Sometimes, sharing your Google Docs document with others is quite important especially when you are working as a team and multiple people have to work with the same document. In this article, we will discuss the steps to share your Google Docs documents with others.
It is very simple to view your Google Docs document’s current sharing settings. To know, just hover over the blue colored ‘Share’ button at the top right of your Google Docs document. You can see a popover that shows the current document privacy, which is always ‘private’ by default.
Google Docs has Visibility Options that allow you to control who can view your Google Docs documents. Google Docs documents are private by default, but the “Share” option gives you the freedom to choose to make your documents visible to certain individuals, anyone with a link to the document, or public on the web.
- To change the setting, click on the ‘Share’ button at the top right of the Google Docs document. The “Share with others” window will open. Before sharing, make sure you have saved the document.
- You have two options — You can either type the names of people from your contact list or the email addresses of people you wish to share the Google Docs document.
- You can add the names and email addresses of everyone you want to share the Google Docs document with. You can also add a note to your collaborators in the Add a note field.
- Once done with adding people, Click the Send button in the lower-left of the “Share with others” window.
Google Docs ‘Share with Others’ screen lets you customize your link visibility options.
Activating the link-sharing option reduces the amount of control you have over who can see the Google Docs document. One of your reviewers could share the link with others, and those others would be able to access your Google Docs document. But, you can define who can see your Google Docs document.
The “Get link” option is set to ‘Restricted’ by default. That is, only people added can open the Google Docs document with this link.
Anyone With the Link
To give access to a large group of specific people, you can choose ‘Anyone with the link’ from the ‘Get Link’.This option assures anyone on the internet with this link can view it. Anyone can view, comment, or edit your Google Docs document.
Collaborator Options
You have complete control of how your Google Docs document will be shared on the public. If you are the document owner, you can authorize other individuals to view, comment on, edit, or become the owner of the document.
To change the Collaborator options, click the share button at the top right of the Google Docs document. Change the ‘restricted’ link to ‘Anyone with the link’.You can find the viewer dropdown option at the right corner of the “Share with People and Groups” screen. Click on the dropdown icon. You can choose from the Viewer, commenter, and editor.
If you want to allow others to only see your Google Docs document, select the Viewer option. By setting the Collaborator option to Viewer, collaborators will be forced to ‘Make a copy’ of the document in order to make changes, thus ensuring that no one is able to alter the template of your Google Docs document directly.
The ‘Editor’ collaborator option allows other individuals to edit your Google Docs document. Collaborators can work in your Google Docs document simultaneously in real-time, so you can avoid sending emails for every change done. Each editor who is working in your Google Docs document will be visible as an icon at the top right of the screen, next to the ‘Comments’ button.
Share with access – Commenter
People with the Commenter option will be able to see your Google Docs document and make comments, but will not be able to change the document in any way. You can see the highlighted sections and the comment boxes on the right side of your screen.
To comment on a document, you have to highlight the specific text and right-click to select Comment. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-Alt-M, or the Comments button at the top-right of the screen next to Share.
Make owner:
You can make the collaborator the owner of the document. To do this, go to ‘Share with people and groups’ by clicking the ‘Share’ button. Click on the dropdown at the right end of the collaborator’s name. Click on the ‘Make owner’ option. Now your collaborator has access to share and edit permissions for your documents too.
You can also notify the people you are sharing with a message. Once you enter the email address, a screen will appear that allows you to type your message and send it.
Removing a Collaborator
You can remove a collaborator from your Google Docs document. To do this, go to ‘Share with people and groups’ by clicking the ‘Share’ button. Click on the dropdown at the right end of the collaborator’s name. Click on the ‘Remove’ option. Now the collaborator will be get removed.
You can also share your Google Docs document from your mobile or Android/ios device using the below instructions.
- Launch the Docs App on your mobile.
- Locate the Google Docs document that you wish to share and then tap on the three dots context menu next to the document name.
3. Then tap on the Share option on the next pop-up.
4. Provide the mail id of the person or group email id. Select a role like Editor, Commenter, Viewer, etc. Select the check box to Notify people and optionally, you can also add a message –> Finally, tap on the send/share button to share the Google Docs document with others from your mobile.
You may like the following Google Docs tutorials:
Voila! it is so easy to share Google Docs with others using the above instructions. Now, it’s your turn to utilize this information. Thanks for reading this article !!!