But Google Drive and, by extension, Google Docs aren’t the only tools I have in my writer’s toolkit. I also use both LibreOffice and Apple Pages. It doesn’t matter which tool I use to create my work, it inevitably winds up being stored in Google Drive, either because I manually uploaded a file or via an automatic upload from one backup tool or another. Either way, it happens. When those files do get uploaded to Google Drive, I tend to prefer having them automatically converted to the Google Docs editor format. Why? Because when I upload a file to Google Drive, I want to also be able to edit it within Google Drive. And given I can later on (when the file is complete) download it again as one of many formats (such as DOCX, ODT, PDF, and TXT), it makes perfect sense to have files converted. Also: How to create MS Word files in Google Docs on Android This way I can access and edit the files anywhere and don’t have to rely on the right tool being installed on whatever machine I’m working on. All I need is a browser and I’m ready to go. Even better, enabling the converted uploads option is incredibly easy. Let me show you how.
Requirements
The only thing you’ll need for this is a valid Google Workspace account. You can use either the free or the paid version, as the feature is available for both. Of course, you’ll also need a document or two to upload, but that’s not necessary to enable the feature. With your account ready, let’s get this option working.
How to enable document conversion in Google Docs
Now that you’ve enabled the feature, you can test it by uploading a DOCX or ODT file to Google Drive. That file should automatically be converted to the Google Docs format of GDOC. When it uploads, you’ll no longer see the DOCX file extension, which indicates the conversion was a success. Also: How to use Google Docs Version History And that’s all there is to it. Now, every time you upload a file to Google Drive, it will automatically convert to the Google Docs file type and you’ll have no problem opening and editing it.
