Multiple collaborators can work on the same file at different times, but you can’t collaborate in real-time in encrypted files. If there are other collaborators, their icons appear at the top right as usual.
Important: To preview or download client-side encrypted files on your mobile device, your admin must give you access.
Work with multiple collaborators
If you open a file and someone is already editing, on the top right, you get a “Wait to edit” notification. To talk to the original collaborator, on the bottom of the notification, click Chat with them.
If someone opens the file you’re editing, on the top right, you get a “Someone just joined” notification. To talk to the new collaborator, on the bottom of the notification, click Chat with them.
If you get a "Safe to edit" notification, you can edit the file.
Avoid changes that conflict
If multiple collaborators make changes that conflict, all collaborators on the file receive a notification at the top.
- To refresh and see the latest changes, click Refresh.
- To compare your unsaved changes by opening the latest in a new tab, click Compare.
- To remove the notification, click Dismiss. You can't continue to edit the old version.
After you click Compare, a new tab opens and you can copy over any edits from the original tab. You can continue to edit in the new tab.
Share documents with visitors
If your organization allows, you can invite people who don’t have Google Accounts to collaborate on your client-side encrypted Drive files and folders as visitors. You can stop sharing at any time or control if visitors can edit or find your file.
Find what’s different about encrypted files
When sharing encrypted files with visitors, you may only grant "viewer" or "editor" access.
As a visitor, you will verify your identity in two steps:
- Google will send a verification code to your email inbox.
- The organization that owns the document will verify your identity using their own method.
Use comments & action items in Docs
You can collaborate with others on Google Docs to:
- Add, edit, reply, filter, or delete comments.
- Assign tasks and action items.
Learn how to add, edit, reply, filter, or delete comments
Take control of your comments. Learn how to:
- Add your comments to any conversation
- Show, hide, or minimize comments to focus on what matters most
- Quickly find specific comments using keywords
- Filter comments to see only what you want
- Edit or delete a comment
- Send a comment to a specific person
- Keep the conversation going even after reaching the comment limit by adding more comments
Find what’s different about encrypted files
- When Google Docs can’t verify the author of a comment, a warning message is appended at the end of the comment.
- You can’t reply or close comments from Gmail because the content is encrypted. Use and follow-up on action items.
- When you share encrypted files, you can only assign “viewer” or “editor” permissions. “Commenter” permission is unsupported. Viewers can view comments.
- Suggestions in Google Docs aren’t available.
Find comments in version history
Each time the document is autosaved, comments and action items are saved. They‘re stored as part of versions in encrypted documents and displayed in version history.
When you restore the document to a previous version, the added comments in that version also restore.
To find a comment in a specific version:
- On your computer, open a doc.
- Click File
Version history
- At the top right, click Show all comments
.
- Click a comment to get its location.
- To search for a comment with keywords or usernames, at the top right of the Comments panel, use the “Search all comments” field.
Version history