Google updates settings for Docs sharing

Google Docs users can now control the level of access others have to their files

Google has added more functionality to the way documents are created and shared through its Docs application.

The company has introduced new visibility option controls to access and edit documents within an organisation.

Docs users can now control the level of access others have to their files, either in an organisation, publicly over the web or privately, with specific individuals invited to share access.

Companies using Google Docs can now grant access to anyone inside the domain who knows the URL of the file to be shared.

Google said that it will also enable users to copy and paste the file's link into chat, email and calendar invitations, according to a blog post by product manager Shimrit Ben-Yair.

The domain sharing option also includes an 'edit' feature that can allow anyone with the URL to view and edit a user's file. The 'find and access' features, meanwhile, are now indexed by Google Docs search so that they can be opened by anyone across the organisation.

Private invitees trying to access a file will have to sign in to verify that they have access.

Google Apps administrators can also control sharing outside the organisation's domain, to make a file public on the web or available to anyone with the link, with no sign in required.

Users will now see the visibility options for their documents next to every file in their Google Docs list and next to the title within any document.

Documents with edit and view access to each file can be viewed by clicking on the visibility information next to the filename or on the 'share' button.

Gavin Haslam, IT manager at Rentokil Initial, suggested that the new sharing settings will save time by boosting collaboration. The support services company chose to replace some of its legacy PC-based apps with Google Apps last October.

"They will make it easier to share information across our organisation, and will save us huge amounts of time when rolled out across our 35,000 users on Google Apps," he said.

Google will roll out new updates soon. The company introduced new document editing functionality last week to offer real-time collaboration.