Words on a page

In part one of this post, I talked about using the bulk download and upload features in Google Docs to move files between two accounts. I find that’s the easiest and most convenient way to do the deed.

But what happens if you’re not at your own computer, and can’t download, or don’t want to risk downloading, files to the PC you’re working on? Read on for details.

The power of sharing

In Google Docs, you can share your documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with anyone. Including other Google Docs users. When you share documents, your collaborators can either view or edit those documents.

To share your documents, first select them in the main Google Docs window. Then, click Share > Invite People. This window appears:

Type the email address associated with the other Google Docs account in the Invite box. Make sure that the To edit options is selected. Then, click Send.

Next, log into the other Google Docs account. On the left side of the Google Docs window, click Shared with me. The files that you shared from the other account will appear in the main part of the window.

Do the following:

1. Click on a file to open it.
2. Select File > Make a copy. A copy of the file opens in a new tab or window (depending on the browser you’re using).
3. At the top of the document, click the title. The title starts with Copy of.
4. In the dialog box that appears, give the document a new name.
5. Click the Save & Close button.

Repeat those steps for all the documents that you’ve shared.

When you’ve done that, log out and then log into the Google Docs account from which you shared the files.

If you no longer need the files, you can delete them. This will remove the sharing. If, however, you want to keep the files in this account as archive versions then you can stop sharing the files by doing the following:

1. Select the shared files, and then select Share > See who has access.
2. Click the People with access tab.
3. From the dropdown list beside the other person’s name, select None.

While those files will not longer be shared with the other Google Docs account, the copies that you made in that other account still exist.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 6:40 am and is filed under technology, tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.