How does Zoho Docs handle MS Office files after the preview release ?

We released a new enhanced version of file previews later this week. Read about this here. 

In this post, let me address how we will handle editing of MS Office files after this release. 

There has been a change in the way you edit MS Office files using our Zoho Office editors. When you upload an MS Office file in Zoho Docs, you'll see a check box that says 'Convert documents to the corresponding Zoho Docs format'. 

If you check this option, we'll convert your MS Office files be it DOCX, XLSX, PPTX or any old format into our own Zoho Office editor formats. Once converted, if you open such files, they'll always open in our Zoho Office editors. This will allow you to share and collaborate with your colleagues and friends in real-time. 

If you choose to uncheck this option, this basically means you want to retain the original format that you upload. In that case, we'll only allow you to preview such files using our new preview UI. You will not be able to edit them using our Office editors. You can still share the files with your colleagues in Read/Write mode. Your colleagues can upload a new version of the same file after editing it in MS Office. 

Previously, if you uncheck this option, we opened and saved back as MS Office files itself. So why did we change it ?

 

Docs will retain the original format of the file. 

If you wish to edit MS Office files using our Zoho Office editors, you can convert them to our editor format and continue to edit. But in doing so, we'll only create a copy and not touch your originally uploaded MS Office file. This has several advantages. Zoho Docs being a file storage service, it shouldn't change/alter the file that you upload to Docs. In keeping with this principle, you can now confidently upload any file to Docs. We'll have the original format intact for the lifetime of the file. 

For now, only the authors who own or created the file can do the conversion to our editor formats. Moreover, you still have to re-share the file to your colleagues. Because the new file will not retain the sharing permissions of the originally uploaded files. We'll see how we can improve this behavior. 

We believe this change will only help you to upload all your files much more confidently than ever before. We also believe that as you start using Docs, you'll eventually start using our powerful Office editors - Writer, Sheet and Show - all of which have seen major upgrades over the last year or so. The editors have become very matured that most of your Office productivity needs can be met by our editors comfortably and effortlessly. 

If you have any queries regarding this change or anything related to our file previews, write to us at support@zohodocs.com or post a reply to this thread. We are always here to help you with anything you need. 

• Topic Participants

• Vijayr

  

• Nina Mackay

• Balaji V

  

• Jack

• Rohith V K

  

• Sticky Posts

• Zoho Docs EOL extended to March 15, 2023. Migrate to WorkDrive now!

  Update: Zoho Docs access will be blocked for all users. Read this official post to know more. Most Zoho Docs individual and org users (including Workplace and Zoho One users) have already migrated their data and users to Zoho WorkDrive in response to

• Live Webinar - Drive your team towards tighter collaboration

  Any project, big or small, involves a lot of planning, strategizing, scheduling, and budgeting. However, how your team executes the project really makes it a success. That's why teams need to work closer, stay dynamic, and be ready when they're needed.    However skilful your team might be, a collaboration platform can make them even more efficient and productive.    With organizations expanding globally, it's not only a challenge for teams to work together, but all to stay on the same page.    To

• Live Webinar: Collaboration Made Simple with Our Brand New Tool

  Creating successful work groups when a team is geographically dispersed can be quite challenging. The process of keeping work and tasks in order becomes difficult and collaboration between team members can go haywire.  As a result, companies have shifted the way in which teams traditionally manage and organize their work. More organizations now want an exclusive, convenient place to work together, one that’s accessible by both internal and external collaborators.  That is why we have developed a

• Live Webinar - Go 'Pro Team' With Our New Productivity Tool

  Is your team forced to keep switching between apps to get work done? Does it take everyone longer to complete their tasks?    Join us for a webinar on Thursday, May 17, 2018  to learn about our new product that'll transform the way you work and collaborate with teams across your organization - whether they are in the next room or even miles away.  Teams are dynamic and they require tools that are flexible enough to cope with the ever-changing environment. But working with your colleagues doesn't

• Live Webinar - Make the Most of your Team Collaboration

  Do you have a collaborative team that's constantly looking for better ways to optimize productivity, connect with each other, and have better tools to share files? Well, look no further.   The Zoho Docs team has something big in store for you and your team. Join us on  Tuesday, April 17, 2018  to learn how to keep all your team files in one place, and turn you and your colleagues into productivity superstars! You'll also get a sneak peek at a new product that will help you:  Organize your team's

• Recent Topics

• Can managers Upload documents to their direct rapports?

  Admin employees have the ability to upload documents to employees' files; however, managers do not have add/manage button - is it possible for managers to upload their direct reports' documents, such as absence documents or 121 documents. Is there something

• Leave balance display for next year

  Is there a way to not have a rollover or not limit the leave balance depending on the date. For example an employee has 10 days leave balance and wants to apply for January leave in December. They cant because the rollover doesnt show the leave balance

• Please add an “Auto-Apply Unused Credits” toggle

  Hello — please add a simple org-level option to automatically apply unused credits (credit notes, excess payments, retainers) to new invoices and/or bills. An ON/OFF toggle with choices “invoices”, “bills”, or “both” would save lots of manual work for

• Zoho Books not working/loading

  Hi! I haven't been able to access/load Zoho Books for the past hours. I get a time out (and it is not due to my internet connection). Could you please check this asap? Thank you!

