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Share Google Docs via Google Workspace

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You can share the Google Docs associated with your Google Workspace (formerly G Suite) account in a number of ways. Each document can be shared with

  • No one
  • Only the people you specify (through their Google Workspace account)
  • Anyone who has the link to the document
  • Anyone

For each of these methods of sharing, you can also determine what rights you give. Each person can be granted

  • View only
  • View and comment (only some types of documents allow for commenting)
  • View, comment, and edit
  • Owner (all of the above, plus ability to delete)

Sharing with Specific People

While viewing your list of documents,

  1. Open the document you want to share.
  2. From the menu bar, click the three-dots icon, then select Share.
  3. In the Share with others dialog box that opens, enter the Gmail (including Cornell Google Workspace) addresses of the people you want to give access, separating addresses with a comma.
  4. Click Done. An email message will be sent to the addresses you entered, informing them that they have access. 

When sharing with specific email addresses, only Gmail addresses (including Cornell Google Workspace addresses) are valid. This can be confusing, since Google Workspace addresses look like NetID@cornell.edu. If you attempt to share with a non-Gmail address, the person trying to access the document will face a Gmail login screen.

We've found two workarounds:

  • Ask the person to sign up for a Gmail account (easy and free at gmail.com). They tell you what their Gmail address is, and you share the document with that address.
  • Use the method listed below for sharing with anyone who has the link, then give them the link.

Sharing with Anyone Who Has the Link

While viewing your list of documents,

  1. Open the document you want to share.
  2. From the menu bar, click the three-dots icon, then select Share.
  3. In the Share with others dialog box that opens, click Advanced.
  4. Under Who has access, click Change. Select On - Anyone with the link. By default, anyone with the link will have viewing rights, but you can change their access rights by selecting from the dropdown list next to Access.
  5. Click Save.
  6. On the Sharing settings dialog box, the top item is labeled Link to share. Give this link to anyone you want to have access rights.
  7. Click Done.

Be aware that after you share the link, those people can share it further without your permission.

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