Chromebooks have taken the market by storm—so much so that Taiwanese tech giant Acer alone accounted for over 900,000 units sold in the third quarter of 2023. Needless to say, many users rely on Chromebooks to go about their day. Although these affordable notebooks offer great value, their inability to edit Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint files seamlessly was a significant drawback. Well, that changes today.
ChromeOS can now open and edit Microsoft 365 files
Back in January 2023, Google previewed a nifty feature that furthered Microsoft 365 integration with ChromeOS. The tentative update would guide users through a one-time setup to access and edit Microsoft 365 suite of apps easily. Clearly, the preview attracted a lot of eyeballs as Google finally rolled out the update to the end users.
Consequently, users reliant on Microsoft’s suite of services can now officially integrate the Redmond giant’s apps into their Chromebooks. When opening a Word document, for instance, users will be prompted to open it in a relevant Microsoft 365 app. The prompt will guide users to Install Microsoft 365 and connect to their OneDrive accounts to the Chromebook Files app.
This is a boon for Chromebook users as they no longer have to rely on Microsoft’s OneDrive website to sift through their personal files and other data. The integration will also tax your Chromebook less, which in turn would help conserve its battery life.
Although Google has started rolling out the update, the feature may take a couple of weeks to hit your Chromebook. To check if your Chromebook has the update, search for the flag #upload-office-to-cloud and activate it. While you’re at it, you should also update which apps can access your location to improve your privacy settings. What do you make of ChromeOS and Microsoft 365 file integration, and would it improve your workflow? Do let us know in the comments below.
