Can Chromebooks Run Microsoft Office?

Full answer after the jump...


While Chromebooks will not run the Microsoft Office suite, Google Drive has been upgraded to allow for the editing of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents.  So, whether you are sharing Google Docs or Microsoft Office documents with students, they will be able to edit them.

Here's the explanation from Google on how to ensure this is set-up:

1. Your Chromebook will automatically update to allow you to edit Office files in the new version of Google Drive.
2. Open Drive by clicking the  Drive icon on your desktop or by going to drive.google.com in your browser.
3. Open any Office file to begin editing it in Office Compatibility Mode (OCM).

How to know you’re in Office Compatibility Mode (OCM)

1. Click the  Drive icon on your desktop or go to Drive at drive.google.com
2. Open the Word, Excel®, or PowerPoint® file you want to edit.
3. Click the File menu.
4. If you see “Office Compatibility Mode” in the menu, you can edit the file or save it to Google Docs for the ability to work with others.