How to Co-author a Word Document in Real Time
(Note: Suitable for users of Word 2016, 2019, 2021 and Word for Microsoft 365.)
Objective
Share a document with others and make changes together in real time.
Co Authoring Explained
In the not-so-distant past, we used to collaborate on Word documents with colleagues by attaching the document to an email. This had a number of disadvantages. When we attached a document to an email, we effectively attached a copy.
The recipient would open the document, save it, make their changes, and then send their copy back to the sender. This meant that the original sender would end up with two copies of the same document, one that contained their colleague’s changes and the original. Usually, the edited copy would be saved as version 2 of the original.
This process was tedious and messy. Fortunately, with shared cloud storage, we can now co-author documents in Word as a team, in real-time, without needing to send documents back and forth.
To co-author documents with team members, the document should be saved to a shared workspace in the cloud.
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Share a Document
We can share a Word document in a couple of different ways: from the File tab or the Share button.
- Click the Share button in the top right-hand corner of the document.
- Click Share.
Link vs Copy
We can choose to send a link or a copy. Sending a link means the recipient will receive a direct link to the original document. Any changes made will be updated in the original document. Sending a copy means we are making a copy of the document. Any changes made will not be updated in the original unless the edited version is saved over the top.
Send a Link
- Type in the email address of the recipient or recipients.
We can choose the level of access recipients have to the document.
- Click Anyone with the link.
This is where we can specify who has access to the link and what level of access they have to the document. There are two levels of access: Can edit and Can view.
If we choose Anyone with the link and Can edit, anyone who receives this link in an email can click on it and start editing the document. Alternatively, we could select to share the link with just Specific people. We could even share the link with everyone but set it to Can view, which means they can only view the document but not make any changes.
We could also set an expiration date and password. Setting an expiration date is useful if this is a time-critical document. For example, maybe we need to get everyone’s changes and comments into the document before an important meeting. After that, no more changes should be made. We can set the link to expire on or before a certain date. When the date passes, anyone we’ve shared the link with can no longer access the document.
For an added layer of protection for sensitive documents, we can set a password on the document. This means that anyone we share the document with must know the password before they can view or edit it.
- Click Apply.
- Type a message.
- Click Send.
A link to the document will now be sent to the recipient.
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Send a Copy
When we send a copy, we send a copy of the original. We can create a shareable link, which is useful if we need to send it to many people or send a direct copy as a Word document or a PDF.
Send as PDF
The Send as PDF option converts the document to a PDF file and sends it as a copy to the recipient.
- Click Send a copy.
- Click PDF.
Word will open our default mail application and attach a PDF copy.
- Click Send.
Send a Shareable Link
We can create a shareable link if we need to share our document with many people or maybe with members of a Teams channel or Slack group.
- Choose the level of access: Can edit or Can view.
- Click Copy.
A shareable link will be generated.
- Click Copy to copy it to the clipboard.
- Go to the Teams channel/email/Slack channel and press CTRL+V to paste the link.
- Click Send.
Co-Author the Document
We can work on the shared document in real time with our colleagues. We can see any changes they make as they make them. If we have the document open when a colleague opens the same document, we will receive a notification (Microsoft 365 only), and we can see where they are clicking and any changes they are making.
We can see who is making the change as a label will appear with their name. We can also see which paragraph they are currently editing. When someone is editing a paragraph, it’s locked to them to avoid any conflicts. The paragraph is unlocked as soon as they move somewhere else in the document.
Also read:
How to Password Protect a Word Document?
How to Create a Table of Contents in Word
How to Save a Word Document? 3 Useful Ways
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Deborah Ashby
Deborah Ashby is a TAP Accredited IT Trainer, specializing in the design, delivery, and facilitation of Microsoft courses both online and in the classroom.She has over 11 years of IT Training Experience and 24 years in the IT Industry. To date, she's trained over 10,000 people in the UK and overseas at companies such as HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, Parliament, SKY, Microsoft, Kew Gardens, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.She's a qualified MOS Master for 2010, 2013, and 2016 editions of Microsoft Office and is COLF and TAP Accredited and a member of The British Learning Institute.
