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Google Drive Sharing Basics

Sharing Overview

In Google Docs, the owner of a document or file has the ability to share his or her file with colleagues or with a group of people, as well as determine what their colleagues can or cannot do with the file. This is called Role Permissions. The owner of the document/file can dictate the permissions of other users by choosing one of the following roles:

Role

Permissions

Can view

The user can only view the document/file.

Can comment

The user can view and comment in the document/file.

Can edit

Default setting for those users you share the document/file with

The user can view, comment in and edit the document/file.
Editors have full control to add and remove people and change the visibility of the item. These users can change roles of other users of the document, however, they cannot change the owner of the document.


NOTE: These users can also change the Sharing Option covered in the next section. Be sure these users know the University's policy on Public, Confidential, and Restricted information.

Is owner

Default setting if you created or uploaded the file to Google Drive

The original owner of the document can transfer ownership to another user. The new owner can then dictate the roles of all the shared users. The owner does have the ability to block all shared users from changing any of the Sharing Settings.

Note: Only the owner of a document/file in Google can change the Role Permissions Settings. There can be only one owner for each document/file.

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Sharing Outside of Pepperdine

Sharing information with colleagues outside of Pepperdine it is permitted when appropriate. Owners of the file/document should consider choosing the "Only the owner can change the permissions" choice in the Share Settings.

How to change the Owner Settings to "Only the owner can change the permissions":

  1. Click on the blue "Share" button in the upper right hand corner of your the Google document or file.
  2. A "Share with others" screen will pop up. At the bottom right of the screen locate and click the "Advanced" link.
  3. A similar screen will pop up, but with more options. The Owner Settings can be found above the blue "Done" button. Select "Prevent editors from changing access and adding new people" and/or "Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers" and click "Save Changes". Now only the owner of the document will be able to add users or change visibility options.

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Remove a User's Access

Just as with LAN file shares (e.g. S:drive), once a person has access to a document, they can copy it to their personal computer, unless the owner settings specify to "Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers". You can remove access to the share, but you can't take back any documents that your collaborator has synched or downloaded. There is also an option to add an expiration to a users access, however doing so will limit their level of access to either "Can Comment" or "Can View." 

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Change the Sharing Options

  1. Click on the blue "Share" button in the upper right hand corner of your the Google document or file.
  2. A "Share with others" screen will pop up. At the bottom right of the screen locate and click the "Advanced" link.
  3. A similar screen will pop up, but with more options. Click on the Change... link beneath the title "Who has access"
  4. A "Link sharing" screen will pop up. Based on the classification of your document or file choose:
    • On - Public on the web
    • On - Anyone with the link
    • On - Pepperdine University
    • On - Anyone at Pepperdine University with the link
    • Off - Specific people

Refer to the page on Confidential Information in Drive to find out which setting to use for your document or data:

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