Share a Google Drive File
Google Drive is an online cloud-storage service that lets users save and store various kinds of files (photos, music, documents, and more) securely online. This lets you save hard disk space on your computer and allows you to access the files you need whenever or wherever you are. Google Drive also makes it possible to easily share your stuff to other users without having to send the actual files.
Steps
- Go to Google Drive’s home page. Open a web browser on your computer by double-clicking its icon on your desktop, and go to the Google Drive address (https://drive.google.com).
- Sign in. Enter your Google account details, such as your username and password, and click on the blue “Sign In” button to log in. You’ll be directed to the “My Drive” section of your account.
- Select the file to share. Click on any file on your My Drive list that you want to share to open it on a separate window. It can be any type of file like photos, music, documents, and more.
- Open the Share settings. Once the file is opened, click on the “Share” button located at the upper-right corner of the web page, and the Share settings window will appear. On the Share settings window, you’ll see some basic options like:
- The URL or link of the file you’re viewing,
- Media where you can share the file on (Gmail, Google Plus, Facebook, and Twitter),
- Who are allowed to access your file.
- Define how you’d like the file to be shared. Click the “Change” link located on the Share settings window to set how you’d like the file to be shared with others. There are three ways you can share a file:
- Public on the web — Anyone on the Internet can view, edit, and download the file without permission, with or without a Google account.
- Anyone with the link — When this option is selected, all you need to do is to give the link (found on the Share settings window of the file) to any person you want to share it with. They’ll be able to view, edit, or download the file even if they don’t have any Google account.
- Specific people — People who you set to share the file with are the only ones who can view, edit, or download the file. Type in the name of the people you want to specifically share the file within the “Invite People” text field on the Share settings window.
- Share the file. Click on the “Save” button to save any changes made on the Share settings.
- Share Google Drive files on Gmail, Facebook, Google+, and Twitter. Simply click the icon (located on the Share settings window as well) of the media you want to share it on, and a link to the file will be posted on your account there.
Tips
- Unless necessary, avoid sharing any files publicly.
- You can change the Share settings of a file anytime you like.
- Share settings that you set applies only to the specific file opened.
- Files that you share can still be accessed by other users even if you sign out of your Google Drive account.
