Converting your uploaded files to Google Docs editor format provides several benefits:
Easy Editing
Once a file is converted to Google Docs format, you can easily edit it within Google Drive using the built-in editor. This allows you to access and modify documents from any device through the Google Drive website or mobile app.
Enhanced Collaboration
The collaboration features in Google Docs make it easy to share and work on documents with others in real-time. Multiple people can edit a file simultaneously and see each other’s changes instantly.
Revision History
Google Docs keeps track of all changes made to a document, allowing you to view previous versions and see who made each change. This makes it easy to track the evolution of a document.
Universal Accessibility
Since Google Docs is web-based, you can access files from any computer, phone or tablet with an internet connection. There are also offline capabilities for times when an internet connection is not available.
Automatic Saving
Google Docs automatically saves all changes so you never have to worry about manually saving files or losing recent edits due to a crash or connection loss.
Easy Sharing
Sharing and collaborating on files is seamless with Google Drive. You can quickly share documents and control editing, viewing and commenting capabilities.
How to Enable Auto-Conversion
Enabling auto-conversion of uploaded files to Google Docs format is simple:
On Desktop
- Go to Google Drive and log into your account
- Click on the Settings gear icon in the top right and select Settings
- Check the box next to Convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format
- Click Done
On Mobile
- Open the Google Drive app
- Tap on the hamburger menu in the top left
- Tap on Settings
- Enable Convert uploads
Once enabled, any files uploaded to Google Drive will automatically be converted to the Google Docs editor format. This includes common file types like:
- Microsoft Word: .doc and .docx
- Text files: .txt
- Rich text format: .rtf
- HTML
The original uploaded files will remain in your Drive storage and the converted versions will not count against your storage limit.
Supported File Types
Google Drive can preview many file types without converting them, including:
- Images: .JPEG, .PNG, .GIF, etc.
- Video: .MP4, .WMV, .AVI, etc.
- Audio: .MP3, .WAV, .OGG, etc.
- PDF documents
- Markdown documents
- Code files: .CSS, .HTML, .JS, etc.
For files that Google Drive cannot inherently preview or edit, the auto-conversion feature will convert them to the Google Docs format so that you can view and edit them within Google Drive.
Limits to Be Aware Of
There are some limits imposed on Google Docs documents:
- 1.02 million characters per document
- 50 MB file size limit after conversion to Google Docs format
- 50 MB for inserted images
- Image formats limited to .JPG, .PNG or .GIF
So if you plan to upload very large documents, be aware of these restrictions.
How Converted Documents Are Stored
When a file is converted to the Google Docs editor format, the original file remains in Google Drive storage untouched. So you retain the original file as a backup or to convert back to its native format if needed.
The converted Google Docs version will not take up any of your Google Drive storage quota. So you don’t need to worry about duplicate files using double the storage space.
Downloading Converted Files
You can download converted Google Docs files to your local computer if you want to work on them offline or need to convert them to other formats not supported by Google Drive conversions.
To download a converted Docs file:
- Open the Google Docs file in Google Drive
- Click File > Download
- Choose the desired format: .DOCX, .ODT, .PDF, .TXT, etc.
- Select a save location on your local computer to store the downloaded file
Now you have an overview of how to convert uploaded files to Google Docs editor format! Let Google Drive do the work for you by automatically converting common file types to editable Docs documents.
