You wanted to convert the maths notes you wrote in Google Docs, so you downloaded the file. What arrived looks like this:
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calculus_notes.gdoc 1 KB
The document has dozens of equations in it and the file is one kilobyte. Drag it onto a conversion tool and nothing happens.
The file is not corrupt. A .gdoc was never a document in the first place — it is a pointer. The way around it is the Import from Google Drive button, which fetches the real content from Google instead. Both halves are below.
1. A .gdoc is an address, not a document
A Google Docs document lives on Google’s servers. The .gdoc file on your computer is a short link fragment pointing at it. It holds a document ID and an address to open, and that is all — no body text, no equations. That is why it is about a kilobyte.
Double-click it and a browser opens on the original document. You did not open a file; you followed a link.
So a .docx-only tool has nothing to work with: it looks inside for the document structure it needs and finds a link. The file input only accepts .docx, and the drop zone says as much — Drop a .docx file here / For Google Docs, use the Import from Google Drive button above.
2. What the import button does
Press Import from Google Drive at the top of the upload card and three things happen.
① Google sign-in. The step that grants access to a file.
② The file picker. Google’s own file chooser opens. Its title is “LaTeXFlow — Choose a Google Doc or .docx file”. Pick the document you want.
③ Conversion and scan. If you picked a Google Docs document, the tool asks Google to export it as .docx and receives the result. If you picked a .docx, it downloads it as-is. The button label briefly becomes Downloading…, the status line reads Fetching "<name>"…, and as soon as it arrives you land on the usual equation detection screen.
Your part is two actions: press the button, pick the file. The download, the format conversion and the re-upload are handled in one go. From the moment the file arrives, this route and the drag-and-drop route are identical.
The fetched file is read in your browser and is not uploaded to us. The LaTeX source and rendered image of each converted equation are collected anonymously to improve recognition quality (details).
3. Which permission it uses
Drive import requests exactly one scope: drive.file. As the name says, it is per-file.
| Scope | |
|---|---|
| What the tool can see | the one file you picked in the picker |
| What the tool cannot see | the rest of your Drive, your folder list, any other document |
Browsing folders and scanning your file list happens inside a window Google puts up. The tool cannot look into that window; it receives only the single file you pressed select on.
Sign-in is required only for this button. The drag-and-drop route needs no account at all.
4. What the consent screen is asking
Google’s consent screen appears when you use the button. Two things are worth checking.
① Which app is it. The app name and logo are shown at the top. The app has been through Google’s review, so there is no “unverified app” warning screen. If you do see one, you are on a different site — check the address.
② What are you allowing. The request is a single line of per-file access. There is no item for seeing all of Drive and none for deleting files. If the list is longer than that, the screen is not this tool’s.
4-1. Revoking it later
You can withdraw access at any time, from Google’s side rather than through the tool:
- Go to your Google Account.
- Open Security → Sign in with Google (or Your connections to third-party apps & services).
- Select the app in the list and press Remove access.
Revoking has no effect on conversions you already ran or files you already downloaded. And the drag-and-drop route keeps working regardless — it has nothing to do with your account.
4-2. Work and school accounts
Organisation-managed accounts sometimes have third-party app connections blocked by an administrator. In that case you get a message telling you to contact your admin instead of a consent screen. If waiting for approval is impractical, save a copy of the document to a personal Drive, or use the export route in section 8.
5. What the picker shows versus what is readable
Four formats appear in the picker list.
| Format | In the picker | Readable |
|---|---|---|
| Google Docs document | ✅ | ✅ exported to .docx and read |
.docx | ✅ | ✅ read directly |
.odt (OpenDocument) | ✅ | ❌ |
.rtf | ✅ | ❌ |
The last two appear but cannot be read. Pick one and the download completes, then the analysis step fails with an error. Only the .docx structure can be opened.
There is a small quirk worth knowing if you hit this. The downloaded file gets .docx appended to its name when it does not already end in it, so notes.odt becomes notes.odt.docx and passes the extension check. The failure therefore does not show up as “unsupported format” at the door — it lands later, in the analysis step.
