Configure notifications in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, or Drawings so you don’t have to constantly check for employee changes.
When you collaborate in real time with a colleague in Google Workspace apps, you have a few different ways to point out changes. In Google Docs, Sheets, Slides and Drawings, the system displays the current position of each collaborator’s cursor, which helps indicate where an item has been selected or is being edited.
Plus, all of these apps allow you to start a document-related chat with employees to discuss changes. In Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, you can start with a: Google Meet session and video conference with your team while collaborating on your document.
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But when people edit documents at different times, it can be more difficult to identify changes. Although you always use File | . You can select Version History to open the current file version and compare it with previous edits, it may take a while to see the changes. You should also remember to open and open the document, which can be challenging for a busy person.
Fortunately, Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings all offer notifications. All four of these editors can be configured to notify you when a colleague adds a comment. Two of the applications, Google Docs and Google Sheets, let you choose to be notified when an edit is in progress. The steps below describe how Chrome allows you to configure notifications for each of these four applications on the web.
Manage notifications in Google Docs
In a Google Doc, you have two ways to access the notification settings. Either access to the Tools | Notification settings from the default menu system, or select the comment icon in the top right corner (left of the Share button), then choose the bell icon. Both paths allow you to select notification settings for comments and edits, as shown in Image A.
Image A
Choose from one of three options for reporting comments:
- All comments and tasks, which ensures that you are notified of any comment or assigned task in a document,
- Notes and tasks for you, that only notify you when people specifically mention you or assign you a task, or
- No, that disables comment notifications, but still indicates comment activity when you open the document.
Choose from one of two options for editing notifications:
- Added or deleted content, to be notified when an employee changes the document, or
- No, to disable notifications of edits.
Historically, you may not necessarily know when an employee made a change. Now if you select both the All Comments and Tasks option and the Added or Removed Content option, you will be notified when people comment, assign tasks, and add or remove document content. If you have completed your work on a document, you can also set both options to None to disable all notifications.
Manage notifications in Google Sheets
Google Sheets similarly offers several paths to manage notifications: Tools | Notification Settings | edit notifications; Resources | Notification Settings | Notifications of comments; or via the comment icon (top right) and then the bell icon.
The three options for reporting comments (Figure Bbottom right) in Sheets include:
- all comments, who will notify you of any comment,
- Notes for you, that only notify you when people specifically mention you, or
- No, to turn off notifications.
Figure B
Notification editing options allow you to customize when and how often you receive a notification, as shown in Figure B, top right. Since a Google spreadsheet often receives information from Google Forms, you can be notified when a change is made to a spreadsheet or when a user submits a form. In addition, you can choose whether you receive these notifications immediately or combined into a daily summary.
Figure C
Manage notifications in Google Slides or Google Drawings
Google Slides and Google Drawings each provide two ways to access notifications: Tools | Notification settings or by selecting the comment icon followed by the bell icon (as shown below in Figure D). The options for reporting comments in both apps (as shown above in Figure C) correspond to those available in Sheets:
- All comments, notifying you of any comment,
- Notes for you, which only notify you when people specifically mention you, or
- None, to disable notifications.
Unlike Docs and Sheets, Slides and Drawings do not provide edit notification controls. This means that a collaborator needs to comment or mention a person to trigger a notification in Slides or Drawings.
Figure D
What is your experience with notifications?
Sensible configuration of comments and edit notifications can make collaboration much easier: you can do all the work you need to do on a document, then configure the notifications and wait for a notification when other people comment or edit. You don’t have to constantly check for changes.
How do you use notifications for commenting and editing in Google Docs and Sheets? Did you find this feature useful? If you’re collaborating in Google Slides or Drawings, are the comments for comments enough? Call or message me on Twitter (@awolber) to let me know how notifications for comments or edits in these editors work for you and your contributors.
