Sharing & Access
✓ CompletedFor any file in Drive, the questions are the same: who can open it, and what can they do with it? This lesson is about setting that on purpose, checking it, and fixing it when someone can't get in.
The Share Box
Open the file, or select it in Drive, and click Share.
Share “Supplier Contacts”
grace@harborhill.coOwner
ana@harborhill.coEditor
mark@harborhill.coViewer
Only people with access can open with the link
The Share box has two parts:
- People with access: specific people, each with a role. The Owner is the person the file belongs to.
- General access: what happens when someone who isn't on that list gets the link. Restricted means only the people on the list can open it. Anyone with the link means anyone who has the link can open it, with the role you choose. A company account may show a third option, such as "Harbor & Hill": anyone in that company with the link.
Viewer, Commenter or Editor
| Role | What they can do | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Viewer | Open and read. Can't change anything. | Reports, finished documents, anything people only need to see. |
| Commenter | Read and add comments. In Docs, can also suggest changes. Can't change the file directly. | Someone checking or reviewing your work. |
| Editor | Change anything. Usually can share the file with others too. | People who work on the file with you. |
Give the lowest role that still lets the person do the job. Editor for everyone is risky: an Editor can delete content or share the file further.
Sharing With a Person or With a Link
With a person: type their email address under Add people, choose the role, and click Send. They get an email with the link.
With a link: set General access, click Copy link, and paste it where it's needed. If General access is Restricted, the link only works for people on the list. If it's Anyone with the link, whoever has the link gets in, including anyone it's forwarded to.
Before you send a link, open the Share box and check: is the person on the list, or does General access let them in?
A File or the Whole Folder?
You can share a single file or a whole folder. Sharing a folder shares everything inside it, including files added later. Share one file when only that file is needed; share the folder when the person will work with everything in it.
When Someone Can't Get In
- You see "You need access": check your account first, then click Request access (Lesson 1).
- Someone else can't open your file: open the Share box and look. Usually they aren't on the list, or they were added with a different address from the one they're signed in with, such as a personal Gmail instead of their work account. Add the address they actually use.
- You get an access request ("Joy Ramos is requesting access"): check who it is before you approve. If you don't know the person, check with the client first. Choose the role yourself instead of accepting whatever is suggested.
Some company accounts can't share files with people outside the company at all. If the Share box won't accept an outside address, that's a setting on the client's side. Tell the client instead of trying ways around it.
Bago mo i-send ang link, buksan muna ang Share at tingnan kung sino ang may access. Mas mabilis 'yan kaysa sagutin mamaya ang "Hindi ko ma-open."
Who Can Open It?
Read each Share box or situation, and choose what's true or what to do.
Share “Stock Count — April”
grace@harborhill.coOwner
ana@harborhill.coEditor
mark@harborhill.coCommenter
Only people with access can open with the link
Grace forwards the link to this Sheet to Joy, the new assistant. What happens when Joy opens it?
Grace wants her business partner to read the monthly report and leave notes, without changing the numbers. Which role?
Mark needs to update the stock numbers in the Inventory Sheet every Friday. Which role?
Grace wants only the people listed here, including Ben, her accountant, to open the payroll sheet. Click the line that's a problem.
Share “Staff Payroll 2026”
Joy needs all 40 photos in the Product Photos folder, plus the ones Grace adds next month. What do you share?
You shared the Price List with joy.ramos@gmail.com, but Joy still sees "You need access." She's signed in as joy@harborhill.co. What's the fix?
You get an email: "Mika Santos is requesting access to Staff Payroll 2026." You don't know who Mika is. What do you do?
- People with access lists who can open the file. General access decides what the link does for everyone else.
- Viewer reads, Commenter comments and suggests, Editor changes. Give the lowest role that works.
- Sharing a folder shares everything in it, now and later.
- When someone can't get in, check the Share box: are they on the list, with the address they actually use?