If you do not have the possibility to use Microsoft Office or if you receive a document via email that requires some modification, you can take advantage of Google Chrome with its official extension Google Editor Office . Over time, this extension has turned into a real Chrome internal application that also works offline, without internet connection, to open, read and edit files created with Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint programs .
The extension allows you to take advantage of Google Drive applications: Sheets, Documents and Slides so that they open automatically when you click on an Office file.
READ ALSO: Modify Office documents from Gmail
The advantage of using this extension on Chrome is that you can use Chrome just like an Office program. Practically, if normally, to use the Google Docs apps, it is to log in to your Google Drive account, then upload the document and then open it to edit it, with Google Editor you can directly open a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file by dragging it on the Chrome browser . To use Google Editor, it is not necessary to have an internet connection or access to the Google account. Chrome then automatically becomes a program that replaces Microsoft Office.
To open a document with Editor Office, you can drag the file from a folder onto a new Chrome tab. As mentioned before, a document opened with Google Editor Office can also be edited through Google Drive applications. After editing the document, you can download the file to your PC in the original docx, xlsx or pptx format. The file can also be shared, but for this function you need an internet connection, so that you can leave it to other people to modify it.
The only limitations now are the lack of support for ODP files (those of open office) and the impossibility of being able to create documents from scratch, which is still possible with Google Drive.
Alternatively or in addition, you can instead use, always for free, the extension for Chrome Microsoft Office that allows you to easily access the Office web apps, which can be used for free by everyone. From the extension you can also upload Word, Powerpoint or Excel documents online and quickly access Outlook.
READ ALSO: Microsoft Office Online, free site to create and edit documents and files
