Open Office docs right in your browser with Chrome Office Viewer

Posted: April 26, 2013

[caption id="attachment_11305" align="alignright" width="580"]image PC World[/caption]Let's face it....freelancers and, often times, small businesses just can't afford to keep updating their Microsoft products. If this is the case for you with Microsoft Office, you know it can create problems when someone sends you an Office file to open. Cheer up, Google Chrome has an extension (in beta) that will allow you to open the documents right in Chrome. Here's hoping they'll perfect it and it will eliminate the necessity for everyone to own Microsoft Office.

If you're trying to run your business without spending money on Microsoft Office, you know the occasional hassles that go with being on the receiving end of Office documents.

Google hopes to minimize that hassle with the Chrome Office Viewer extension, which makes it possible to view Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint slide decks right inside the Google Chrome browser. Just a click a link to any such file and presto, it opens.

The extension is compatible with both the Windows and Mac versions of Chrome. At least, it's supposed to be. On my Windows 7-based system, I couldn't install the extension, which is currently in beta. The Chrome Web Store issued me this message: "This application is not supported on this computer. Installation has been disabled."

What's more, the handful of user reviews in the store suggest that the extension definitely needs to have its beta kinks worked out. If you have better luck, either installing or using the feature, let me know in the comments.

Read the entire article Open Office docs right in your browser with Chrome Office Viewer at PCWorld.com.