2 Easy Ways to Share a Google Doc Publicly

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By default, Google Docs sets your documents to private. If you want to share them with someone else, you can either create a public shareable link or invite them via email. You can also adjust the permission settings to make it public but not editable. Here's how to make a Google Doc public using your computer, iPhone, iPad, or Android.

1. Open a Google Docs document.
2. Click Share in the top-right corner.
3. Click Restricted and select Anyone with the link.
4. Click Copy link.
5. Paste or share the link to another app, email, or location.

Using a Web Browser

Go to https://docs.google.com/ in a web browser. If you aren't already logged into your Google account, enter your email address and password now.

• You can also create a new one.

• A pop-up menu will open

• If you'd rather invite a few specific users to view your document, leave the sharing permissions set to Restricted. Enter the recipient's email address in the field and assign them as Editor, Viewer, or Commenter. Click Send.

• Commenters can view and add comments on the document.
• Editors can view, add comments, and edit the document.

• Click the cog icon at the top-right corner of the Share window.
• Uncheck the box for Editors can change permissions and share
• Uncheck the box for Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy.

• The link will be saved to your device's clipboard.

• If you want to remove this permission, click the Share button again and select Restricted.

Using the Mobile App

• Google Docs is available for iOS and Android devices.
• If you aren't already logged into your Google account, enter your email address and password to do so now.

• A pop-up menu will open.

• Alternatively, if you'd rather invite a few specific users to view your document, enter their email address in the field at the top. Assign them as Editor, Viewer, or Commenter and tap the airplane icon.

• The permission will be updated.

• Commenters can view and add comments on the document.
• Editors can view, add comments, and edit the document.

• The link will be saved to your device's clipboard.

• If you want to remove this permission, repeat the above steps, but select Restricted.

Community Q&A

I published a Google Doc and made it public. I even submitted it to the Google crawler, but when I type in google "site: x" nothing shows up, and this is a week later. Does anyone know why?

Getting your content to show up on Google is difficult with all the competition out there. Try spreading the word or leaving a link on your website/s (if you have any) or social media profiles. It may take a long time for your Doc to show up in search.

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After making a Google Doc public, how can it be found on the web? I tried searching for it on Google - and no matter what I search - my Google Doc won't appear in the search results.

Make sure your sharing preferences are set to "Anyone on the web can access this". If you did, but it's still not on the web, maybe you should be more specific on what you're looking for.

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