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Sharing Google Docs

You can share the Google Docs associated with your Cmail account (or any Gmail account) in a number of ways. Each document can be shared with

  • No one
  • Only the people you specify (through their Cmail or other Gmail 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 (or groups)

While viewing your list of documents,

  1. Click to put a check next to the document(s) you want to share.
  2. From the menu bar, click More, then Share, then Share.
  3. In the Sharing settings dialog box that opens, enter the Gmail (including Cmail) addresses of the people you want to give access, separating addresses with a comma.
  4. Click Share & save. An email message will be sent to the addresses you entered, informing them that they have access. By default, they will have editing rights, but you can change their access rights, by clicking the Can edit link next to their entry, then selecting the desired level of access. Click Save changes (if you've changed anyone's access level).
  5. Click Done.

When sharing with specific email addresses, only Gmail addresses (including Cmail addresses) are valid. This can be confusing, since Cmail addresses look like NetID@cornell.edu, but many "@cornell.edu" addresses (those of faculty and staff) are not Cmail addresses. 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. Click to put a check next to the document(s) you want to share.
  2. From the menu bar, click More, then Share, then Share.
  3. In the Sharing settings dialog box that opens, under Who has access, on the entry with the globe icon, click Change.
  4. Under Visibility options, select Anyone with the link. By default, anyone with the link will have viewing rights, but you can change their access rights by clicking the Can view link next to Access, then selecting the desired level of 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.