Make and Share a Document

  1. Click the Google Docs CreateNew menu.
    Choose Document.
    The document opens in a new window or tab.
  2. This is a typical word processing document. You can usestandard word processing features: change the font, print, make numbered lists, etc.
    You will also see who has access to the document. Right now it is “Private only to me,” because you have not shared it with anyone yet.

The truly great thing about Google documents is that you can share them with others. You can share in fourdifferent ways:

  1. As “viewers” – others Google docs userscan see the document, but not work on it.
  2. As “collaborators” – other Google docs userscan see and work on the document just like you do. You can see who is working on the document, and when.
  3. As an attachment – email the document to someone just as you would any other word processing document. Useful for sharing with people who don’t have a Google docs account.
  4. As a web page – you can publish your document as a web page that anyone can view using their Internet browser.
  1. Before you share your document with anyone, you will want to give it a name. By default, your document is “untitled.” Just click “untitled document” to open a box where you can give your document a new name.
  1. To share your document, click
  2. You will see the sharing settings. Under Add people, start typing the email address of the person you want to share with. Choose if you want this person to be able to edit (be a collaborator) or view. Type a message to the person (this will be in the body of the email message) and click Share.

  3. Google docs will send an email invitation to the person you shared the document with. By clicking a link in the email message, that person can access your document. (They will need a Google Account to access it.)

Now in the sharing settings you will see everyone you have shared the document with, and their permission level.

A note about privacy settings: You will also see whether the document is private or public. “Private” documents can only be seen by people you have expressly invited. “Public” documents can be seen by anyone who has a link to the document. This is useful if you are publishing your documents as web pages or if you have a document that you want to share with a large group of people. To change privacy settings, click the link for change next to the “private” message.

Click Close to go back to your document.

Since the document opens in a new window or tab, to close the document and return to the Google docs main screen, just close the window or tab. (Or, you can navigate to the main screen without closing the document using your taskbar or browser toolbar.)

A note about saving: Google frequently performs an automatic save. If no changes have been made since the most recent auto-save, the Save button will be dimmed out and say “Saved,” like this:

If the button is active and says “Save Now,” then you can click it to save your work. Make sure you do this before you close the document.

Next to the Save button, you will see when the document was most recently updated and by whom.