Google will now let users edit MS Office files in Gmail

Users can now open and edit MS Office files directly from a Gmail attachment, without saving it on the drive first

Gmail will show new options to reply after opening an Office file, such as Reply with this file and Open original message.

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Google added new features to Workspace, making it easier to use Microsoft Office files in Workspace apps.

To start with, users can now open and edit MS Office files directly from a Gmail attachment, without saving it on the drive first. After receiving the attachment, users can start editing in Docs with a single click while still preserving the Word file format.

The new feature allows users to respond to the original email thread and include the updated file, right from Docs. After the latest update, Gmail will show new options to reply after opening an Office file, such as Reply with this file and Open original message.

The feature is available to Google Workspace Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Standard, and Enterprise Plus, as well as G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, and Nonprofits customers. However, it is not available to Google Workspace Essentials and Enterprise Essentials customers.

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Next up, Google has added mixed page orientation support in Docs, to let users create Docs or edit Word files with mixed landscape and portrait pages. The search-giant will also add support for inserting images behind text and watermarks next year.

“It’s important that your files and documents look consistent no matter the application you use,” Google said in a blog post. “We hope these improvements make it easier for you to create and share rich documents that contain wide tables, charts, diagrams, and images.”

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The feature has rolled out for some users but a wider rollout will begin starting January 5, 2021. It will be available to Google Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, Business Standard, Business Plus, Enterprise Essentials, Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, G Suite Basic, Business, Education, Enterprise for Education, Not-for-profit customers and to users with personal Google account.

In addition to these updates, Google has launched a new Macro Conversion add-on to helps users migrate macros from Excel to Sheets. Google said this will help save time through automation, without having to start from scratch.