Editing Microsoft Office files such as Word documents and Excel spreadsheets is set to get a lot smoother for Google Workspace users.
The company has announced a number of improvements to the way Workspace users interact with Microsoft Office files, including better notifications around file type and editing, hopefully ending issues with overwriting and restoring content.
As explained in an update blog post (opens in new tab), going forward, Google Workspace users will see a number of new notifications and warnings if they open a Microsoft Office formatted file in Office editing mode.
Google Workspace and Office
Google says that the notifications, which will appear across Docs, Sheets and Slides, will help explain differences users might see and help them edit or restore content.
Among the notifications is a new Office-formatted alert to warn of compatibility details that will appear throughout your entire time within a document, spreadsheet, or slide deck. These issues could escalate to potential compatibility issues, or mean certain Office features are unavailable.
Also launching is a pop-up alert that will allow users to quickly view and restore earlier versions of the document, spreadsheet, or slide deck. Users will also be able to view the version history and restore a specific edition of a document if needed.
Google says its new editing notifications will be enabled by default, and will always be present when a user opens a Microsoft Office document.
The update is rolling out now, and should be available to all Google Workspace customers, as well as legacy G Suite Basic and Business customers, and users with personal accounts, within the next few weeks.
The move is the latest play by Google Workspace as it looks to narrow the gap between itself and Microsoft Office.
Recently, the company revealed that users will now benefit from the ability to edit Microsoft Office files from within Google Workspace without the need for an internet connection, offering greater functionality and boosting efficiency for users everywhere.
