Google Drive allows you to securely share folders from your personal Drive with both EWU and non-EWU recipients.


Note: These instructions do not apply to Google Shared Drives. To share a folder in a Google Shared Drive, add the recipients to the Shared Drive membership or create a new Google Shared Drive.


Here’s what people can do with folders after you share it with them:
  • Can organize, add, and edit: If they're signed into a Google account, people can open, edit, delete, or move any files within the folder. People can also add files to the folder.
  • Can view only: People can see the folder and they can open all files within the folder.
More about folder sharing:
  • If you share or unshare folders with a lot of files or subfolders, it might take time before all permissions change. If you change a lot of edit or view permissions at once, it might take time before you see the changes.

Share a folder with single or multiple individual recipients

Specific people

Like files, you can choose to share with only specific people.

  1. Click the Google Drive link on https://inside.ewu.edu
  2. Select the folder you want to share.
  3. Click Share Add people
  4. Under "People," type the email address or Google Group you want to share with
  5. To choose how a person can use the folder, click the Down arrow Down Arrow
    • Can organize, add, & edit: People can open, edit, delete, or move any files within the folder. People can also add files to the folder.

    • Can view only: People can see the folder and they can open all files within the folder.

  6. Click Send. An email is sent to people you shared with.
Anyone with a link to the folder 

You can give other people a link to your folder so that you don't have to add email addresses when you share your folder.

  1. Click the Google Drive link on https://inside.ewu.edu
  2. Click the folder you want to share.
  3. Click Share Add people.
  4. At the top right, click Get shareable link.
  5. Next to "Anyone with the link," click the Down arrow Down Arrow.
  6. Choose how a person can use the folder
    • Can organize, add, & edit: People can open, edit, delete, or move any files within the folder. People can also add files to the folder.

    • Can view only: People can see the folder and they can open all files within the folder.

  7. Copy and paste the link in an email or any place you want to share it.

Share a folder with a group


Use a Shared Drive

All EWU faculty, students, and staff can create and share with a shared drive instead of using folders.

Share with a Google Group

You can share files and folders with Google Groups instead of individual people. When you add to or remove members from the group, they will gain or lose permission to the files and folders that the group can see or use.

  1. Add members to the appropriate Google Group.
  2. Share the file or folder with the Group.

Note: Group members will have to open the file or folder from an invitation or a link before it will appear in "Shared with me.

Make someone else the owner of a folder


When you transfer ownership of a folder, the files inside keep their original owner. To change the owners of more than one folder:

  1. Click the Google Drive link on https://inside.ewu.edu
  2. Select the folder that you want to change owners.
    • To select multiple folders, hold Shift and click the folders you want.
  3. At the top right, click Share Add people.
  4. Click Advanced.
  5. To the right of the person’s name, click the Down arrow Down Arrow.
  6. Click Is owner.
  7. Click Save changes.

After you make someone else the owner of a folder, you can edit the folder unless the new owner decides to change your access.

Files deleted from shared folders

When someone deletes a file from a shared folder, only the owner can access it.
To recover a deleted file back from a shared folder:

  1. Click the Google Drive link on https://inside.ewu.edu
  2. At the top, click Search Drive.
  3. Type in the name of the file.
  4. Right-click the file.
  5. Click Add to my Drive Add to My Drive

To lean more about sharing a folder, review this article from Google.

If you need any further assistance please view our Service Catalog for other Knowledge Base articles or contact the IT Help Desk via Phone: 509.359.2247 or Email: helpdesk@ewu.edu