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I remember getting into it with a Google person in a forum once. They kept insisting they couldn't do real, portable files in Google Drive for Docs because that
by Kye 4y ago
I remember getting into it with a Google person in a forum once. They kept insisting they couldn't do real, portable files in Google Drive for Docs because that would break collaboration. They didn't seem able to understand I didn't want collaboration. I wanted to be able to open my word processor/spreadsheet/etc files in other tools without needing to connect to the internet (predates offline mode). I wanted to be able to back them up somewhere (3-2-1 strategy). I wanted to be able to do automated analysis across all my writing. In short, I wanted to own my files.
They simply could not conceive of a use case that was offline or didn't trust Google to be reliable. I honestly don't think they ever used a real desktop office suite. They had no model in their head to understand it.
- malermeister 4y agoIt is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.
- userbinator 4y agoThat's exactly the saying that came to mind when I read the parent comment. These people have an agenda, the company one, to advocate for; and won't accept anything else.
- ikiris 4y agoCollaboration is the killer feature of the docs ecosystem. You will never convince them to break it for X reason.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- Kye 4y agoI don't want them to break it. I understand why the two needs are incompatible. What I want is a way to opt out at a file or even account level so I can access my stuff in Drive. This is what they could not understand. It wasn't "this isn't possible," it was "why would someone want that?"
- eclipxe 4y agoExport your Google doc to a word docx and then just save that in Google drive. It’s a portable file like any other at that point.
- Kye 4y agoNope. Not what I want. I want it to be able to work like office suites have since before Google existed. There is no reason it can't other than lack of priority on Google's part. Microsoft's web-based stuff does this just fine, just like the offline stuff has for decades. I can edit on an app wherever I am, then have my laptop back home do some magic on the OneDrive folder and process/store/whatever I want, and I never have to invoke a magic menu item to ask Microsoft to let me. It's just there. I don't see why I have to adjust my workflow for Google's failure of imagination. I've also had too many cloud things decide to limit/remove export functionality to trust it.