What “working together” means
The phrase covers four uses. They do not all need the same tool.
- Simultaneous editing: several people change the same file at the same time, and each sees the others’ changes.
- Comments and tracking: you annotate, reply and see who changed what.
- The shared folder: a single place, with permissions, where the file lives for the whole project.
- The meeting around the file: a video call during which the document is opened and edited.
Sending an attachment is not working together. Each recipient gets a copy. Corrections come back in four messages and someone merges them by hand. Working together starts when there is only one file, in one place.
How the two big suites organize it
It is worth reading what the vendors themselves say. Their conditions show that co-editing always depends on location and format.
Microsoft states that co-authoring is available for documents stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, in .docx, .xlsx and .pptx formats. It is not available for documents protected by Information Rights Management.
For real-time collaboration, Google recommends opening the file directly in Docs, Sheets or Slides. Office files can be edited in compatibility mode or converted. Google specifies that macros are not supported and suggests rewriting them with Apps Script, and that charts and videos embedded in Word or PowerPoint files are converted to images.
In other words, even between the two big suites, a file does not keep everything when it changes editor. The same holds for a European solution.
What works outside the two suites
A browser-based document editor, backed by file storage, covers most everyday work:
- text documents, spreadsheets and presentations opened and edited by several people, with no software to install;
- common office formats, including the open OpenDocument formats;
- comments, version history, folder activity tracking;
- shared folders with permissions per person and per group;
- a link sent instead of an attachment, including to an outside partner.
For meeting minutes, a tracking sheet, a sales proposal or an internal procedure, the difference in use is small. Teams mainly lose menu habits, which they regain within a few days.
What remains tied to a suite
The limits are well known. Better to name them before deciding.
- Macros and scripts. A workbook with macros opens elsewhere, but it does not necessarily run there. A script written for one suite has to be rewritten.
- Add-ins. A module added to a word processor or spreadsheet does not exist in another editor.
- Highly faithful layout. Legal templates, technical reports, documents with nested styles: a pagination shift can be enough to cause problems.
- Advanced spreadsheet habits. Financial models, recent functions specific to one vendor, links between workbooks.
- Processes built on the suite. Dashboards, forms, automations: moving them means rewriting them.
The guides Microsoft 365 or a sovereign solution and Google Workspace or a sovereign solution detail these limits and the cases where staying is the rational choice.
Example: a ten-person team and two files that will not move
Hypothetical case. A ten-person agency produces meeting minutes, schedules and sales proposals. It leaves its online office suite for a European document service.
For two weeks, it tests three types of documents. Minutes and schedules move over without difficulty. Sales proposals move over with a workaround: a cover page template is rebuilt once.
Two files resist. A pricing tool relies on macros. A tender response template requires pixel-perfect layout. The agency keeps one workstation with the legacy suite for these two files. They stay stored in the shared folder, with their version history. Only one person edits them at a time, then uploads them back.
The result is not “everything as before.” It is everyday collaboration outside the two suites, with two named, controlled exceptions.
How to test before deciding
- Inventory files with macros, scripts, forms and add-ins. These are what stop a process on switchover day.
- Choose three real documents: an everyday text, a tracking sheet, a document with demanding layout.
- Classify each task as “works,” “works with a workaround” or “breaks.”
- Test with an outside partner who uses another suite: they receive a link, edit and comment.
- Decide on exceptions: which file keeps its original tool, on which workstation, under whose responsibility.
This test takes little time. It avoids a migration decided on the strength of a demo, then undone by three workbooks.
Frequently asked questions
Do Word, Excel and PowerPoint files open?
Yes, generally, and they can be edited in the browser. Complex files (macros, fine layout) must be tested one by one.
Can we co-edit with a partner who uses Microsoft 365?
Yes, through a sharing link with edit rights: they work in your space, from their browser. The settings are described in sharing links, partners and downloads.
Will macros keep working?
Not necessarily. A macro opens with the file, but it does not always run. Plan to rewrite it or keep the original tool for that file.
Do we need to change email at the same time?
No. Files and email are decided separately. The steps of a full migration are in migrating from Microsoft 365.
What is the difference between sharing, sync and a DMS?
It is explained in storage, sync, sharing and DMS.
Where Klytic fits
Klytic Docs lets several people open and edit text documents, spreadsheets and presentations in the browser, without attachments. Comments, version history and folder activity tracking are included. Each customer has its own instance, of which it is also the administrator; Klytic provides support, maintenance, backup and security.
Video conferencing is included in Klytic Docs, in the same instance: guests invited by link, optional password, waiting room, recording, transcription, translation and summaries, webinars, breakout rooms, dial-in by phone. The meeting takes place where the document is.
Online co-editing and video conferencing are provided for a limited number of users. Support for a large number of users, for online editing or video conferencing, is subject to a specific quote.
Klytic Mail and Klytic Docs are interconnected: you can attach a document stored in Klytic Docs to an email, or send a link instead of a large attachment, and save a received attachment directly to Klytic Docs. Klytic Docs can also be subscribed to without Klytic Mail. Migration of files from a server, OneDrive, SharePoint, Google Drive or Dropbox is assisted.
The limits: Klytic Docs is not Office or Google Docs under another name. It does not replace advanced Excel or Power BI, and does not promise feature parity with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Klytic is not a SecNumCloud-qualified offering. Hosting is possible in any geographic area matching the applicable jurisdiction, subject to service availability, notably in Europe or Mauritius, or on the customer’s own servers.
This page describes a general framework. How a specific file behaves must be checked by testing it.
Sources
Consulted in October 2026.
- Microsoft Support, document collaboration and co-authoring: co-authoring applies to files stored in OneDrive or SharePoint, in .docx, .xlsx and .pptx formats, and is not available for IRM-protected documents. support.microsoft.com
- Google Docs Help, working with Office files: compatibility mode or conversion, macros not supported (rewrite with Apps Script), embedded charts and videos converted to images. support.google.com
- Klytic, Klytic Docs page: co-editing in the browser, comments, link instead of attachment with Klytic Mail, subscription without Klytic Mail, file migration. klytic.com
- Klytic, Microsoft 365 or a sovereign solution: Klytic does not replace advanced Excel or Power BI; a template with macros opens elsewhere without necessarily running there. klytic.com
