Google Drive Viewer vs Commenter vs Editor: Folder Permissions Explained
What Viewer, Commenter and Editor access can and cannot do in a shared Google Drive folder, and how to share a folder safely without giving unnecessary editing rights.
Viewer vs Commenter vs Editor — compared
When you share a Google Drive folder you choose one of three roles for each person. The role decides what they can do with every file inside the folder.
| Can the person… | Viewer | Commenter | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open and read files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Download, print, copy | Yes (owner can turn off per file) | Yes (owner can turn off per file) | Yes |
| Add comments / suggestions in Docs, Sheets, Slides | No | Yes | Yes |
| Edit file content | No | No | Yes |
| Upload new files into the folder | No | No | Yes |
| Rename, move or remove files | No | No | Yes |
| Share with more people | No | No | Yes, unless the owner blocks it |
"Restricted" vs "Anyone with the link"
At the bottom of the Share window is General access:
- Restricted — only the people you added by email can open the folder. Safest for student data, marks and staff documents.
- Anyone with the link — anyone who gets the link can open it with the role you choose (keep this as Viewer). Handy for a public "Downloads" folder or a syllabus folder for parents.
Never set "Anyone with the link" to Editor: the link can be forwarded, and strangers could then change or remove your files.
How files inherit folder access
Files and subfolders take their sharing from the folder they are in. If Priya is a Viewer on "Class 10 Notes", she can view every file in it — including files you add next week.
- You can give one file more access than the folder (for example, make just one file "Anyone with the link").
- You cannot use the folder share to give one file less access. To hide a file from folder members, keep it in a different folder.
- Moving a file into another folder can change who can see it, because it now inherits the new folder's sharing.
This is also why sharing a folder link works well for files that change: you can replace a file and keep the same link, or add new files, and everyone with folder access sees them.
Extra controls for the owner
- Stop editors from re-sharing: in the Share window click the gear icon and untick Editors can change permissions and share.
- Hide download/print/copy for viewers: for a file, gear icon → untick Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy.
- Expiring access: some Google Workspace accounts (school or work) can set an access expiration date for a person; personal Gmail accounts may not see this.
- Transfer ownership of important files to the school/office account before a staff member leaves.
Which role should each person get?
| Situation | Role |
|---|---|
| Parents or students receiving notes, syllabus, circulars | Viewer (or Anyone with the link → Viewer) |
| Head of department reviewing question papers | Commenter |
| Co-teacher who uploads worksheets to the same folder | Editor |
| Office staff maintaining the fee register sheet | Editor on that file only, not the whole folder |
| Anyone outside your school or office | Viewer, and preferably by email, not by public link |
Change or remove someone's access
- Right-click the folder → Share.
- Find the person in the list and open the role drop-down next to their name.
- Choose a different role, or Remove access.
- Click Save. To check who can see a folder at any time, open it and look at the people icons, or open Share.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Giving Editor to a whole class — one accidental move or rename affects everyone.
- Setting "Anyone with the link" on a folder that contains student phone numbers or marks.
- Sharing individual files one by one instead of one well-organised folder.
- Forgetting that subfolders are shared too.
- Never reviewing access — remove people who have left the class or office.
