Up to 100 people can work on the same Google Doc at a time. Once people are shared, they’ll be able to view, comment, or edit the document. Regardless of how you choose to share Google Docs, as a document owner, you can stop, limit, or change sharing settings at any time. This is great for webinars, or if you want your colleagues to be able to share the doc with their own teams, outside the organization, etc. If you want a link anyone can access, select “Change to anyone with the link,” which brings up a new window where you can set permissions: Others can see the link, but an added recipient can use it. This is great if you want to leave a link on a board or in a comment without attaching the doc via Drive. The default setting for links is restricted, which means that people still have to be added in order to access the document. Then click Get Link instead of entering emails: To create a link, click the share button. If you want to share with people, but you don’t have email addresses, you can create a link anyone can share. Collaborating in Google Docs with shared links One final important note: People who are shared on Google Docs will be limited to read-only unless they have a Google Account, which is free. Here’s a set up with varied permissions, that can be changed at any time: You can control the permissions of individual collaborators, which can be extremely helpful if you only want certain people to be able to make changes to a document that many others will read. This shows the doc you are going to share.You can leave a short message with context or explanation.You have the option to notify, which will send an email to the addresses you include.Editor: ability to make changes to the document and view version history.Commenter: ability to make comments and respond.This is where you control permissions, setting recipients as:.Google’s predictive search is very good, so just start typing and the dropdown will populate with the addresses of your most routine collaborators. The email addresses of the people you want to share with.If you decide to use email addresses to collaborate in Google Docs, this is what you see:įrom here, you have control of how your document is shared, how it is received, and who can do what. Collaborating in Google Docs with email addresses Share with people or groups using their email address.These are the two ways you can share Google Docs. This can be crucial when working with a mix of roles, responsibilities, and knowledge.īegin by clicking the share button in the top right corner: When you share a file in Google Docs, you can assign sharing permissions that vary from person to person. Some will only need to view what you wrote, others may have things they want to say, and some of your closest collaborators may even want to make changes to the document. Think of the range of people that you work with. Google Docs collaboration begins when you share a file with someone else. 8 Tips for Collaborating in Google Docs Tip #1: Increase feedback with flexible sharing But all other things being equal, Google Docs is going to be an easier option for most teams.
If you are set up in Microsoft 365, Word may be what you want. Much of what Docs lacks in comparison to Word isn’t essential to collaboration, unless print publications are a major concern. Microsoft Word is a deeper product - more fonts, features, formats, etc.- but there’s a steeper learning curve and limitations when you save a word document as a web page.
Reviewing suggestions and responding to comments is really easy on the app, which prevents people from having to wait on small edits. I would rather compose on my laptop, but if I have to work on my phone, it’s surprisingly manageable.
It’s free, or available for businesses with G Suite.You have access your files anywhere and secure shared storage on Google Drive.Some of the key qualities that make Google Docs effective for collaboration: Whether teams are sharing documents privately or preparing a report for web publication, there is no word processing option that allows people to work together as smoothly. The number one reason people use Google Docs is because it makes their life easier. Why Google Docs is perfect for collaboration Think of this like a Google Docs collaboration tutorial: I’ll explain why it works so well, and give 7 tips that will help your teams take advantage of everything the product has to offer. If you are having trouble using Google docs for collaboration, you might not be using all parts of the animal so to speak, and leaving untapped teamwork potential on the table. When it comes to the best way to collaborate on a document, it’s hard to beat Google Docs.