One outstanding feature about Chromebooks is that they are primarily cloud-based. Instead of filling up your hard disk with tons of files, you can perform all tasks through Google Drive.
However, being a Windows app, Microsoft Excel is not supported on Chromebooks.
A Chromebook is a different operating system than Windows. Luckily, you can still run and use Microsoft Applications like Excel on Chromebook. Curious to know how? Read on.
A Chromebook is different from your usual laptop. It's basically a machine that runs on Google's Chrome OS platform. Chrome OS is a web-based operating system where all of your data and processing are in the cloud.
If you don't have an internet connection, you can still use apps on your Chromebook. However, using them will not sync your files online, and therefore, all data can only be retained locally unless you can connect later on.
This can be very useful for business people who go about from one place to another without a reliable internet connection, but need access to their files when no other PCs are available around them.
Although you can't install Microsoft Office applications on a Chromebook, you can still run Microsoft Excel. Here are several ways you can achieve this:
If your Chromebook can access the internet, you can use Microsoft Excel from within Google Docs. Go to Drive in the Chrome browser, choose "New," and then select Microsoft Excel.
This is a very convenient way to access Excel if you don't have any other computers or tablets around you. Even if there are no computers, you can establish an internet connection on your Chromebook, you can still run Microsoft applications like Excel. It's also useful if you need to open one file while working with another program simultaneously.
Another way to use Microsoft Excel on a Chromebook is by accessing the spreadsheet program, Google Sheets. This can be done directly via your browser, or you can even install it on Windows or Mac if you prefer.
After signing in with your account information, you can access and edit the sheets saved online earlier. If your computer does not have an internet connection, everything can still be saved locally until an available connection is found.
The excellent thing about using this method is that you can access everything from any device, including smartphones, making it easier to work everywhere while having all files with you wherever you go.
This can be considered the most convenient way to access Microsoft Excel on a Chromebook, especially if you frequently use this application. You can access Microsoft Office online via the free Microsoft Excel Chrome extension. After downloading and installing it in your browser, you can directly open a spreadsheet and start editing offline too.
You can also work on multiple files at the same time when using this method. Just keep in mind that everything will not be synchronized to your Google Docs account unless you can re-access an internet connection.
Virtualization software can also be used to run Microsoft Excel on Chromebook. You can use software like Parallels and then install Windows onto the virtual machine to work independently from Chrome OS.
You can do this as long as you can establish an internet connection. A virtual software allows you to work with files created locally on the Windows virtual machine. What's more, you can edit them offline while they can also be synchronized later online.
However, this can only be done if your Chromebook has enough hardware capabilities to run a virtual OS successfully. Otherwise, it can cause slow performance and other technical problems like software compatibility issues, eventually making it unusable over time.
Download afree trial of Parallels software to your computer today and start using Microsoft Excel on your Chromebook.