How to Edit Word Documents in Google Docs

Nick Congleton has been a tech writer and blogger since 2015. His work has appeared in PCMech, Make Tech Easier, Infosec Institute, and others.

What to Know

• Open Google Drive and select New >File upload. Browse to the location of your Word document and upload it.
• Google Drive takes a few seconds to import the file. Select your file and open it. At the top of the document, select Open with Google Docs.
• The document opens in Google Docs. From here, you can type anywhere in the document, and your changes will immediately save.

This article explains how to open and edit your Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents in Google Docs.

How to Open a Word Document in Google Docs

Here's how to upload and open a Microsoft Word document in Google Docs. The process is identical for PowerPoint and Excel documents.

1. Sign in to your Google account and go to your Google Drive. Google Docs documents are stored in your Google Drive.

Select New in the upper-left corner of the screen.

Select File upload.

Google Drive takes a few seconds to import the file. You'll receive a notification in the lower-right corner of the screen. It lets you know when the upload is complete. You'll also see the document appear in your drive.

Select your document in the drive to open it.

You'll see your document in the Google Drive viewer. It looks like a browser-based PDF file viewer. At the top of the document, select Open with Google Docs.

The document opens in Google Docs. From here, you can type anywhere in the document, and your changes will immediately save. You can also use the editing tools in the Google Docs header. These tools are almost identical to the editing tools in Microsoft Word. Google Docs keyboard shortcuts are also the same as Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts. To share the document and collaborate with others, select Share in the upper-right corner of the screen.