• Custom Fields with Data Types for Expense and Payments Received in Zoho Books

  Hi all, We are glad to present to you, the option to create Custom Fields for the Expense and Payments received modules in Zoho Books. This also comes with an icing on top of it - Yes, the custom fields can now be created with different data types. Types like Text, Number, Decimal, Amount, Auto Number and Check Box are supported as of now. Rush to the gear icon at the top right corner, select 'More Settings', choose 'Preferences' in the left pane. Click the Expense/Payment preferences where you can

• Zoho Cliq - Incident alert (Server outage - IN DC) | August 28

  We've received server down alerts and are currently investigating the issue (IN DC) to find the root cause. Our team is actively working to restore normal operations at the earliest. Status: Under investigation Start time: 09:44:21 AM IST Affected location:

• Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM Integration – AI-Powered Sales Automation

  Hello Zoho Community 👋 I’m excited to share a recent integration we’ve worked on at OfficehubTech: ✅ Claude + MCP Server + Zoho CRM This integration connects Zoho CRM with Claude AI through our custom MCP Server, enabling intelligent AI-driven responses

• How can I see content of system generated mails from zBooks?

  System generated mails for offers or invices appear in the mail tab of the designated customer. How can I view the content? It also doesn't appear in zMail sent folder.

• Limitations on editing a message in Cliq

  Hi I've checked the documentations and there's no mention of how many times a message can be edited. When trying with code, I get various numbers such as ~1000 edits or so. Please mention if there's a limit on how many times one can change a message via

• Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management

  Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 10: Assignment Rules - Streamlining Ticket Management In the complex world of customer support, a flood of incoming tickets can hit the help desk in seconds. Businesses must do more

• Custom form - Duplicate Value Present

  I am new to Zoho People. I create a new form on Zoho People quite simple. A date (by default the current date) and a radio button with 3 options (Yes, No, Not applicable) I defined the date as ‘No duplicate’ as only one entry by date is allowed. I added:

• Zoho API connection issues

  Hi, Today at around 1930 GMT our application started experiencing intermittent timeouts from the Zoho API. These intermittent timeouts are not enabling our app to work properly. The API connection was working just fine before. HTTPSConnectionPool(host='www.zohoapis.com',

• Query Regarding our Partnership between AIC-JKLU and Zoho

  Dear Zoho Team, I am writing to raise a concern on behalf of AIC-JKLU, one of Zoho’s incubator partners. Recently, our startups have been facing difficulties while trying to get themselves onboarded on Zoho through our dedicated partner link. Unfortunately,

• Disputed Purchase Invoices

  We have recently moved to Zoho Books from Sage. In Sage we were able to post a purchase/vendor invoice but mark it as on dispute. This would usually be a pricing query or if something was damaged. It would show in their ledger, so we could agree their

• Getting events in the future

  Hi I am trying to get events in the future by calling this API Endpoint https://www.zohoapis.eu/crm/v8/Events?fields=Event_Title,Created_By,Created_Time,Start_DateTime But that gives me all events in the database. How do I make a query that returns all

• Created Date/Invalid Fields

  Since Saturday we have suddenly had issues with our webhooks and data retrieval from CRM. Specifically how Created Date is handled. It appears there was some sort of change within CRM that broke a lot of our code that has been in place for several years.

• Revenue Management: #9 Revenue Recognition in Media & Publishing

  Media & Publishing industry has evolved in recent times. It offers subscriptions, bundles digital and print access, runs sponsored content, and sometimes even sells ad spaces. If you run a media or publishing business, you will always get into a situation

• Zoho CRM Community Digest - July 2025 | Part 2:

  Hello, Everyone! We’re closing out July with a can’t-miss highlight: Zoholics Europe 2025! Happening from September to October, it’s your chance to level up your CRM skills, covering everything from automation and CPQ to dashboards and advanced workflows.

• How can I trigger a flow action only once while updating contact?

  Hi, we have a trigger to merge&mail file when the field YYY is filled out. For this acion I used "Create or update module entry". But unfortunately we get tens of email on a day with this merged file, because the contact is being regularly updated. The

• Copy a Record Template from one Form to another

  I have a Creator application with several forms.  I developed a record template for one of the reports/forms but want to use most of it for another of the form/report combinations in the application. Is there a way to copy the template (code or otherwise) to another form?

