How to Share Google Drive Files and Folders With People or Groups

Quick and easy-to-follow guide for Google Drive users

What is Google Drive sharing

One of the best things about Google Drive is the ability to share your files and folders with other people.
When you share files, you can allow others to access and even edit them with you simultaneously in real-time.

What happens when you share a folder

When you share a folder, all of its subfolders and the files it contains are shared as well.
Note that sometimes this can take some time for others to see all shared content, depending on how many files and folders you share.

How many people can view and edit a file at the same time

Only up to 100 people can edit and comment on a single file simultaneously.
However, many more can view a file at the same time.

To share Google Drive files and folders with multiple people at once

If your organization uses Google Groups (shared email addresses), you can share an item with a group’s email address to grant access to multiple people (all group members) at once.

To share Google Drive files and folders by link

Click here to see how to share by link.

How to share Google Drive files and folders step-by-step with images

Step 1

To share, go to Google Drive at https://drive.google.com and right-click a file or folder, then select Share.

Step 2

You can select and share multiple items simultaneously:

Left-click and hold down the mouse button over empty space.
Drag your cursor to form a rectangle over all items you want to share.
Release the left mouse button, selecting all items below the rectangle, indicated by the blue highlight.

Alternatively, you can select multiple items this way:

Left-click to select the first item you want to delete.
Hold down the SHIFT key.
Left-click to select the last item you wish to delete.
Items in-between are selected as well, indicated by the blue highlight.

Step 3

Right-click over the selected items and choose Share.

Step 4

You can share files directly by adding people or groups under Add editors. Alternatively, you can share by link.

We’ll cover sharing directly first and then move on to sharing by link.

Step 5

Add anyone you want to share items with by typing their email address or name in the Add people and groups search bar.

People in your Contacts list at https://contacts.google.com get suggested automatically – in this case, you can click them to add them without typing their full email address.

Step 6

After adding someone, you can still add more people or groups there.

Then check the Notify people box to send an email notification to let people know you’ve shared something with them.

You can type text into the Message box to add a note to the standard notification message.

Step 7

Click the access level to the right to select if people will be viewers, commenters, or editors.

A Viewer can only view items; they can’t edit or add comments.
Commenters can view and comment.
Editors can view, comment, edit, share with others, update access levels and unshare.

When you’re ready, click the blue Send (or Share) button. It changes from Send to Share when the Notify people box is unchecked.

If someone doesn’t have a Google account or is outside your Google Workspace, you will be notified about that now. Click Share anyway if you want to proceed.

Step 8

You can always come back here by right-clicking your item and selecting the Share option to remove people or change their access level.

How to share Google Drive files and folders by link

Step 1

Another way to share items is by link. Right-click a file or folder and select Get link.

Step 2

You will also see this option by right-clicking items and selecting Share.

In the Get link section, click the Copy link button, and the link to your file gets copied automatically. You can right-click anywhere you can type text (in chat, email, documents, or websites) and select Paste to place the link there.

You will also see the item’s general sharing level below the link. To update the sharing level, just click it and select the new sharing level.

Restricted – your file or folder can’t be accessed using the link, but you can grant access to specific people.
Your organization’s name (Sunrise Creations Ltd in the image above) – allows any Google Workspace user in the organization to access your item if they have the link.
Anyone with the link – allows anyone, including people outside of your organization’s Google Workspace account, to access your item if they have the link.

Step 3

Click the access level to the right to select if people you haven’t added to direct sharing, as shown above, will be viewers, commenters, or editors.

A Viewer can only view items; they can’t edit or add comments.
Commenters can view and comment.
Editors can view, comment, edit, share with others, update access levels and unshare.

How to Share Google Drive Files and Folders With People or Groups

Quick and easy-to-follow guide for Google Drive users

What is Google Drive sharing

What happens when you share a folder

How many people can view and edit a file at the same time

To share Google Drive files and folders with multiple people at once

To share Google Drive files and folders by link

How to share Google Drive files and folders step-by-step with images

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8

How to share Google Drive files and folders by link

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

That's all! You reached the end of the article. Continue to:

If you find this useful, share and help others!

See All Files and Folders That Have Been Shared With You in Google Drive

What Are the Anonymous Animals Viewing Your Google Drive Files

Resources for website creators

Protect your data and maximize security

Better Gmail and email marketing

Process optimization and collaboration

Submit Feedback

Report An Issue With Workspace123

Missing Content

Be the first to know