Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Sharing a Document
Step1
Sign on to your Google Docs account and open the document you want to share with other users. If you don't yet have a document set up go to File -> New Document to create one. Name and save the file, but remember the name needs to be easily recognizable by all collaborators. If you don't enter a name, Google Docs will auto save the document using the first sentence on the page as a filename.
Step2
Click "Share" in the top corner of the document. From the pull-down menu choose "Share With Others" and enter a mailing list or the email addresses of the people with whom you want to share access.
Step3
Choose whether you want them to be able to just see the document or to make changes to it as well, checking the "Viewers" or "Collaborators" box depending on the answer, make sure the "Invitations may be used by anyone" box is checked and then click the "Invite" button.
Step4
Select "Publish as web page" from the "Share" menu if you want more than 200 people to be able to view the document. This will allow maximum access, but viewers will not be able to make any changes.
Working With Collaborators
Step1
Discuss real-time changes with collaborators. As you are editing a document or using a presentation, you may see a shaded box on the bottom of the document screen with usernames on it. This means they are working with the doc at the same time as you. Use the "Discuss" tab to talk with them about your work.
Step2
Investigate collaborators whose names you don't recognize. It's possible that one of your invited users also invited someone to share this document or that a user has changed his screename since the invite went out. When in doubt, send an email to confirm the identity of the collaborative user.
Step3
See edits as they are being made by others. Google Docs auto-saves frequently, which means you will be able to see any revisions that have been made within a minute or two of the change. Click File--> Revision History to see all the different incarnations of your document.
Step4
Remove collaborators by clicking on the "Share" tab. Select "Share with Others" and when you see the "This document is currently shared" message, click on the "x" next to the offending users' name. This will remove his access to the document or spreadsheet, but only if you have permission to do so. The owner of a document should almost always have this permission.