How to open and edit files from Google Drive in LibreOffice

LibreOffice is a powerful tool and it is becoming more and more "powerful". First, it's a desktop tool, now you can use LibreOffice in your browser, making it an alternative to online Office suites like Google Docs. Recent versions of LibreOffice have added remote file editing support on SAMBA, via SSH and through other methods. One of the most interesting things is that LibreOffice supports Google Drive. Find out more about this issue through the following article!

Why edit the Google Drive file in LibreOffice?

You may like to work in LibreOffice, but not everyone. Although currently, you can run LibreOffice in your browser, but that doesn't mean your colleagues will want to give up Google Docs and Google Drive.

How to open and edit files from Google Drive in LibreOffice Picture 1

Using LibreOffice to edit Google Drive files is the best way to combine both tools. Others are working in an environment where they are comfortable, while you can still be creative in your own familiar environment. The use of LibreOffice to edit Google Drive files does not require too much setup.

Set up remote file connection

Before starting, you will need a Google account. If you've ever used Google Drive, you may want to create one or two files through its web interface. This way, you can know whether the remote connection is successful.

Launch LibreOffice, then in Start Center, select Remote Files at the top of the left pane. On the next screen, select Add Service at the top. On the following screen, select Google Drive from the Type drop-down menu at the top of the window.

How to open and edit files from Google Drive in LibreOffice Picture 2

Continue down the screen, you will need to give your Google account details. If using two-factor authentication, you do not need to use the application password. LibreOffice will prompt you for two-factor authentication code.

When you have finished entering your details, the dialog box will dim until the connection is successfully established.

Work with Google Drive files in LibreOffice

There are two ways to open files in Google Drive. One is to choose Remote Files in the Start Center as the article above did. Alternatively, go to File> Open Remote File in LibreOffice Writer, Calc or Impress.

After opening the file, you can work with it like any other file. When you save, through the File menu or Ctrl + S , the file will automatically be saved in Google Drive. You do not need to check incoming or outgoing files as you would with a CMIS document server in LibreOffice.

How to open and edit files from Google Drive in LibreOffice Picture 3

If you create a new file in LibreOffice Writer, Calc or Impress, just go to File> Save Remote to save it. If you are not connected to Google Drive, follow the instructions above.

As mentioned above, LibreOffice currently works with many other remote access methods, but Google Drive is one of the easiest to use. If you often need to edit files via WebDAV or SSH, it's great to know that these protocols are also supported.

LibreOffice is not the only Google Drive client available on Linux. To see what's available, see the full list of Google Drive Client for Linux on TipsMake.com.

Hope you are succesful.

Google Drive LibreOffice

Isabella Humphrey

Update 07 June 2019

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