Open GDOC files in your browser
The small files Google Drive for desktop puts on your computer for Docs, Sheets and Slides. See which document one stands for right here. Nothing leaves your device.
Or drop it anywhere on this page
What you'll see
Your shortcut opens as where it points, with nothing run or opened.
- Where it points • A web address opens after it asks
- What opening it runs, shown as text
- Windows, Mac and Linux shortcuts alike
- Nothing in it ever runs
About GDOC
Google Drive for desktop syncs Google Docs, Sheets and Slides to your computer as small shortcut files, since the documents themselves live only in Google's cloud: a .gdoc for a document, a .gsheet for a spreadsheet, a .gslides for a presentation, and one for each other kind, like .gform and .gdraw.
Each one is a line of JSON with the file's ID in Drive and the email of the account that synced it, sometimes with its address. Nothing of the document is in it, so copying one to a USB drive or attaching it to an email sends only the link.
Filepeek shows which Google app the file opens in, the account and the file ID, and builds the document's address, which opens in a new tab after a popup shows its host. Opening it still takes a Google account it's shared with.
Google Drive shortcut
.gdoc • .gsheet • .gslides • .gdraw • .gform • .gsite • .gmap • .gtable • .gscript • .gjam • .glink
Format
- MIME type
- application/json
- Made by
- Google Drive for desktop
Inside the file
- Holds
- A file ID and an account
- Points to
- Docs, Sheets, Slides and more
- Markup
- One line of JSON
- Made by
- Google Drive for desktop
Opens in every browser
Browsers download Drive shortcuts. Filepeek shows where one points in Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari.
- YouChromeOpens through Filepeek
- YouEdgeOpens through Filepeek
- YouFirefoxOpens through Filepeek
- YouSafariOpens through Filepeek
Apps that open GDOC
- WindowsGoogle Drive for desktop opens it in your browser
- MacGoogle Drive for desktop opens it in your browser
- iPhone and iPadNo app opens it • The Drive app opens the document
- AndroidNo app opens it • The Drive app opens the document
Questions
How do I open a .gdoc file?
Drop it on this page or press Peek a GDOC. Filepeek shows the document's address, and Open takes you to it in Google Docs after it asks. You need to be signed in to an account it's shared with.
Why won't the .gdoc I backed up open?
A .gdoc holds only a link, so a copy is a link to the same document in Drive, and nothing more. To keep the document itself, download it from Google Docs with File, then Download, or save all of Drive with Google Takeout.
Can I convert a .gdoc to Word or PDF?
Not from the shortcut, which holds no text. Open the document through it, then choose File, then Download in Google Docs for Word, PDF and more.
Why does Google say I need access?
The shortcut names a file in someone's Drive. The account it was synced from can open it, and others only once the owner shares it with them.
What are .gsheet and .gslides files?
The same kind of shortcut, for Google Sheets and Google Slides. A .gform is for Forms, .gdraw for Drawings, .gsite for Sites, .gmap for My Maps and .gscript for Apps Script, and all of them open here.