Nov. 23, 2010 at 4:19 PM ET
For those who use both Google Docs and Microsoft Office, Google has come up with a plug-in to bridge the gap and sync up the two programs: Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office.
Available only to early testers now, it works on MS Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (2003, 2007 and 2010 Office versions), syncing up documents, giving them unique URLs and allowing for access at any time through Google Docs, including on mobile devices.
The Google Enterprise Blog has more information about the plug-in, including:
- If you're working on a project/document with others, you can all work on it at the same time, and Google Cloud Connect will alert users to changes and will ask them which version trumps the others. Google Docs already has full revision history — a boosted-up version of Tracking Changes from MS Word — in one click, allowing users to see earlier versions.
- Saving a file on the PC will sync the changes to Google Docs.
- This isn't available on Macs yet.
- To get the plug-in, you need to have a Google account.
Because of such a rapid, enthusiastic response ("thousands of businesses in just the last few hours," Google says), Google Cloud Connect is no longer accepting volunteer testers. But you can fill out this form and they'll notify you when it becomes available.