iCloud Drive is the file system in the cloud that Apple offers users of their devices. Thanks to it, documents are stored in one place and therefore can be accessed from different devices as long as they are synchronized. It’s Apple’s Dropbox or Google Drive.
But unlike Google Drive or Dropbox, it is not a service designed to share files with other users … or that is the conception we have. And is that iCloud Drive itself allows you to share documents with other users and manage the permissions they have to edit them. Apple has never stressed this and the option is not in sight of the user, so let’s see how to get it.
How to share an iCloud Drive document in iOS
Since the arrival of Files with iOS 11, it is easier to share a document from the iPhone or iPad. The app in which Apple includes iCloud Drive allows us to select the documents and put them in collaboration mode with a couple of steps:
- Open Files and find the document you want to share.
- Press Select and choose the file you want to share.
- Click the share button and choose Add people.
- Choose the method you want to share it with through message, mail, copy the link, other apps …
- Send the collaboration permit to anyone who is interested, the only requirement is that the receiver should have an Apple ID account to open it.
How to share an iCloud Drive document in macOS
To share a document from the Mac by iCloud Drive the steps are similar, but here we use the Finder. This is what you should do:
- Go to the Finder’s iCloud Drive folder and find the file you want to share.
- Select it and with secondary button choose Share, you can also do it by clicking the share button in the Finder toolbar.
- Choose Add people and a new pop-up window will open.
- Choose the shipping method: message, mail, copy link, other apps …
- Press Share to finish the process, once again, remember that the person to whom you send it needs to have an Apple ID.
How to manage the permissions of documents shared by iCloud Drive
By choosing the sharing method on both iOS and Mac platforms you have probably noticed the part of “Sharing Options,” it is where we choose what can people do who receive the document. Apple allows us to modify two parameters:
- Who has access to the document: who invite or anyone who has the link.
- What you can do to the document: modify it or see it.
To eliminate collaboration permits we have to follow the same steps to share it, but this time instead of “Add people” we will select “See people” where we will see a list of people who have access to the document and in addition to adding more users we can eliminate the existing ones or change the type of permissions they have.
iCloud Drive, although it allows to collaborate and share documents with other users, has some limitations as we have seen. The functionality is somewhat hidden and especially limited in terms of options. On the other hand, it is not possible to share entire folders, which would undoubtedly be a big step. Or for example that users without Apple ID can preview the file. We’ll see if in the next version of iOS and macOS this becomes possible.
This way we will be able to share iCloud drive files on iOS and macOS devices. I hope this article will help you to solve your problem of sharing documents, files on your iOS devices with your friends or family members. If you have any queries regarding the above methods, let us know them in the below comment section and we will get back to you as soon as possible to solve all your queries.
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