Share files and folders in Drive
Share a file in Drive
- Select the file you want to share.
- Click Share or the Share icon.
- Enter the email address or Google Group you want to share with.
- To set permissions for your file, choose between Viewer, Commenter, or Editor roles for each person.
- If your account is eligible, you can add an expiration date for access.
- Choose whether to notify people.
- To inform collaborators when sharing an item, enable the “Notify people” option. When you do this, each added email will be included in the notification.
- If you prefer not to send notifications, be sure to uncheck this box.
- Click Send or Share.
Note: If visitor sharing is enabled for your organization, you can invite someone without a Google account to collaborate on your Google Drive files and folders.
Tip: If you’re collaborating with a group of people on many files, you might want to set up a shared drive instead.
Share a link to a file in Drive
You can set your files to be accessible to anyone or only to users with permissions. If you enable access via a link, your folder will not limit who can view it.
- Select the file you want to share.
- Click Share or the Share icon.
- Under “General access”, click the down arrow.
- Choose who can access the file.
Tip: If you use your Google account for work or school, you can choose to share files and folders only with a specific audience, such as your department. You might find a description of each audience when you hover over the group name.
- To set permissions for your file, choose between Viewer, Commenter, or Editor for each person.
- Click Done.
Change permissions for your files in Drive
- To share a file or folder in Drive, first click on the desired item and then select the “Share” option.
- Change permissions as desired.
- Click Save.
Note: You can also make another person the owner of your file if they are within the same domain.
Stop sharing your files in Drive
- Find the file or folder in Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides.
- Open or select the file or folder.
- Click Share or the Share icon.
- Find the person you want to stop sharing with.
- To revoke access, locate their name, click the attached drop-down arrow, and select “Remove access”.
- Click Save.
Restrict access to files you own
- Find the file or folder in Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides.
- Open or select the file or folder.
- Click Share or the Share icon, then Copy link.
- Under “General access”, click the down arrow.
- Select Restricted.
- Click Done.