• Tip of the Week #70 – Create common team signatures for your shared inboxes

  Did you know that a small detail, such as an email signature, can make a big difference in how your brand is perceived? One simple yet smart way to enhance your team’s communication is by creating common team signatures for your shared inboxes. Instead

• Enhanced data export features: XLSX format, custom character encoding, and selective record export

  Greetings all, Here are a few enhancements related to exporting CRM data, including the ability to export data in XLSX file format now. The Export feature under Data Administration now offers new options that expand its flexibility and enable users to

• Tip #42 – How to manage data security with Privacy Settings – 'Insider Insights'

  Data privacy is a cornerstone of trust in remote support. Through Privacy Settings in Zoho Assist, you can set up how data is gathered, stored, and handled in your organization. These settings ensure compliance, data protection for sensitive details,

• Zoho DataPrep and File Pattern configuration

  I'm using Zoho data prep to ingest data from One Drive into Zoho Analytics... The pipeline is super simple but I can't any way to get all the files that I need. Basically I need to bring all the files with a certain pattern and for that I'm using a regex

• Introducing Dark Mode / Light Mode : A New Look For Your CRM

  Hello Users, We are excited to announce a highly anticipated feature - the launch of Day, Night and Auto Mode implementation in Zoho CRM's NextGen user interface! This feature is designed to provide a visually appealing and comfortable experience for

• Ticketbai! en el Pais Vasco

  Hola a todos, En enero de 2.022 se va a implantar en el país vasco un nuevo sistema de facturación, denominado ticketbai!, ¿hay alguna previsión de realizar las adaptaciones en zoho books o zoho invoices? Ignoro la cantidad de clientes que tienen estas

• Zoho CRM mobile app feature update: home page widgets, field tooltips and user image upload

  Hello everyone! Your business doesn't pause when you're on the move, and neither should your CRM. That's why in our latest update, we've introduced a few new features to make your mobile CRM experience smoother and more efficient. Let's take a quick look

• Zoho CRM Plain Text Template: Line Breaks and Formatting Issue

  Hello, I'm following the instructions to create email templates in Zoho CRM, but I'm having a problem with the plain text version. https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/kb/zoho-sign/integrations/zoho-apps/zoho-crm/articles/zoho-crm-email-templates#Steps_to_create_a_custom_email_template

• Optimizing Task Handling: Auto-Remove Recurrence for cancelled Tasks.

  Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:

• Important updates to your connectors

  Hello everyone, Greeting from Zoho Creator! We're excited to announce that we'll be rolling out significant backend updates to Zoho Creator's built-in connectors to enhance security by following the latest frameworks. The existing version of some of the

• Create, collaborate, and manage agreements with Zoho Sign

  Agreements drive business. We launched Zoho Sign in 2017 as a simple digital signature tool to sign agreements from anywhere, at any time. Over the years, we've learned that most agreements go through last-minute changes before they're signed. Our users

• Function #25: Automatically generate purchase orders from a sales order

  We kicked off the "Function Fridays" series with the goal of helping you automate your everyday accounting tasks. As we delve into today's post, I'm delighted to announce that we're here to present the 25th custom function in this series. While it is

• hiding a topic from all but one segment (or list)

  My organization sends out a number of newsletters using Zoho Campaigns. One of those newsletters is for volunteers. In order to become a volunteer, a person has to first go through our volunteer orientation (training). After that, they can receive newsletters

• How do I set up this automation correctly?

  When contacts enter my Subscribers list, I want it to reference a custom field to see if it is empty. Then I want it to do two things: If empty: Assign a tag based on a different custom field. If that custom field is empty, assign a different tag. If

• Function #62: Display associated Quote on Invoice details screen

  Hello everyone! Today, we are sharing a Related List script that makes it easy to view and access the quote from which an invoice was created right from the invoice details screen. This Related List displays the Quote number and Amount, allowing you to

• Desk x CRM Integration

  Howdy! We currently use SalesIQ but we are considering moving across to Desk as it seems to have more functionality that we want. One of the pulls is the ability for our customers to self serve. But, I might be getting over excited and not actually need

• Issue with Save & Share Link – Works for Others but Not Creator

  I’ve enabled the "Save and Share" feature in Zoho Forms, and it works correctly for all users accessing the public link—except for me (the form creator). Issue Details: When I save and share the link, recipients see a “no permission” error. The form is

• Save the pdf report from a registration form in a Folder

  Through Zoho Forms I created a registration form with quite a lot of rules to handle different variables (TEAM types, payment in installments, etc.), and the result is pretty good. The automatic PDF that is sent to the respondent upon submission is already

• zoho forms integration to zoho work drive

  Scenario: A user fills out a Zoho Form, entering details such as email, mobile number, and other required information, and uploads supporting documents like PAN, Aadhaar, etc. Upon submission, the data is available in Zoho Forms Reports. Requirement:

• Zoho Forms to Zoho CRM Integration failed - can I restart it?

  The integration of Zoho Form to Zoho CRM has failed. Is there a way for me to restart it for the impacted entry?

• Next Page