Lori Kaufman is a technology expert with 25 years of experience. She’s been a senior technical writer, worked as a programmer, and has even run her own multi-location business. Read more.
When you upload a new version of a shared file to Google Drive, the old file is not replaced, since Google Drive lets you have multiple files with the same name. That means that the newly uploaded file will have a different shareable link, which is a hassle if you want the same people to be able to access it.
However, there is an easy way to keep the same link for the shared file. Log into your Google Drive account in a web browser. Find the file you want to update, right-click on it, and select “Manage versions”.
On the Manage versions dialog box, click “Upload new version”.
Navigate to location of the file you want to upload, select it, and click “Open”.
Each version of the file is listed on the Manage Versions dialog box, the file you just uploaded being labeled as the Current version. This is another handy feature of Manage versions. It allows you to access previous versions of files and download them, choose to keep them forever, or delete them. Click “Close”.
Notice that there is still one copy of the file in your Google Drive account. Now, when you right-click on the file and select “Get shareable link”…
…the link on the Link sharing dialog box will be the same link as the original shareable link.
The Manage versions feature is only available when you access your Google Drive account in a browser. If you work on a shared file directly in the Google Drive folder on your PC using the Google Drive desktop app, the file is also changed in your Google Drive account online without needing to upload it again. So, you don’t need to use the Manage versions feature. However, this feature is handy if you’re working on a file offline and then want to upload it and replace the old version without losing the original shareable link.
John uploaded a PDF file in Google Drive and shared it with Peter. A week later, John updated the PDF file and uploaded the new version to Google Drive. Peter however still has the link to the old version and John will have to send him another email informing of the new version. Confusing, right?
You’ve probably gone through this situation where you have multiple copies of the same file residing in your Google Drive and, while you would like everyone to use the latest version, they are either not aware that the file has been updated or it takes too much work to locate it in the Drive.
When you have multiple copies of the same file in Drive, it not only creates confusion but the files also take up precious storage space in your Drive. Wouldn’t it be easier if you could simply replace an existing file in Google Drive with the new version instead of uploading it as a separate file? Well, there’s a solution:
Replace Files in Google Drive
- Go to your Google Drive and select any file that you would like to update. This is applicable for files that are not in that native Google Docs format like PDF, images, text files or even videos.
- Right-click the file, choose Manage Versions from the menu and then click the Upload new version button to upload the updated file to your Google Drive.
- That’s it. The file name and the file’s URL won’t change and thus all the old shared links will now automatically point to the new version of your file.
You can use the same method to replace a file in one format with another format. For instance, if you have a video file in Drive that you would like to replace with a GIF animation of smaller file size, the Manage Versions option will do the trick. And the shared link won’t change either.
Things are a bit easier for Dropbox users. If you would like to update a shared file in Dropbox but without changing the link, simply upload the new version of the file in the same Dropbox folder.
When you upload a file in Dropbox and another file with a similar name already exists, Dropbox will simply replace the old file with the new one while the shared link will continue to work. In the case of Google Drive, you can can have multiple file with the same name in one folder and hence the confusion.
Learn the method to Update File In Google Drive Without Changing The Link that will help you when you face a need of changing the file or updating it again and again in the dry, with the help of guide discussed below.
[dropcap]M[/dropcap]ost probably, we get into the situation where we have multiple copies of same file saved on Google Drive, but when we upgrade version of Google Drive, it takes too much work to locate the files in the Drive. Due to having multiple copies of same file in Drive, it not only creates confusion but also takes precious stage space into the drive. Don’t you think that it could be easier to you if simply replace an existing file in G Drive with the new version inspite of uploading the separated file.? Now I am going to make aware you the procedure of Replacing files in Google Drive. So have a look on below steps to proceed :
How To Update File In Google Drive Without Changing The Link
The method is quite simple and easy and you just need to follow up simple step by step guide to proceed and that we have just listed right below.
Steps To Update File In Google Drive Without Changing The Link:
1. Go to Google Drive and select the file that you want to update.
2. Right Click on that particular file, and choose “Manage Versions” from the menu and then click on “Upload new version” button (this will upload the update file to the Google Drive).
3. Now the file name and the file’s Url didn’t changed but all the old shared links will now automatically transferred to the new version of your file.
4. Thats it you are done, now the File get update without change of the link. This method will also be helpful in replacing the file in one format with another format. Suppose you have a video file in Google Drive that you want to replace it with a animation file of smaller size , the option “Manger Versions” will also have facility to do this and the shared link won’t change.
