Google Drive plug-in lets users sync Microsoft Office files

Google is making it easier for users of its Drive productivity application to access documents created in any of the Microsoft Office suite applications.

The firm said that the move follows other efforts to smooth the Drive online document creation experience and make it more open and capable.

This suggests that Google feels that it must work with, as opposed to against, rival enterprise productivity applications.

"With Google Drive, you can keep all your important files in one place, then open them with your choice of apps and devices," said Darrell Kuhn, technical programme manager for the Google Drive plug-in.

"Building on this open approach, today we're taking it a step further by bringing Google Drive to Microsoft Office.

"Using the new Google Drive plug-in, people using Office for Windows can now open their Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents stored in Drive, then save any changes back to Drive once they're done."

Productivity is the theme here, and Kuhn said that teams can work with confidence on documents regardless of the systems from whence they come. He added that the small plug-in will boost productivity and increase confidence in the security of communications.

"If you're working on a document, spreadsheet or presentation that's on your computer, you can also save that file to Google Drive, directly from the Office apps. This is especially useful for sharing files with teams, or for accessing your files across devices," Kuhn added.

"With this plug-in, you can use the apps you're already comfortable with, while benefitting from the security and convenience of Google Drive."

Users have given the release a mixed reception, some claiming that the feature is already possible within Google Drive, or that rival services such as Dropbox enable similar work.

Others have pointed out that the plug-in has no effect on Windows 10 preview versions, or indeed Word 2016.