You can now edit Office files directly through Gmail

Google has worked on a new feature that will make it easier for you to work with Microsoft Office files. From now on, you can edit attached files created in one of the Office programs directly in Gmail. Until now, only files created with Google Docs or Google Spreadsheets could be edited in Gmail. The Verge portal informed about the news.

Gmail adds support for Microsoft Office files

Google Workspace (until recently called G Suite, which includes Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Slides, Meets, and Calendar) has been compatible with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files for some time. However, if you wanted to edit the files, you had to upload them to Google Drive first. You could only see a preview of the files in Gmail.

In terms of efficiency, this procedure brought unnecessary complications that will no longer bother you from now on. Now you can quickly edit Office files using the Google Docs editor, just like you would with a native Google document. However, the new feature does not convert Office files to Google Docs; the file format will remain the same.

Google is working on other improvements

Google is also working on additional features to make it easier to work with Office files in Google Docs. The company is launching a new add-on called Macro Converter. This is to help users and organizations more easily import macros from Excel into Spreadsheets.

Next year, we’ll also see improvements to Google Docs itself. Google adds support for files that have both horizontal and vertical sides at the same time. You’ll also be able to place images behind text and add watermarks to your documents.