All Google items allow you to share the document with multiple people. The important settings to note on sharing are to add collaborators as viewers, commenters, or editors. 

Share with Specific People:

• To share the document, click the Share button in the document OR navigate to File -> Share OR in your drive right click on the file and click Share

• Type the name or email address of the person/people you would like to share the file with. Decide if you want them to edit, view, or comment on the file when sharing. 

Share the Link:

• To share the file link, click the Share button in the document OR navigate to File -> Share OR in your drive right click on the file and click Share

• Click Get Shareable Link in the top right corner of the dialogue box. 

• Determine your sharing settings:

  • Restricted: Only people directly added to the document can open the link

  • Organization: Click on your organization to share with anyone inside the organization

  • Anyone with the link: Change to viewer, commenter, or editor. This allows anyone with the link to view, comment, or edit. 

• Copy the link and share it however needed (email, webpage, etc.)

Adding a comment allows you to highlight a specific section and tag people that the file is shared with to ask questions or make suggestions. You can also assign a person a specific task to complete in a comment.

Adding a Comment:

• Highlight the text that you would like to add the comment to, then click Add a comment and type your message. You also have the option to add a comment by clicking insert -> Add a Comment or by using the shortcut Alt + Ctrl + M.

• If you want to tag a person, press @ and type their name or email address. The document must be shared with that person for them to see the comment. If it isn't shared with them, Google will ask you to share the document before posting your comment. 

• When you tag a person, you can assign the comment to them using the assign to button underneath the comment. 

Replying to a Comment:

• Select the comment

• Type your reply. Click Reply when you are finished typing.

Resolving a Comment:

• To resolve a comment after it has been completed, click the checkmark in the top right corner. The comment will disappear, but can still be accessed through comment history. 

Linking to a Comment:

• Clicking the three dots next to the first comment will give the option to Link to this comment. This allows you to copy a link and send it to someone directly. 

When multiple people are editing a Google File, tracking changes can be helpful to see edits that are made. You can comment on these edits and decide if they should be added to the document. This is called Suggestion Mode in Google Docs.

In the top right corner of the document, change editing to suggesting, which changes all edits to suggestions. Once you have Suggestion Mode turned on, anything that you typed will have a section on the page that can be approved to add to the document. Click the checkmark to add the edit to the document, or click the X to remove the suggestion, which will then make it disappear. 

While you work in Suggestion Mode, anything you add will appear in green. Anything that you delete will be shown with a strikethrough in it. You will also have the option to add a comment to any changes made. The comment box will automatically display when you make an edit. 

Have you ever been working in file and realized you completely messed up something, but now the undo button won't go back that far? Version history will be your lifesaver! Because Google automatically saves your work, all of you changes can be accessed and restore your document to an earlier version. It also allows you to see who made specific changes to the document.

Version History can be accessed two different ways:

• Go to File -> Version History -> See Version History

• Click last edit was... at the top of the document

Once Version History is opened, you will see the different versions appear on the right side of the screen in chronological order. Use the drop-down arrow to expand certain versions. Look under the version to see who made the changes.

If you want to see a specific version, click on it. You can also turn on the show changes option to see how one version differs from another. 

Versions can be named by click the three dots next to the version and selecting Name this version.

To restore earlier versions, click Restore this version at the top of the screen once you have selected the version you want to use. If there is only part of an earlier version you want to copy and you don't want to restore the entire version, copy and paste the section from the version history into the original document. 

The owner of a Google File has control over user permissions (viewer, commenter, editor) and has the ability to delete the file. If the owner needs to be changed for any reason (the account is being deleted, the file should be owned by a different person, etc.), ownership is easily changed.

To change ownership of a file:

• Open the file that you are the owner of, then click share

• A list of all the people who has the document shared with them will appear. Click the drop-down arrow next to the person's name who should be the new owner and select Make Owner.

• Click yes to confirm the permanent change.

• The person will become the owner immediately and you will be changed to editor.

A few things to note: Ownership can't be changed using the mobile app. If your Google Account is through work or school, you also can't transfer ownership to anyone outside of your specific organization.