Viewer vs Commenter vs Editor — तुलना
Google Drive folder share करते समय आप हर व्यक्ति के लिए तीन में से एक role चुनते हैं। यही role तय करता है कि वह folder के अंदर की हर file के साथ क्या कर सकता है।
| क्या वह व्यक्ति… | Viewer | Commenter | Editor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Files खोलकर पढ़ सकता है | हाँ | हाँ | हाँ |
| Download, print, copy | हाँ (owner हर file के लिए बंद कर सकता है) | हाँ (owner हर file के लिए बंद कर सकता है) | हाँ |
| Docs, Sheets, Slides में comments / suggestions | नहीं | हाँ | हाँ |
| File का content बदलना | नहीं | नहीं | हाँ |
| Folder में नई files upload करना | नहीं | नहीं | हाँ |
| Files rename, move या हटाना | नहीं | नहीं | हाँ |
| और लोगों को share करना | नहीं | नहीं | हाँ, जब तक owner रोके नहीं |
"Restricted" vs "Anyone with the link"
Share window में नीचे General access होता है:
- Restricted — सिर्फ वही लोग folder खोल सकते हैं जिन्हें आपने email से जोड़ा है। Students का data, marks और staff documents के लिए सबसे सुरक्षित।
- Anyone with the link — जिसके पास भी link पहुँचे, वह आपके चुने role के साथ खोल सकता है (इसे Viewer ही रखें)। Public "Downloads" folder या parents के लिए syllabus folder में काम का।
"Anyone with the link" को कभी Editor न रखें: link आगे forward हो सकता है और अनजान लोग आपकी files बदल या हटा सकते हैं।
Files को folder का access कैसे मिलता है
Files और subfolders अपनी sharing उसी folder से लेते हैं जिसमें वे रखे हैं। अगर Priya "Class 10 Notes" folder की Viewer है, तो वह उसकी हर file देख सकती है — अगले हफ्ते जोड़ी जाने वाली files भी।
- किसी एक file को folder से ज़्यादा access दे सकते हैं (जैसे सिर्फ एक file को "Anyone with the link")।
- Folder share के ज़रिए किसी file को कम access नहीं दे सकते। किसी file को folder members से छिपाना हो तो उसे अलग folder में रखें।
- File को दूसरे folder में move करने से उसे देखने वाले बदल सकते हैं, क्योंकि अब वह नए folder की sharing लेती है।
इसीलिए बदलती रहने वाली files के लिए folder link share करना अच्छा है: आप file replace करके वही link रख सकते हैं, या नई files जोड़ सकते हैं, और folder access वाले सभी लोग उन्हें देख लेंगे।
Owner के extra controls
- Editors को आगे share करने से रोकें: Share window में gear icon पर click करके Editors can change permissions and share से tick हटाएँ।
- Viewers के लिए download/print/copy छिपाएँ: किसी file के लिए gear icon → Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy से tick हटाएँ।
- समय-सीमा वाला access: कुछ Google Workspace accounts (school या office) किसी व्यक्ति के access की expiry date set कर सकते हैं; personal Gmail में यह option शायद न दिखे।
- कोई staff member जाने वाला हो तो ज़रूरी files की ownership पहले ही school/office account को transfer कर दें।
किसे कौन-सा role दें?
| स्थिति | Role |
|---|---|
| Parents या students को notes, syllabus, circulars | Viewer (या Anyone with the link → Viewer) |
| Head of department question papers review कर रहे हैं | Commenter |
| Co-teacher जो उसी folder में worksheets upload करते हैं | Editor |
| Office staff जो fee register sheet संभालते हैं | सिर्फ उस file पर Editor, पूरे folder पर नहीं |
| School या office के बाहर का कोई भी | Viewer, और हो सके तो email से, public link से नहीं |
किसी का access बदलें या हटाएँ
- Folder पर right-click → Share।
- List में उस व्यक्ति को ढूँढें और नाम के आगे role वाला drop-down खोलें।
- दूसरा role चुनें, या Remove access।
- Save पर click करें। कभी भी देखना हो कि folder कौन देख सकता है, तो Share खोलकर list देखें।
इन गलतियों से बचें
- पूरी class को Editor दे देना — एक गलत move या rename सबको प्रभावित करता है।
- जिस folder में students के phone numbers या marks हैं, उसे "Anyone with the link" पर रखना।
- एक व्यवस्थित folder की जगह files एक-एक करके share करना।
- यह भूल जाना कि subfolders भी share होते हैं।
- Access कभी review न करना — जो लोग class या office छोड़ चुके हैं, उन्हें हटाएँ।
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Viewer, Commenter and Editor in Google Drive?
A Viewer can open and (by default) download files but cannot change anything. A Commenter can do the same and also add comments and suggestions in Google Docs, Sheets and Slides. An Editor can change files, add new files to the folder, move or delete files, and share them with others.
Can a Viewer download files from a shared Google Drive folder?
Yes, by default. The file owner can stop this for an individual file: open Share → the gear (Settings) icon → untick "Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy". This hides the download button but cannot stop screenshots.
If I share a folder, are all files inside it shared too?
Yes. Everyone you give access to a folder gets the same access to all files and subfolders inside it, including files added later. You can give a single file wider access than its folder, but not narrower access through the folder share.
Can an Editor delete my files in a shared Google Drive folder?
An Editor can remove files from the folder, but in My Drive only the owner can permanently delete a file they own; files removed by an Editor still belong to you. To be safe, give Editor access only to people who must add or change files, and use Viewer for everyone else.
