Because it is the “industry standard” it is not uncommon to receive documents in Microsoft format, and for users of G Suite a conversion was necessary, or make use of Office Compatibility Mode (OCM), resulting in some limitations.
This new feature allows greater autonomy and freedom for users of the G Suite, not forcing them to have Microsoft Office when handling these types of files in groups.
Now Google Docs, Sheets and Slides can edit MS documents without requiring a conversion or compatibility mode, even supporting files from outdated versions of MS Office, as in the case of their 2007 suite (companies still use MS Office 2007 , and I have already seen 2003 a few times).
One aspect to be noted, is that in the act of saving the document, it will only be compatible with the current versions of Microsoft Office, so the edition of Office 2007 files, 2010 will be fully supported, however the saved files probably will not be compatible with them. This is one of the problems of proprietary formats, there is not always a backward compatibility.
Documents compatible with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides
- Word files: .doc, .docx, .dot
- Excel files: .xls, .xlsx, .xlsm (Excel documents with macros), .xlt
- Powerpoint files: .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .pot
At first, only a limited number of subscribers will receive the new feature, this will happen in the coming weeks, and Google intends to include all users of the G Suite, at no additional cost, with such novelty.
As for us mere mortals, there has been no statement from Google whether in the future this compatibility will also be available to non-subscribers to G Suite, I can only speculate that in principle it will be something exclusive for business users, although this feature may show up in your free suite.
It is interesting to see alternatives to MS Office, even though it is currently something for corporate users, the possibility of using Google Docs for example, with full compatibility for people who have to manipulate such files, is encouraging.
The G Suite can be tested for free for 14 days, access the link if you’re interested.
And what did you think of this new feature of G Suite? Do you believe this compatibility will come to “free” users? Do you deal with proprietary formats, whether at work or college? Or does it not even make a difference in your daily life? Continue this discussion in our Diolinux Plus forum, and tell your opinion.
I wait for you as usual here on the blog Diolinux, Until the next post, SYSTEMATICALLY! ?
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