To convert an .odt or .rtf, take one extra step:
- Open it as a Google Docs document in Drive and save. Then pick it in the picker.
- Or open it in Word or LibreOffice and Save As → Word Document (.docx).
Folders are shown in the list too, so a file tucked inside a folder can be reached by opening it.
Spreadsheets and slides are not offered — the picker is limited to document formats.
6. When the button is greyed out
The button only becomes active once both of Google’s scripts — one for sign-in, one for the picker — have loaded. So it can look grey for a moment right after you open the page.
- Wait a few seconds. This is usually all it takes.
- Still grey → refresh.
- Still grey after that → an ad blocker or extension may be blocking Google’s scripts. Turn it off for this page, or use the drag-and-drop route below.
Pressing the button before it is ready shows Waiting for Google libraries to load…, which just means try again shortly.
7. Common snags
Import failed. Something went wrong fetching the file: no permission on the document, the document was deleted or moved, or the network dropped. The message includes the status code Google returned, which is what to go on.
The downloaded file has .docx on the end of its name. That is normal. A Google Docs document has no extension, so .docx is appended when naming the export. The original file in Drive is unchanged.
I want to save the result back to Drive. Not supported. Results come out as a download. The drive.file scope does allow writing to files the tool itself created, but the current flow only reads. Upload the downloaded .docx to Drive yourself.
The picker window opens and closes immediately. Almost always a blocked popup. Allow popups for the site from the icon in the address bar and try again.
8. Doing it without the button
On a desktop, exporting from inside Docs is a short path too.
- Open the document in Google Docs.
- Choose File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx).
- Drag the downloaded
.docxonto the tool’s dotted area.
No sign-in, no consent screen. For a single one-off document this can be quicker.
| Drive import | Export from Docs | |
|---|---|---|
| Google sign-in | required | not required (you are already signed in to Docs) |
| Steps per conversion | button → pick file | 3 menu steps → drag and drop |
| With several files | better — one button press each | repeat the export per document |
| Downloaded file clutter | none | accumulates in your downloads folder |
Converting several documents in a row favours the button; converting one favours the export.
9. What to check after import
Once the file is in, everything is the same as if you had dragged it. This line appears at the top:
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Scanned 62 paragraphs · 48 equations found
If the equation count is zero, the import did not fail — the problem is in the document. It will be one of two things:
- The maths is not wrapped in LaTeX delimiters → detected 0 equations
- The equations are objects inserted with Insert → Symbols → Equation → equation objects are not text
For documents arriving from Google Docs the second is especially common. An equation built with the Docs equation tool stays an object when exported to .docx, and there is nowhere to attach a delimiter.
10. FAQ
Does converting change the original Google Docs document? No. The tool only reads the document, and the result comes out as a new .docx download. The original in Drive is untouched.
How do I convert several documents in a row? After downloading a result, press Start Over at the top to return to the first screen, then import the next one.
What about spreadsheets and slides? The picker is restricted to document formats, so they do not appear. Move the content into a Docs document first.
How is this different from the add-on? The Google Docs add-on (Extensions → LatexFlow → Open Equation Panel) changes equations inside the document while it is open, with no file changing hands. The web app takes a file, converts it and hands back a new .docx — which is what you want when the original should stay as it is and the result should be a separate artefact.
11. Summary
- A
.gdocis a link fragment, not a document, so downloading and dropping it gives a tool nothing to read. - Import from Google Drive handles sign-in, file selection and
.docxconversion in one press. - The permission is
drive.file— only the one file you pick is handed over. The drag-and-drop route needs no account at all. .odtand.rtfappear in the picker but are not readable. Open them as a Docs document, or re-save as.docx.- Import succeeded but zero equations means missing delimiters or equation objects, not a failed import.
Most of the confusion starts with Google Docs looking like a file when it is not one. Once that boundary is clear, it gets much easier to see which screen is blocking you and why.