A customer reviewing a quote may need to comment on one document, not edit the live worksheet or open every file in the project folder. Decide the required action before choosing a sharing setting.

For a first test, use a fictitious review document in an appropriate folder. Check the account shown in Drive, the intended recipient’s address and whether the file inherits wider permissions. A named-recipient setting on one file cannot make existing broad parent-folder access disappear.

Match the role to the review

Viewer access suits reading. Commenter access lets a reviewer respond without changing the document text directly. Editor access allows actual changes and may allow further sharing unless the owner’s settings restrict it. Organisation policies can also limit external sharing.

Open Share, add the intended recipient and choose the role needed for the agreed work. Review general access and parent-folder permissions before completing the action. Sharing can notify people by email; decide deliberately whether the notification is wanted and review any included message.

Check access from the other side

Have an authorised test recipient open the link with the intended account. Confirm they can do the promised task and cannot reach unrelated project material through your arrangement. Your own successful opening does not test a customer’s permissions.

When the review ends, revisit access. Remove or reduce the relevant permission and consider any group, parent-folder or general-link access that still applies. If the permission came from a folder, resolve it at the correct level rather than repeatedly changing the individual file.

Keep the internal master and the customer deliverable clearly identified. Permission changes govern future access to the online item; they should not be treated as a way to recall a file someone has already copied. For sensitive work, decide what belongs in the review copy before sharing it.

References: Google Drive sharing; Change Drive access.