Coaches and 1:1 service providers like copywriters often share resources with their clients via Google docs. If you want to share a document but you want the person you’re sharing it with to work from a copy of the document and not edit the original, it can be helpful to force them to create a copy of the doc when they first open it up.

Here’s how you can create a Google doc link that creates a copy of the original doc 👇

Steps for creating a copy link for Google Docs:

  1. Access the Google Doc: Open the Google Doc that you want to share.
  2. Click on the Share Button: In the top-right corner of the document, click on the “Share” button.
  3. Set Viewing Permissions: In the sharing settings, ensure that “Anyone with the link” has “Viewer” access. This ensures that the person accessing the link can only view the document.
  4. Copy the Document Link: After setting the viewing permissions, copy the document link.
  5. Edit the Link: Paste the copied link in a text editor.
  6. Edit the Link URL: Find the last slash (/) in the URL. Everything after the last slash that reads edit?usp=sharing should be deleted.
  7. Replace with “Copy”: Replace the deleted portion with the word “copy”. The modified link should now end with /copy.
  8. Test the Modified Link: Open a new tab (you may want to use an incognito window) and paste the modified link. It should prompt the user to make a copy of the document.
  9. Verify the Copy Behavior: Confirm that the modified link indeed forces the user to create a copy of the document.
  10. Share the Modified Link: Once you have verified that the modified link works as intended, share it with the intended recipients. They will be prompted to make a copy when they click on it.

Good luck!

Xx, Kara

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