Guys, if you are using Dropbox and would like to update a share file in Dropbox without changing link, you just upload the new version of file in the same Dropbox folder. But here is one thing that you must know that when we upload a file in Dropbox and file with same name is already existing there, Dropbox will replace the Old file with the new one while the share link will continue to work. But in case of Google drive, we can have multiple file with same name consist in one folder and hence confusion.
So above guide is all about How To Update File In Google Drive Without Changing The Link. Use the method and it can be greatly helpful while managing multiple files in your google drive. Hope you like the guide, keep on sharing with others too. Leave a comment below if you have any related queries with this.
Most of the blogger usage Google Drive to upload their files and documents and share with reader, because Google Drive offers 15GB of free space. When you upload a new version of a shared file to Google Drive, the file automatically assign a new shareable link. The old file is not replaced since, Google Drive lets you’ve multiple files with the same name. Here is a tweak to keep the same link for the new version of file.
How to Update Shard File in Google Drive Without Changing the Shareable Link
Log into your Google Drive account and find the file you want to update, right click on it and select “Manage versions”.
On the Manage version dialog box, click “Upload new version”. Navigate to location of the file you want to upload, select it, and click “Open”.
Each version of the file is listed on the Manage version dialog box, the file you just uploaded being labelled as the current version. There is another feature of Manage version, it allows you to access previous version of files and download them, choose to keep them forever or delete them.
Now, when you right click on the file and select “Get shareable link”, the link on the link sharing dialog box will be the same link as the original shareable link.
Note : The manage version feature is only available, when you access your Google Drive account in a browser. You don’t need to use the Google Drive Manage version feature, when you update the file in Google Drive desktop app on your PC.
Watch how to change the permissions of the Google Drive file or folder:
If you want to send a file or folder to someone so that they can view, edit, or comment on it, you can share it with them directly in Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, or Slides, or through a link or email attachment.
Anyone you share the file or folder with will see changes made as they happen so that everyone can be on the same page and you can get feedback quickly.
Share a file or folder
You can share a file or folder in Google Drive or in the Docs, Sheets, and Slides home screens.
- Open Drive, or a file or folder you want to share.
- Open the sharing box:
- While you have a file open: Click Share in the top-right corner.
- While you have a folder open: Click the Share button in the top-right.
- From your file list in Drive: Select the name of a file or folder and click the Share button at the top.
- Under “People” in the sharing box, type the email addresses of the people or Google Groups you want to share with. You can also search for contacts by typing them into the box.
- Choose the type of access you want to give these users by clicking the dropdown arrow to the right of the text box:
- Can edit: Users can edit the file or folder and share it with others
- Can comment: Users can view and add comments to the file or folder, but can’t edit it
- Can view: Users can see the file or folder but can’t edit or comment on it
- Click Done. The users will receive an email letting them know you’ve shared the file or folder with them.
Share lots of files at once
If you want to share multiple files at once, add the files to a folder in Drive and then share the entire folder with the people you want to see the files.
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One of the best features of Google Sheets is the ability to easily share the file with someone, or to add collaborators so that you can all work on the file together. These sharing features can be accessed through a special menu that lets you create a shareable link to the file in your Google Drive.
You have some options concerning how you share this file, but the fastest and simplest method is to create a shareable link. This allows anyone with the link to view the file. If you would like to allow them to edit the file as well, then you have the ability to change the file permissions to allow that to happen. Our tutorial below will show you how to create a shareable link in Google Sheets, as well as how you can access some of the more advanced sharing features of the file.
See also
- How to merge cells in Google Sheets
- How to wrap text in Google Sheets
- How to alphabetize in Google Sheets
- How to subtract in Google Sheets
- How to change row height in Google Sheets
How to Create a Link for a Google Sheets File to Share With Someone
This guide is performed in Google Chrome, but will work in other desktop/laptop Web browsers like Firefox or Microsoft Edge. The steps in this article assume that you have a Google Sheets file in your Google Drive, and that you would like to be able to send a link for that file to someone. The person to whom you send the link will be able to view the contents of that file.
If you need to display one piece of data across multiple cells, consider merging those cells.
Step 2: Select the Google Sheets file for which you want to create a shareable link.
Step 3: Click the Get shareable link button at the top-right of the window.
Step 4: Click on the link to select it, then press Ctrl + C on your keyboard to copy it. Note that you can also elect to click the Sharing settings button for additional options.
If you clicked the Sharing settings button, you will see the window below. From here you can choose to email the link to someone, change the permissions for a person that is accessing the link, as well as click the Advanced option to change some additional settings.
Is there a row of data in your spreadsheet that you don’t want to be visible, but you aren’t ready to delete it? Find out how to hide a row in Google Sheets so that you keep the data, but hide it from view.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.
