Google docs still does not render all Excel files correctly. If you have particular formatting, there is a chance that your gmail recipients will simply preview the file in gmail, which renders using Google Docs, which means they won't see the right version of the spreadsheet. In today's episode, I show you how to force gmail to open the attachment in the real Excel.
Transcript of the video:
MrExcel podcast is sponsored by Easy-XL.
Learn Excel MrExcel podcast, episode no: 1847.
Force Gmail to open the attachment in Excel, not Google Docs.
Hey, welcome back to the MrExcel netcast. I'm Bill Jelen.
Yeah, well sometimes you create something in Word or Excel and it's not just the basic stuff.
You like you've added text boxes and shapes and things like that.
And you're gonna email this to someone who uses Gmail, and it's frustrating we do that because they are likely to open this in the Google Docs previewer.
So, you know here's an Excel workbook?
Here's...
The email when it arrives in, Gmail and if we click anywhere on here, it's going to give us this full screen view, and you'll see like my note that's in the in the shape.
Is kind of there, but it's not lined up.
And it just doesn't look right.
Right, so I've had a situation where I spent time.
I created this whole big document I send it to someone hoping they would open it in Word or Excel, and they didn't they just opened it here.
And they missed all my notes.
Like yeah, I looked at it. I did everything. Well, no you didn't do everything.
You didn't see it because you weren't really in Excel, You were in this.
All right, so here is a really, really easy way to go.
Take your Excel workbook and do File> Save As and change the file type to xlsm.
Even though there's not any macros there, just change the file type.
And I already did that and I named it, Don'tOpenMeInGoogleDocs.
We'll take a look here. We'll go back to Gmail.
And then when the person gets this, all right, so now they click on the big icon and it tries to preview up.
No preview is available and they're forced to download it, where it will really open in real Excel.
And they'll see things rendered the way that you...
One of them rendered.
So, next time you're about to be burned because you're sending something to a gmail user...
And I have nothing against Gmail users.
I'm a Gmail user myself.
This is a great way to force people to really open it in Excel, instead of Google Docs.
Oh, hey, I wanna thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another netcast from MrExcel.
Learn Excel MrExcel podcast, episode no: 1847.
Force Gmail to open the attachment in Excel, not Google Docs.
Hey, welcome back to the MrExcel netcast. I'm Bill Jelen.
Yeah, well sometimes you create something in Word or Excel and it's not just the basic stuff.
You like you've added text boxes and shapes and things like that.
And you're gonna email this to someone who uses Gmail, and it's frustrating we do that because they are likely to open this in the Google Docs previewer.
So, you know here's an Excel workbook?
Here's...
The email when it arrives in, Gmail and if we click anywhere on here, it's going to give us this full screen view, and you'll see like my note that's in the in the shape.
Is kind of there, but it's not lined up.
And it just doesn't look right.
Right, so I've had a situation where I spent time.
I created this whole big document I send it to someone hoping they would open it in Word or Excel, and they didn't they just opened it here.
And they missed all my notes.
Like yeah, I looked at it. I did everything. Well, no you didn't do everything.
You didn't see it because you weren't really in Excel, You were in this.
All right, so here is a really, really easy way to go.
Take your Excel workbook and do File> Save As and change the file type to xlsm.
Even though there's not any macros there, just change the file type.
And I already did that and I named it, Don'tOpenMeInGoogleDocs.
We'll take a look here. We'll go back to Gmail.
And then when the person gets this, all right, so now they click on the big icon and it tries to preview up.
No preview is available and they're forced to download it, where it will really open in real Excel.
And they'll see things rendered the way that you...
One of them rendered.
So, next time you're about to be burned because you're sending something to a gmail user...
And I have nothing against Gmail users.
I'm a Gmail user myself.
This is a great way to force people to really open it in Excel, instead of Google Docs.
Oh, hey, I wanna thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another netcast from MrExcel.
