Using a Google Doc or Google Sheet is becomming pretty common. They are pretty much the standard for collaboration and are much simplier to use than Microsoft Word or Excel.

The problem, however, has always been sharing those documents.

Usually, people will share a Doc or Sheet by clicking the Share button, followed by entering the recipient’s email address.

Not everyone has a “Google Account” and that is a requirement if you tie access to a document via an email account.

For example, the other day a friend of mine sent me a Google Doc that they wanted me to review. Unfortunately, they didn’t send that invite to my Google email address and I got blocked.

Here is an example of what I saw:

The best workaround I have found is instead to send someone a shareable link to a Google Doc or Sheet.

You can still decide if that person can view, comment or edit the document. You just skip the need for the recipient to have a Google account (as well as possible frustration or extra time).

Here is how to send a shareable link from a Google Doc:

Here is how to send a shareable link from Google Drive:

After the need to share the document is over, you can simply turn sharing off.