Edit Office files in Docs, Sheets, and Slides directly

Apr 11, 2019 09:12 GMT  ·  By

Google has just announced that it’s adding Microsoft Office document support to its very own G Suite productivity suite in an attempt to provide customers with a more straightforward way to work with documents.

This means that after this update, users no longer have to convert file types and they can begin working on their documents right away.

Google says users can edit, comment, and collaborate on the majority of Office documents, including Word files (doc, docx, dot), Excel files (xls, xlsx, xlsm, xlt), and PowerPoint files (ppt, pptx, pps, pot).

The feature is enabled by default in all G Suite editions, and Google says it would gradually roll out to users across the world over the next few weeks.

“Office editing will make it easy for G Suite users to open and edit Microsoft Office files that have been shared by partners, vendors or other teams. In cases where some members of your organization use Office while others use G Suite, this ensures seamless collaboration and eliminates the need to consider or convert file types,” Google explains.

Feature now rolling out

The update was announced at Google Cloud Next ‘19 in San Francisco and it also includes support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents older than Office 2007, only that files would be saved in a newer format after editing them.

One small detail that admins should have in mind concerns the Office compatibility app in Chrome. Google warns that users relying on this app could experience issues when using this feature, so the company has created a dedicated page to assist users as they disable this app.

For end users, on the other hand, the experience is very straightforward, as they can simply open an Office file from Google Drive, make any edits they want, and then have the document saved in the original format without any further input required.