Google Docs and Drive. Google Drive (product) PDF (file format) Downloading. Existence Question. Is there anyway to download the shared PDF files from Google Drive with Read only permissions? Update Cancel. A d b y K l o u d i o. What is the best simple cloud-based reporting tool for MySQL? Why can’t anyone download my Google Drive shared.
If you upload a PDF file to Google Docs and share it with other people, they can download it, print it and copy the file to their accounts. Now you can prevent other people from downloading the file from the Google Docs homepage: just right-click the file and select 'Prevent viewers from downloading'.For videos, this option is also available in the File menu, where you can uncheck 'Viewers can download this file'.
While Google removes the download buttons and menu items from the user interface, there may be other ways to download the files.
{ Thanks, Bill. }
Can I open one of my docs/spreadsheets/etc in read-only mode?
I would like to view it for reference without having to worry about it being modified.
ale4 Answers
Well, it seems Google Documents has been updated since I wrote my first answer. There's now a button that allows you to enter read-only mode:
At least this button is available in some Google Accounts. Probably a feature that is being rolled out gradually.
Vidar S. RamdalVidar S. RamdalWhen you have 'edit' rights on the document there are no elegant solutions out of the box to switch to a 'read-only' mode temporarily.
After trying out several answers and solutions I have found two solutions that work with the current version (Jun 2018) of google docs (docs, sheets, ...):
Solution #1 (Print Preview mode) Use the /preview endpoint, which is a read-only view.
How To Download View Only Google Docs On Computer
The only problem with this view is that you cannot use any of the data tools like sorting, filtering etc., which are usually required when you are dealing with sheets/data.
Solution #2 (Create a copy)
This gives you a personal copy in your drive with full permissions but you wouldn't care making edits because it's a copy visible only to you. Once you are done with it you can delete the file and reclaim space from your drive.
Download View Only Google Sheet
It's possible, by creating a shareable link for your document, and opening it in an Incognito/Private window:
Click the Share button while editing the document
In the dialog that opens, click Get shareable link
- Make sure can view is selected.
Then copy the generated URL by pressing Ctrl-C, and click Done - Open a private/incognito window in your browser (usually by pressing Ctrl-Shift-N, or see these instructions on Wikihow)
- Paste the link into the address bar, and press Enter
You now have a read-only version of your document in the private window.
Vidar S. RamdalHow To Download View Only Google Docs On Facebook
Vidar S. RamdalEspecially when a team uses a Google Docs doc mostly for reference, accidental edits will happen. They'll get tangled in the edit history with intentional edits, making them hard to tease out.
Not exactly what you were asking for: In this situation, it's sensible to switch from Google Docs to Google Sites. Sites is handy for managing a private website of reference-oriented pages. You have to explicitly click to edit a Sites page, so accidental edits don't occur.
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That doesn't help with Google Sheets, but Sites might have a 'gadget' that can display content from a Sheet. Sites has lots of gadgets and other features for handling semi-structured information like release notes.
Jerry101Jerry101