Sharing and permissions
You can share a file or a folder with others using their email address. They get the invitation straight in their inbox and can accept or decline.
How to share
- Go to Files and find the file or folder
- Click the Share icon (or pick it from the More actions menu)
- In the share dialog "Share «{name}»":
- Enter one or more email addresses in the Share with field
- Separate multiple addresses with commas
- Choose Access: Can view or Can edit
- Click Send invitation
You'll see the confirmation "Invitation sent". The recipient gets an email with a link — once they accept, the file shows up under Shared with me on their end.
The difference between "Can view" and "Can edit"
| Access | What the recipient can do |
|---|---|
| Can view | Open and read the file. Download a copy. No changes affect the original. |
| Can edit | Everything above, plus change the content in the editor. Changes are saved directly to the file. |
For Office documents, Can edit means several people can work in the same document at once.
See who you've shared with
Inside the share dialog you'll find Already shared with — a list of people who have received an invitation or accepted one. Each person has a status:
- Accepted — has said yes and can use the file
- Pending — the invitation is sent, no reply yet
- Declined — said no thanks to the invitation
Change access for a person
In the Already shared with list, click the access selector next to the person and switch between Can view and Can edit. The change takes effect immediately.
Revoke the share
In the same list, click the Remove icon next to the person. You'll see the confirmation "Sharing removed". The person loses access immediately — the next time they open the file, they'll get an error message.
When someone shares with you
When someone shares a file or folder with you, you get an email in your inbox:
"{Sender} has invited you to read {filename}." or "{Sender} has invited you to edit {filename}."
You have to accept the invitation before it shows up under Shared with me. See Pending invitations for details.
Tips
- Share folders, not individual files when the recipient needs access to several related things — that way new files in the folder become available automatically too
- Give the minimum access needed. Choose Can view unless the recipient actually needs to edit
- Revoke shares you no longer need to keep track of what's out there with others