How to Share Folders and Collaborate Using Google Drive

Google Drive is great for collaborating with co-workers on a project. It offers fine-tuned control over who can see your files and what they can do with them. Collaborators can suggest edits, write comments, and a lot more.

How to Add Collaborators to a Google Drive Document

With Google Drive, you can add collaborators to either view or edit your documents. Here's how:

1. Open Google Drive, then open the file you want to share.

2. Select Share (it's located in the upper-right corner of the document).

   

3. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to add as collaborators.

4. Select the Edit drop-down arrow and choose whether or not collaborators can edit, comment on, or view the document.

   

5. Optionally, select the Advanced link and choose to prevent editors from changing access and adding new people or to disable print and download options.

   

6. Select Done to close the window.

How to Share a Folder in Google Drive

Sharing an entire folder with collaborators works similar to sharing a single document. Select the folder you want to share in Google Drive, then open the drop-down menu and select Share. Follow steps 2-6 above.

Once you share a folder, every document or file placed in that folder inherits the same sharing privileges. That is some pretty powerful collaboration, but now that Google Docs is also Google Drive, it gets complicated. You see, each file can only exist in one folder, but people sharing editing privileges can move files around.

Files Can Only Exist in One Folder

If you use the Google Drive desktop app, it's tempting to move a shared file into My Drive or another folder, either to organize or to access it on your desktop Google Drive folder. Because a file can exist in only one folder, moving a file out of a shared folder means that you move the file out of everyone else's shared folder. Moving a shared folder into My Drive means you stop sharing it with everyone. 

If you accidentally move a file out of a shared folder, move it back, and all is restored. 

If you or someone you are collaborating with accidentally moves a shared folder into some other folder on My Drive, you get a warning and you get a message telling you what you did and offering you a chance to undo it. If you ignore both warnings, you'll need to share the folder again to restore the settings. If you're working with an organization, make sure everyone knows these rules and that you share documents with people you trust to obey those rules.