Teacher Tech blog with Alice Keeler

Paperless Is Not a Pedagogy

Alice Keeler

Converting Office documents to Google documents

Converting Office documents to Google documents

Remember the old days when would make a document in Word and then email it to someone and they would edit it and email you back the attachment? Sometimes it got confusing as to which copy was the current copy. Using Google Docs solves that problem since the document you are working on is always the current version and both collaborators have access to edit it at the same time.

So now that you’re using Google Drive, you have this pesky problem of a) all of your documents that are not Google documents and b) friends and coworkers sending your office documents.

First, you can use your Google drive as a storage drive. In http://drive.google.com the create button creates Google docs, but the icon next to it lets you upload files…. any file type. This will store your files in your Drive, but you will not be able to access them.

You can identify the files in your Google Drive by their icon. In my sea of Google doc icons the P for PowerPoint and W for Word documents stick out. These files can be viewed in my Google Drive but not edited.

You can convert these files from Office files into Google files.  No, the conversion is not perfect but I have found it to be pretty darn good.

First set your upload settings.  Go to the settings wheel under your picture in the upper right hand corner. From the list choose “upload settings” and then checkbox both “Convert uploaded files to Google Docs format” and “Confirm settings before each upload.” This way when you do try to upload an Office document you will be given the option to convert your files or not.

If your Office document is already uploaded, but not converted, check the checkbox next to the document. At the top is a “More” button that will appear. Choose to “Open with,” and open with Google Docs instead of the viewer.

5 Easy Steps for Teaching with Digital Tools

Introducing digital tools into your teaching can seem challenging at first. There are many tools out there, and it might feel like there’s a lot to learn. But with easy steps for teaching with digital tools, you can start simply and gradually. There’s no need to dive in all at once – just take it one step at a time. Taking easy steps for teaching with digital tools starts with trying something!

Read More »
Students Prepare to Present

Help Your Students Prepare to Present

Maximize student success in presentations with ‘Speaker Notes by AliceKeeler,’ the ideal Google Slides add-on. Enhance how students prepare to present with easy transfer of speaker notes to Google Docs, promoting effective communication skills. Dive into the world of engaging, technology-aided presentations and empower students to shine in their academic endeavors. Discover the key to transforming student presentations into interactive, skill-building experiences.

Read More »

Infographic 7 Basic Steps for a Google Form

New to using Google Forms? This tool is essential for teachers to not only save time but to be adaptive to student needs. Use Forms to survey students, play games, personalize instruction, and assessment. This infographic on the 7 basic steps for a Google Form will help you get started.

Read More »

Online Workshop: Get Your Add-on Published

How can you make Google Workspace (Docs/Sheets/Slides) even better? You can create custom Add-ons with Google Apps Script. Wondering How to Get Your Google Workspace Add-on Published? Join Alice Keeler, Google Developer Expert, to learn the steps to get your Add-on officially published.

Read More »

5 thoughts on “Converting Office documents to Google documents

  1. I have found Google docs doesn’t convert documents written with the equation editor in Word with the proper formatting. It jumbles all of the formulas and text boxes – especially the formulas. So, google docs is less than ideal for math teachers.

  2. Gary I am a math teacher and I totally agree, which is why my advice is to stop making them in Word in the first place. Google docs has an equation editor that does support LaTex also. I uploaded my math docs and spent quite a bit of time fixing the graphs and math type, but then I had it.

    1. What about forms? We have chem and math teachers trying to do formulas in Google Forms but cant figure out how to do it. Suggestions?

      1. Export the formulas as images. However, as a math teacher I taught my students calculator math by always finishing an example like you would type it into excel. They also needed to do this when doing work on paper. This way when they encountered websites using x^2 they would not have any problems adjusting.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d