With cloud storage tools like Google Drive, it becomes very easy to collaborate with others on the same project. Google Drive now has a feature which allows you to invite people to collaborate on your piece of work in Google Drive where they can edit it there and then.
This tip will show you how to invite people to collaborate on Google Drive and then how they can edit the document through Drive.
Sharing A File For Collaboration
Log onto www.google.com/drive and click on the “Go To Google Drive” button in the centre of the page. Sign in with your Google Account.
The Google Drive dashboard will load up, showing your documents which are saved on Google Drive. With this dashboard, you can share files, upload files and create new documents with Google Docs. For this demo, we will upload a Word (.docx) file which we need someone to edit and collaborate on.
Click on the red “New” button in the top left corner and then click “File upload”. You will then be prompted to upload the file you want to collaborate on.
Once the document has been uploaded, click on the document in the dashboard.
Then, click on the second button in the top line which is of a person and a plus sign. This button will allow you to share the document with others.
A pop up will open allowing you to type the email addresses of the people you want to collaborate with. You can also set the permissions that these people have. There are three permissions; edit, comment and view. Make sure to select the option which you want, because you might only want them to view the document or comment on it, rather than edit it directly. Add your message and then click “Send”.
Editing/Commenting/Viewing A File You’ve Received
Let’s say you’ve received a file through Google Drive that you need to edit directly. Here’s how to do it.
Go to your Google Drive dashboard and click on “Shared With Me”.
Click on the “Edit” button, and make your changes to the document using Google Docs. You can also make comments as well as just view the document. It all depends on your permission status.
Once you click “Edit”, you will be brought to the Google Docs. You can change the mode that you are editing in by clicking on the “Editing” button in the top right corner.
If you want to edit the document directly, you click the “Editing” button.
If you want to suggest edits to the owner without actually changing the original document directly, click the “Suggesting” button. If you just want to view the document or print it, click the “Viewing button” in the small dropdown menu.
~ Silvia