Editing Microsoft Office files such as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets is much smoother for Google Workspace users.
The company announced a number of improvements to the way Workspace users interact with Microsoft Office files, including better file type and edit notifications, which hopes to fix overwrite and restore issues.
As explained in the update blog post (opens in a new tab)in the future, Google Workspace users will see many new notifications and warnings if they open a Microsoft Office format file in Office editing mode.
Google Workspace and Office
Google says the notifications that appear in Docs, Sheets, and Slides will help explain the differences users may see and help them edit or restore content.
Among the notifications is a new Office-format alert that alerts you to compliance details that will appear all the time in your document, spreadsheet, or slide. These issues can become potential compatibility issues or mean that some Office features are not available.
A pop-up alert will also be triggered, allowing users to quickly view and restore an earlier version of the document, spreadsheet, or slide. Users will also be able to view the version history and revert to a specific edit of the document if necessary.
Google says new edit notifications will be turned on by default and will always be present when a user opens a Microsoft Office document.
The update is already rolling out and should be available to all Google Workspace customers, legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal accounts within the next few weeks.
This move is Google Workspace’s latest game as it aims to reduce the gap between it and Microsoft Office.
The company recently revealed that users will now enjoy the ability to edit Microsoft Office files from within Google Workspace without the need for an internet connection, offering more functionality and increasing productivity for users worldwide.