A document shared from Google Docs publicly is accessible to everyone, so there will be no limits as to who can view or even edit it. If this is done inadvertently this can cause serious harm as it can reveal information that should remain within a discreet scope. Fortunately there is also a way to share documents privately in Google Docsby establishing a closed group of authorized users.
Private document sharing restricts access to the document to designated users only
By default, Google Docs offers the ability to share documents privately, so that they can only be made public if explicitly stated by the author, which can be done differently depending on the device being used.
How to share a Google Doc from your computer
So, from a computer the procedure is as follows:
-Select the Share option at the top right. The “Share with people and groups” prompt appears.
-Type the name of the person or persons with whom you want to share the document.
-Select the type of access granted.
-Notify: At the end of the process an e-mail notification is sent to the users to whom the document has been shared, which may be accompanied by a personalized message.
The type of access granted includes different options:
-See: The authorized user will be able to view the document but without making changes or adding comments.
-Comment: The authorized user will be able to view the document and add comments.
-Edit: The authorized user will be able to view the document, make changes and add comments.
It is important to remember that everyone with whom the document is shared will be granted the same permission on the document, either to just read it or also to edit it. In the menu accessible from the gear icon in the upper right corner you can also limit the permissions of the users with whom the document is shared, preventing them from changing the permissions granted. This prevents them from being able to download, print or copy the document to which they have been granted access.
As for changes that other users have made to the shared document there is a method to check for such changes through the “File-Version History-View Version History” path. By means of a color code (a different one is assigned to each user) you can verify who has made each change in the editing of the document, as part of the wide range of document control tools offered by Google Docs, such as the one that counts the number of words typed in real time.
Finally there is another way to share documents by a link generated by Google Docs. By default the platform will allow access to the document only to the people to whom the document creator has sent the link, but the configuration can be modified so that anyone who has such a link can also access the document, which would allow, for example, open sharing of such a document through a web page or a social media profile.
How to share a Google Docs document from mobile
If you want to share a Google Docs document from a mobile device the method would be as follows:
-Access to the document you want to share.
-Click on the icon with the three dots at the top right of the screen
-Follow the path “Share and export – Share”
-Select contacts with whom you want to share the document
-Choose the type of access granted (Edit – Comment – View)
In this mode there is also the possibility of generating a link that can be shared, where you can also set whether it is a restricted link (only those users to whom the link has been sent will be able to open the document) or completely open, which will allow access to it to anyone who has the link.
