you select a file or folder and give the Remove command, Google Drive does not delete the item immediately but instead moves it to the Trash folder. Google Drive keeps the item in the Trash for 30 days before deleting it permanently. During this time, you can recover the item from the Trash if you need to.
You may sometimes want to get rid of items permanently without letting them fester in the Trash for 30 days. You can achieve this either by emptying the Trash or by issuing the Delete Forever command for an item in it.
Recover a File from the Trash
In Google Drive, click Trash (
The Trash category appears.
Click the item or items you want to recover.
Right-click in the selection.
The contextual menu opens.
Click Restore (
Work with Microsoft Office Documents
Google Workspace enables you to work with Microsoft Office documents. Google Docs can open, save, and convert Microsoft Word documents; Google Sheets can open, save, and convert Microsoft Excel workbooks; and Google Slides can open, save, and convert Microsoft PowerPoint presentations.
You can upload Microsoft Office documents to Google Drive, keeping the documents’ file formats, using the method explained in the section “Upload a File to Google Drive,” earlier in this chapter. You can then convert the documents to Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides format, as needed.
Work with Microsoft Office Documents
Open a Microsoft Office Document in a Google Workspace App
In Google Drive, navigate to the folder that contains the document.
Right-click the document.
The contextual menu opens.
Click or highlight Open with (
The Open With submenu appears.
Click the appropriate Google Workspace app.
In this example, you would click Google Docs (
The document opens in the app you specified.
You can now edit the document.
The Google Workspace app — in this case, Google Docs — automatically saves changes you make, keeping the document in its Microsoft Office format.
Save a Microsoft Office Document in a Google Workspace Format
With a Microsoft Office document open in a Google Workspace app, click File.
The File menu opens.
Click Save as Google Docs, Save as Google Sheets, or Save as Google Slides, depending on the app.
The app saves the document in the Google app’s format in the same folder.