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This problem has just popped up of Word .docx file sizes expanding dramatically after using the StyleGuide extension and saving.
My workflow for a small newspaper chain: create/edit copy in Google Doc, export as a .docx file, open in Word (Office 365 for Business/MacOS 26.0.1) make final edits and run StyleGuide (an Associated Press style checker), save and put in Dropbox. (Complicated, I know.)
Up until last week, the .docx file exported from GDocs would be between 9-11KB, and once run through the StyleGuide extension and saved, the final file would be between 20-30KB. Manageable.
Now the saved files coming out of Word are between 2.7-3.3MB.
Don't know if it's the extension or the version of Word. I don't think it's the MacOS, because the upgrade to 26.0.1 was before last week.
A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
Are you using the desktop application or the web app for Word?
Desktop app. Word for Web doesn't support this particular extension.
I'm guessing you're writing about AP Stylebook. Try saving the file in Word and checking the file size before running Stylebook. If the file size increases after running Stylebook, it's the add-in that's creating the problem.
Here's the Help page for that add-in, where you can create a Help Ticket to report the issue.
Downloaded a different Gdoc, only small changes to the text, didn't run StyleGuide, saved it, and it still shot up to 2.7MB.
Most likely, there is content in the Google Doc that Word translates to .docx with a larger file size. Google does not use standard Microsoft XML for its proprietary format. You can report this as a bug using Help>Feedback>Report a problem. Microsoft is unlikely to reply, but they may fix the issue if there are enough reports.
Tried it on a different machine using the same setup, and same results, jumping from 11KB to 3.3MB.