How to Share Folders and Collaborate Using Google Drive

Right-click a folder or a single file to find the Share option. You can make someone an editor or a viewer

By
Marziah Karch
Marziah Karch
Marziah Karch
Writer
  • Michigan State University
  • Emporia State University
Marziah Karch is a former writer for Lifewire who also excels at Serious Game Design and develops online help systems, manuals, and interactive training modules.
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Updated on May 15, 2024

What to Know

  • To share a folder or collaborate on a document, right-click the item and go to Share > Share.
  • Then, type their name or email and define their access level: Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.
  • You can notify the recipient(s) by ticking the Notify people box. Otherwise, select Share.

This article explains how to share Google Drive folders and collaborate on files. These directions are for the web version of Drive; it works similarly in the mobile app.

How to Add Collaborators to a Google Drive Document

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 be set up to just view or comment on your documents, or they can be given full editing rights. Here's how:

  1. Open Google Drive and locate the file you want to share.

  2. Either right-click the file and select Share > Share, or open it and choose the big Share button in the upper-right corner of the page.

    Document in Google Drive with the Share button highlighted

  3. Search for the people you want to add as collaborators. You can find them by name or email address.

  4. Select the drop-down arrow and choose an access level. Options include Editor, Viewer, and Commenter.

    Sharing options in Google Drive with Viewer, Commenter, and Editor highlighted

  5. Select the Settings/gear icon if you want to add sharing restrictions. These options let editors share the document with others and let viewers and commenters print, download, and copy the file.

    Google Drive options for editors, viewers, and commenters highlighted

  6. Tick the box next to Notify people if you want to inform the recipient(s) that you've shared the file with them, then press Send. If you untick that box, choose Share instead.

    The Share button for a Google Drive document

How to Share a Folder in Google Drive

Sharing an entire folder with collaborators works similar to sharing a single document. You can right-click the folder to find the share option, or open the folder and select the drop-down menu next to the folder's name, then choose Share > Share. The next steps are the same as sharing a file (see above).

The Share menu for a Google Drive folder

When you share a folder, every file placed in that folder inherits the same sharing privileges. That's some pretty powerful collaboration. But, because Google Docs is part of Google Drive, it gets complicated because 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 one 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. 

How to Address Unwanted Collaboration Requests

You may receive collaboration requests from people outside your organization. These unsolicited documents could simply be annoying, but they might also represent a possible attempt to gather sensitive documentation.

You shouldn't open unknown files in Google Drive; instead, you can block the person who sent it by right-clicking the file and selecting Report or block > Report. From there, you can choose to block the sender and report the request.

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