Microsoft leads the productivity space, but Google isn’t far behind with its suite of cloud-based productivity apps when it comes to mindshare.
Many of my colleagues at Android Police prefer Google Workspace over Microsoft Office apps because of the simplicity of Google’s productivity apps.
Microsoft Office apps shine when you need advanced features, so if you work on something productivity-heavy, the ones from the Redmond tech giant will probably be better suited to your use.
I am a long-time user of Office apps, and it’s my preferred destination for what I do. This is not because I’m an advanced user, but because of years of muscle memory.
What also led me to stay loyal to Office apps is that I never faced resistance from my colleagues who use Google Workspace. I work closely with them, including sharing documents, collaborating on writing assignments, and more.
It’s possible because Google Workspace lets you work with Microsoft Office, so you don’t have to switch to the latter to get those shared projects done.
Here are five practical ways Google Workspace lets you work with Microsoft Office.
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Open and edit Office files
Google introduced Office support in Docs, Slides, and Sheets in 2014, allowing users to open and edit files without needing to change them to Google formats.
So, if you store Office files in Google Drive, you can easily open them and make edits within Docs, Slides, and Sheets, and save them back to Office formats.
You can also view and edit Microsoft Office files in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides mobile apps.
Google Workspace also supports password-protected Office files. This means you can preview as well as edit them on Google Docs, Slides, or Sheets.
It’s easy to preview or edit password-protected files in Google Workspace apps. All you do is double-click the Office files in Google Drive to open them in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides.
The next step is to enter the file’s password and select Preview. If you want to edit the file, enter the password and select Edit. This removes the password from the file for all users.
However, Workspace apps don’t support the editing feature for legacy binary Office formats, like .doc, .ppt, or .xls. The editing capability works only with .docx, .pptx, and .xlsx Office file types.
Microsoft Office interoperability in Google Workspace isn’t limited to previewing or editing files. You can also collaborate on Microsoft Office files directly within Google Workspace.
So, if you comment, assign, or mention your coworker in Office files in Google Workspace, they will be able to see your comment on their Windows laptop using Office apps.
If you want to reply to your coworker, you can open Microsoft Office files in Drive Preview and share your feedback. You’ll also be able to mark an assignment as complete from the Drive Preview.
Moreover, you can track, review, and go back to the previous version of the Office file using the Version history feature.
However, for a smooth collaboration, make sure the Office files are compatible with Google Workspace. You won’t face issues with .docx, .pptx, and .xlsx file types while collaborating in Google Workspace.
Edit Office files directly from Gmail attachments
Like Google Drive, Gmail is a core app within the Google Workspace suite. It’s also well integrated with other Google Workspace applications.
Gmail also plays well with Office apps, though in a slightly different way than it does with other Workspace apps.
Gmail works well with Office apps in the sense that you can use it to attach Office file attachments that you send or receive on Gmail directly in Docs, Sheets, or Slides.
It won’t alter the original file format to make this work, as is the case with viewing or editing Office files in Google Workspace.
If you receive an email with an Office file attached to your Gmail inbox, look for the Edit icon on the attachments. Click on it to open the file directly in Docs, Sheets, or Slides.
After opening the file, you’ll also get options to respond to the email from the File menu in Docs, Sheets, or Slides.
This is way quicker than the earlier method, where you needed to save a file in Drive first to use the Office editing features.
I’ve used this feature in Gmail a few times since it launched in 2020.
Convert Office files to Google Workspace format
While you can view and edit Office files in Workspace, there are moments when converting them to Google formats makes the most sense.
If that’s what you want, you can do so by following some simple steps. After opening the Office file in the relevant Workspace app, select the File option, and click Save As Google Docs/Slides/Sheets.
This is the easiest way to convert a single Office file in Google Workspace. On top of this, you can use a handy Google Drive trick to quickly convert all Office files into Google format.
To do this, open Google Drive, click the Settings gear, and check the box for Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format. All files uploaded after this are automatically converted to Google format.
You can also install third-party add-ons to convert Office files to Google format. They come with advanced functionalities, like converting the entire file into Google Drive in one go.
Search inside Office files from Drive
Google is also known for its strong search capabilities. In addition to Google Search, the company’s Workspace apps can quickly find what you are looking for.
If you store Microsoft Office files inside Google Drive, it can search inside the contents of those files. So, you can type a specific keyword or phrase located deep inside the document, and Drive will find you the right file.
To narrow down the search results, you can use filters in Drive. For example, if you set the file type to Documents using the Type drop-down arrow, it’ll show you only the type of files containing the keyword or phrases.
You can narrow the search result even further by using the People drop-down menu. This is how you tell Drive to show Office files that a specific person shared with you.
Google Workspace is more accessible for Android users
You can do basic productivity work on Google Workspace apps using your phone. For Android users, Google Workspace is a more natural choice because many of the Workspace apps come preinstalled with Android handsets.
For example, Google Drive and Gmail are available on the first boot on most Android phones and tablets. If you have both these devices, that’s even better.
You can create a document on a tablet and then edit it on your phone. Since it’s automatically stored in the cloud, you can later edit it on your phone, or vice versa.
If you want to do lightweight productivity tasks, there is no real incentive to install those Office apps on your phone. They’ll only take up more space.
I don’t need to install Office apps to open or edit the files on my phone, either. The Workspace apps on my phone can handle all of that quite easily.
