Share files from Google Drive

You can share the files and folders that you store in Google Drive with anyone.

When you share from Google Drive, you can control whether people can edit, comment on, or only view the file. When you share content from Google Drive, the Google Drive program policies apply.

Step 1: Find the file you want to share

Share a single file

  1. On a computer, go to Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, or Slides.
  2. Click the file you want to share.
  3. Click Share or Share Share.

Share multiple files

Send & share Google Forms

Step 2: Choose who to share with & how they can use your file

Share with specific people

  1. Select the file you want to share.
  2. Click Share or Share Share.
  3. Enter the email address you want to share with.
  4. To decide what role people will have on your file, selectViewer, Commenter, or Editor.
  5. Choose to notify people.
    • If you want to notify people that you shared an item with them, check the box next to Notify people. If you notify people, each email address you enter will be included in the email.
    • If you don't want to notify people, uncheck the box.
  6. Click Send or Share.

Allow general access to the file

You can choose if your file should be available to anyone or restricted to only the people with access. If you allow access to anyone with the link, your folder won't restrict who can access it.

  1. Select the file you want to share.
  2. Click Share or Share Share.
  3. Under "General access", click the Down arrow Down.
  4. Choose who can access the file.
  1. To decide what role people will have with your file, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
    • Learn more about how others view, comment, or edit files.
  2. ClickDone.
  1. Select the file you want to share.
  2. Click Share or Share Share.
  3. Under "General access" click the Down arrowDown.
  4. ChooseAnyone with the link.
  5. To decide what role people will have, selectViewer,Commenter, orEditor.
  6. Click Copy link.
  7. Click Done.
  8. Paste the link in an email or any place you want to share it.

People who aren't signed in to a Google Account show up as anonymous animals in your file.Learn more about anonymous animals.

Share & collaborate on a file with many people

At any time, a Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides file can only be edited on up to 100 open tabs or devices. If there are more than 100 instances of the file open, only the owner and some users with editing permissions can edit the file.

To share and collaborate on a file with a very wide audience:

Publish the file

  • If you need many people to view a file at once, publish it and create a link to share to viewers. You can give edit access to people who need to edit or comment on the file. Learn how to publish a file.
  • Depending on your account's settings, publishing a file makes it visible to everyone on the web, everyone in your organization, or a group of people in your organization. Be careful when publishing private or sensitive info.
    • Important: If you have an account through work or school, your administrator can limit who can view a published file. If you're an administrator, learn how to control who can publish documents to the web.
  • To remove a file from the web, you must stop publishing it. Learn how to stop publishing a file.
  • To stop sharing a file with collaborators, learn how to change sharing permissions.

Create a Google Site

  • Create a Google Site to share information with many people.  You can embed documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on the site, which can be viewed by a large amount of users. Learn how to embed documents on a site.
  • If you anticipate high traffic to your site, first publish your document in Google Docs, Sheets or Slides, then embed the published URL into Google Sites. Learn how to publish a file.

Collect feedback with Google Forms

  • If you need to gather a lot of information, create a Google Form. Responses will be recorded in a Google Sheet. Give edit access only to people who need to work with the responses. To let more than 100 people view the responses, publish the spreadsheet to the web and create a link to share with viewers. Learn how to publish a file.

Fix problems with documents shared with many people

If your document is shared with many people and it's crashing or not updating quickly, try these troubleshooting tips:

  • Instead of allowing people to comment on a document or spreadsheet, create a Google Form to collect feedback. Learn how to create a Google Form.
  • If you're making a copy of a document, don't include resolved comments and suggestions. Learn how to make a copy.
  • Delete older information or move data into a new document.
  • Ask viewers to close the document when they aren't using it.
  • Include only the most important information in a published document. Shorter documents load faster.
  • Reduce the amount of people with edit access to a document.
  • If collecting information from multiple documents, create a new, view-only document to share with a large number of people.

Limit how a file is shared

Choose if people can view, comment, or edit

When you share a file with someone, you can choose their access level:

  • Viewer: People can view, but can't change or share the file with others.
  • Commenter: People can make comments and suggestions, but can't change or share the file with others.
  • Editor: People can make changes, accept or reject suggestions, and share the file with others.

Change the general access for your file

You can allow broad access to your file. These options depend on if your Google Account is through work, school, or Gmail.

  • Public: Anyone can search on Google and get access to your file, without signing in to their Google Account.
  • Anyone with the link: Anyone who has the link can use your file, without signing in to their Google Account.
  • Restricted: Only people with access can open the file.

Related articles

  • Make Google Docs, Sheets, Slides & Forms public
  • Stop or change how a file is shared
  • Transfer file ownership
  • Share folders in Google Drive
  • Find files shared with you

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