How to Use Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on a Chromebook

Create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for free using Google's built-in apps on your Chromebook — no Microsoft Office needed.

In this guide (5 steps):

1.Open Google Docs from the browser
2.Type and format your document
3.Save and find your document later
4.Open Sheets or Slides
5.Open or save as a Microsoft Office file

Open Google Docs from the browser

~15s

Open the Chrome browser and go to docs.google.com. You will see a grid of your recent documents. Click the large "+" button or "Blank" to start a new document.

Type and format your document

~15s

Click anywhere on the white page and start typing. Use the toolbar at the top to change the font size, make text bold, or change the color — these tools work the same way as in Microsoft Word.

Save and find your document later

~15s

Google Docs saves automatically — you will see the word "Saved" appear in the top toolbar. To find your document later, go to drive.google.com, which shows all your Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides files.

Open Sheets or Slides

~15s

For spreadsheets, go to sheets.google.com. For presentations, go to slides.google.com. Each opens with the same style of page showing your recent files and a blank option.

Open or save as a Microsoft Office file

~15s

To open a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file someone sent you, drag it into Google Drive and double-click it. To save your Google document as a Word file, click "File" at the top, then "Download," then "Microsoft Word (.docx)."

You Did It!

You've completed: How to Use Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on a Chromebook

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Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are free programs that come with any Google account. Google Docs works like Microsoft Word for writing letters and documents. Google Sheets works like Microsoft Excel for making lists and doing basic math in rows and columns. Google Slides works like Microsoft PowerPoint for creating presentations. All three run directly in the Chrome browser on your Chromebook — no installation needed.

One of the biggest advantages is that your work saves automatically every few seconds to Google Drive (Google's online storage). You can start a document on your Chromebook and then open it later on a phone or a different computer just by logging into your Google account. You can also share a document with family members so you can both read or edit it at the same time.

If someone sends you a Microsoft Word (.docx) file, you can open it in Google Docs and even save it back as a Word file when you are done.

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