Google Drive Archives – J. David Stark

Google Drive and Office 97–2003

Image representing Google as depicted in Crunc... — Image via CrunchBase

Google Drive’s Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps are scheduled to cease supporting exports to Microsoft’s older Office 97–2003 formats at the end of the month. According to the Google Apps blog,

In September, we added the ability to export Google documents to the newer Microsoft Office formats that rely on open standards (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx). . . . As we announced in October, after January 31, 2013, users will not be able to export files to the older Office 97-2003 formats [e.g., .doc, .xls, .ppt]. For users who still use Office 97-2003, we recommend installing the free compatibility plugin from Microsoft, which will allow them to open the modern Office file types.

Edit Spreadsheets on Google Drive for Mobile

The Google Drive mobile apps for Android and iOS now allows users to create and view spreadsheets:

Edit spreadsheets on the go with the Drive mobile app | Google Drive Blog — Photo credit: Google Drive Blog

Previous versions had allowed creating and editing of documents but only viewing of spreadsheets created elsewhere. For more information and links to download the appropriate apps, see here.

Attaching Drive Items in Gmail

For Gmail and at least certain Google Apps Mail users who have opted into the “new compose” experience, Google is now rolling out the ability to attach Google Drive items to email messages:

Gmail and Drive - a new way to send files | Official Gmail Blog — Photo credit: Gmail Blog

Because these items are stored in and shared via Drive, email attachment size limitations don’t apply, and any updates to the attached item(s) will automatically be available to the message’s recipients. For more information about this update, please see here.

New Drive Apps for Chrome

The Chrome Web Store now includes individual Chrome web apps for Docs, Sheets, and Slides:

To make it even easier for you to create stuff quickly, Documents, Spreadsheets, and Presentations–now called Docs, Sheets, and Slides–are available as apps in the Chrome Web Store. Once installed, shortcuts to these apps will appear when you open a new tab in Chrome.

HT: Jonathan Rochelle.