Can Google Docs Be Read by People Without Google

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Google Drive offers many great features to assist you piece of work smarter, quicker and more efficiently with your colleagues. For instance, sharing a Google Bulldoze file with someone bypasses the need to send it as an electronic mail attachment. Yous can share files up to 10 GB in size from Google Drive; however, you tin but attach files up to 25 MB in Gmail. Sharing Google Docs, Sheets or Slides with your colleagues makes it like shooting fish in a barrel to ensure that each person has admission to the same and most up-to-date version.

It has non been so easy, on the other mitt, to share Google Drive files exterior your organization with customers or clients who exercise not apply Google Apps, or with someone who does not take a Google Account. It's going to become much easier moving forward, according to Google's contempo announcement that Docs, Slides and Drawings will not require sign in for recipients to view the file. The update is rolling out slowly to Rapid Release domains.

In this post we will review the following topics regarding sharing with not-Google accounts in Google Drive:

• After the Update
• Prior to the Update
• Google Apps Admin control

After the Update

Docs, Slides and Drawings can be shared exterior your domain to users who practice not take a Google account, therefore they will not be required to sign in to view the file. This means that when the document visibility is fix to Private for Docs, Slides and Drawings, a non-Google user tin can receive the invitation and click on the sharing link to view the file without the need to create a Google account and sign in. This functionality is only possible if Google Apps administrators allow sharing outside the domain to users who practise not have a Google account associated with their email address.

When Google Docs, Slides or Drawings are shared explicitly with a recipient who does not have a Google account, the user is listed in the sharing settings window with an envelope next to their electronic mail accost. An envelope side by side to the email address tin be interpreted as a sharing invitation that yous have provided to a non-Google user. The user is being invited to view the file without the need to sign in, which means that anyone else who is provided the sharing link will besides have permission to view the file without signing in to a Google account. This volition be the case until the person you accept explicitly shared the Doc with creates a Google account and accepts/uses the invitation.

If your file includes confidential or private data, nosotros recommend being cautious about providing access to non-Google users. If you lot are worried that the recipient might forward the sharing link to others, thus providing unauthorized admission to your file, you may want to avoid providing them a sharing invitation. The Docs sharing settings window will not display whatever users who take viewed your file without signing in with a Google business relationship.

In the screenshot beneath, nosotros have shared a Google Doc with a user who has an Outlook email business relationship that is not associated with a Google account. With Google's new update, the user can click on the link they receive via electronic mail to view the file.

The recipient (Outlook user in the case) has been provided Tin edit permission, however, editing or commenting will only be allowed subsequently signing in with a Google account. Afterwards creating a Google account, the sharing settings window indicates that the invitation has been used. Additionally, the user'southward Google account (created to be linked with their existing Outlook email address) is listed under "Who has access" in the Google Docs sharing settings window. When you hover over the user'south Google account, you can view whose invitation was used to access the file. No other accounts will take access to this file with that invitation.

For more data on this update and other enhancements to Google Apps, cheque out the Google Apps Release Calendar.

Prior to the Update

When sharing to a non-Google user, you can fix document visibility to 1 of the options that do not crave sign-in. If the document doesn't include private or confidential information, it may be an option to change the document visibility to 'Public on the web' or 'Anyone with the link,' both of which exercise not require signing into a Google account to admission. Depending on the highest level of sharing permitted for your domain, you may not run across those options. Google Apps administrators determine the highest level of sharing permitted for your domain and can disable sharing exterior your arrangement altogether, in which case, 'Anyone with the link' and 'Public on the spider web' are non visibility options.

If you need to keep your document visibility set up to 'Private,' any users provided access to it volition be required to sign in using a Google account. Fortunately, it is gratis and simple to create a Google Account, which provides access to Google Drive and other Google products. Plus, yous can fifty-fifty create a Google account using a not-gmail e-mail address.

Still, it's less than ideal to enquire a customer to become through the extra steps of creating a new account just to view your file, which is why Google'southward update benefits users who want to share exterior their organization.

Google Apps Admin command

Google Apps administrators can cull whether users can share exterior their organization. If yous desire to let sharing exterior the domain, simply limit sharing to just those with a Google business relationship, you tin configure your Google Drive sharing settings accordingly.

Google Apps admins can disable sharing outside the domain to people without a Google account associated with their email accost. In the Admin Console, click on Drive and so Sharing. In the Sharing options department, deselect the checkbox next to 'Permit users to share outside the domain to people who are not using a Google business relationship.'

If you disable sharing outside your domain to not-Google accounts, users will receive an Mistake alert if they endeavor to share with someone who does not take a Google account associated with their electronic mail address.

Check out the Admin back up page on document sharing settings for additional information.

If you accept any questions regarding the information provided in this post, delight get out a comment below. If you lot are interested in scheduling Google Drive preparation for your organization, or just want to learn more about Dito's change management services, please visit the Change Management & Training department of our website.

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Source: https://www.ditoweb.com/2013/10/sharing-with-non-google-accounts-in/

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