somethingelse.txt steam.cfg
steam.cfg
file, if it's still present from a previous session.You could achieve this by using a single Batch file (the one in 1.), but it's not as easy as it looks.
Starting Steam directly in online mode without the Batch file would still require you to look for the presence of the
steam.cfg
file, unless you're sure it's not there or at least renamed. Nosteam.cfg
, no harm.Disclaimer:
This answer covers only how to actually get into offline mode forcefully. If you didn't install, update & save your games properly you can not play them in offline mode. If you didn't save your login credentials (and exit Steam gracefully) you can not use the offline mode at all. Make sure to test everything while still being connected to the internet.
Also if your settings get saved even with having the file removed, just revert them (
ForceOfflineMode=disable
) and keep them as newsteam.cfg
file for the next launch.