Google Chrome Office Viewer easily opens Microsoft Office files in the web browser

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Google is about to release Chrome 27, but before that happens the company is releasing a new companion extension, its name is Chrome Office Viewer. This is a brand new, 25MB extension that allows you to view Microsoft Office files in the popular web browser without the need to launch Office, and it works in Windows and Apple’s OS X.

The new app can open Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx), Excel(.xls/.xlsx), and PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx), and according to the search giant, Chrome Office Viewer is a more secure environment to view your files and prevent malicious code to get into your system, because the extension uses “a specialized sandbox” to prevent attacks.

Word doc, Chrome Office Viewer

Although this is a new extension for Windows and OS X, Chrome Office Viewer isn’t totally new, Chromebook users had this functionality for a while now.

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If you want to open your Office documents in Google Chrome, you have to install the beta version of the web browser, then head over to the the Chrome Store and install the extension.

Instructions

Keep in mind that Chrome Office Viewer is meant to open documents you find on the web, but you can easily configure the Chrome to open the files you have stored in your computer. To do that, just right-click the Chrome shortcut in your desktop or taskbar, select Properties and copy the Target path (e.g., “C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe”). Now find compatible document, right-click and from the menu choose Open with, select Choose default programs, then More options, scroll down and click Look for more apps in this PC, then paste the target path, and finally click Open.

Source Google | image from Flickr by Appeltaart_

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.