Google Docs will let you edit Office files

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Google Docs will let you edit Office files

Working with Microsoft Office files in Google Docs is about to get a whole lot easier as Google has announced that it will soon add native support for Word, Excel and PowerPoint to its online word processor.

Up until now, you could view files from Microsoft in Google Docs but had to convert them to Google's format before you would be able to edit, comment or collaborate on them inside its web app.

The new feature is rolling out to G Suite users in the next couple of weeks though the company has revealed that regular users will also be receiving the feature as well.

In terms of supported file types, Google Docs will support .doc,.docx, and .dot files in Word, .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm and  .xlt files in Excel and .ppt, .pptx, .pps and .pot files in PowerPoint.

Editing Microsoft Office files in Google Docs is a pain. You can view them there, but you’ve previously had to convert them to Google’s format before you could edit, comment, and collaborate inside Docs. That’s about to change: Google just announced that it’s adding native support for Microsoft’s Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats — like .docx, .xls, and .ppt — which will let you do real-time collaboration in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

This morning, Google announced support would be coming to the commercial versions of those apps right now, namely G Suite, but the company now tells The Verge they’re coming to regular users too, as soon as this month. G Suite customers should see support start to roll out in April or May, depending on which release schedule your company prefers.

 

Here’s the full list of supported filetypes, according to Google:

• Word files: .doc, .docx, .dot
• Excel files: .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm (macro enabled Excel files), .xlt
• Powerpoint files: .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .pot