Invitations to a shared Google Drive file or folder require a Google account to sign in to the Google Drive service. However, we can still access the Google Drive shared content by associating our existing email address with Google. Here is how.
If a file or folder has been shared to your non-gmail account, the OWNER\SENDER will see a warning stating the “recipient doesn’t have a Google account”. That is ok.
If your email is not a Gmail or G Suite domain, then you will need to associate your email address with Google for authentication. The following instructions walk through the process of authenticating your existing email address to Google Drive without creating a Gmail mailbox.
When the RECIPIENT opens the invitation email, it will come from “[email protected]”
Clicking the “OPEN” link will open a Google Sign In page. Because the RECIPIENT email address is not currently registered with Google, we need to click “Create Account” and “For Myself”.
Now we are brought to a Create Your Google Account page. From here, be sure to choose “Use My Current Email Address Instead”. This will allow you to create a log in just for Google Drive without creating a new @gmail.com email address.
Continue following the steps to complete creating this new account. Once complete, we will return to our Invitation email. Clicking the Open link now will grant us access to the shared content .
Some things should live on the internet forever
Google Drive has emerged as one of the best and most popular ways of sharing files between clients, coworkers, and friends without requiring them to make a direct download.
A decade ago, you’d be sending these files as an email attachment or link from a site like Megaupload or MediaFire. Let’s all rejoice that those days are behind us.
A popular feature on those sites of old that has carried over into today’s popular sharing sites, like Pastebin, is the ability to invalidate your link or unshare your file after a set period of time. This isn’t something we can do via email. However, it’s a feature that many people aren’t aware of in Google Drive.
Some sensitive files shouldn’t live on the Internet forever. In this article, let’s talk about how you can set an expiration date on your shared file access in Google Drive.
Limitations of Shared File Access Expiration in Google Drive
It’s important to know that this feature is only available for accounts under a paid G Suite organization. This means that standard Google accounts or accounts using the free legacy version of G Suite can’t utilize shared file access expiration.
Users who are not under a paid G Suite organization can still have files shared to them with an expiration, but this requirement must be met to set the expiration of shared file access in Google Drive. If you work for a company that assigns you your own email account through a custom Gmail domain, there’s a good chance that you have access to this feature through that account.
How to Set Up Shared File Access Expiration in Google Drive
Naturally, the first step of this process is to actually share a file with someone. To share one of your files in Google Drive, the easiest way is to access the file and then look in the top-right corner for the large blue Share button—you can’t miss it.
Click on it and a lightbox will pop up that will allow you to type in a list of email addresses to share your file with.
Click the OK button to send out your invitation(s) to share your file when you’re ready. After, you’ll want to reopen this same file and again click on the blue Share button or right-click on the file and click on Share. This time, click on Advanced in the bottom-right corner of the lightbox.
Here, if you hover over the row of any of the users you’re sharing the file with, a timer icon will appear that reads “Set expiration” when you hover it. If you don’t see this icon, it could mean that you aren’t using an account under a compatible G Suite organization. If you do, click on it.
Another reason you may not see it is because Google has updated the GUI interface for Google Drive. Instead, you may have to click on the little drop down next to their name and then click on Give temporary access.
Now you’ll see a window like the two below. The top image is the newer version of Google Drive and most likely what you’ll encounter.
This should cause the access expiration options to appear. Clicking on the dropdown menu will reveal common dates of 7 days and 30 days, or you can click on Custom date… to set your own expiration date.
Setting a custom date will allow you to select a day from a calendar view. The only catch is that you’re not able to select a time, only a date—the file will expire a minute before midnight on any day that you select.
Once you’re happy with how you’ve configured your shared file access expiration, click Save changes and then Done. That’s it!
An important thing to keep in mind is that users will still be able to effectively keep your file past its expiration date by downloading it. To prevent this, you’ll want to set their access to only allow them to view the file (not edit it) and enable the “Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers” option.
If you have an account under a non-legacy G Suite organization, shared file access expiration is one of the many underused perks that you can put to great use. This only takes a matter of seconds, so don’t let those sensitive files hang around forever!
In the case that G Suite isn’t secure enough or up to your standards, we’ve alternatively got a great guide on how to set up your own personal cloud storage. Check it out for complete control over your cloud sharing.
Craig is a long-time writer, coder, and marketer with years of experience in the technology and gaming spaces. Since 2008, he’s worked remotely with some of the most notable publications in these industries, specializing in Windows, PC hardware and software, automation, and the like. Read Craig’s Full Bio
