How To See Who Has Viewed A Google Doc

As a great way to work together, Google Docs lets many people edit and work on the same text at the same time, so no one loses track of the changes that each person made. After all, if you or your company use Google Docs, it can be helpful to know who looked at what document and when. It is necessary to be able to see who did what and when in order to make sure that everyone reads a draft, the terms, and conditions, your most recent entry, the policies and procedures, or any other important document.

How To See Who Has Viewed A Google Doc

There are three key things you should know before you check to see who has looked at your file. The person viewing the file must have a Google account and be signed in to Google Workspace. The file must be a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide.

Step 1: Open the Doc

To see who has looked at a file, go to Google Docs and log in with your Google account. After that, open the file.

Step 2: Go to Tools and Click on Activity Dashboard

The Activity Dashboard icon is a jagged line in the upper right corner. You can also go to Tools > Activity Dashboard from the menu.

Go to Tools >> Click on Activity Dashboard

Step 3: Select the Viewers option

Make sure that the Viewers option is chosen on the left.

To see who has looked at the file, click the “All Viewers” tab on the right. You’ll see their name and the most recent time they looked at it.

Select the Viewers Options

Note Point:-

Requirements for monitoring who viewed your Google Doc files-

1. You need a business account on Google Workspace.
2. It must be a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide file that you want to keep track of.
3. Viewers must be signed in to their Google account.

Google Drive file viewer tracking limits

Users with an enterprise, business, education, or nonprofit plan in Google Workspace are the only ones who can use this tool.

If you shared your Google Drive files with specific people or groups, you can see who looked at them. There is no way to know who opened the file if you shared it with “anyone with the link” or made it public.

Lastly, you need to be able to edit the file. Checking who has looked at the file is not possible if you only have view access.

Google Drive Activity Dashboard File Viewing History Features

Viewers

Under the “Viewers” section, the “Shared with” tab displays the list of everyone you’ve explicitly shared the file with. Additionally, you can use the Email column to send a reminder message to the participants.

Viewer Trend

In the Viewer Trend section, you can see how many new people look at your file every day. On the column map, you can pick a day to see how many people looked at the file that day.

Comment Trend

You can see the total number of comments on the file and the trend over a specific time in this area. There is a drop-down option in the upper right corner of the screen that allows you to pick a different time.

Sharing History

With the sharing records, you can see when and with whom you sent the file.

Privacy Settings

You can turn on or off the viewing records for a single file (using Document Setting) or for all files (using Account Setting) in the privacy settings. Your View Past will not be shown on the Activity Dashboard if you turn it on.

Google Docs Vs. Microsoft Word

You can use both Google Docs and Microsoft Word to work with words, but there are some important differences between the two.

Google Docs	Microsoft Word
You can use Google Docs for free on the web.	Of course, you have to buy the Microsoft Office suite in order to use Microsoft Word.
With Microsoft OneDrive, you can store Microsoft Word files offline or in the cloud.	You can use Google Drive to store Google Docs offline or in the cloud.

Lastly, both Google Docs and Microsoft Word have built-in tools for working together in real-time. In real-time, two or more people can work together on papers and share them.

Why there are zero views on Google Doc files

• Only files owned by Google accounts with Activity Dashboard show activity.
• The viewer may have viewed the file without a Google account.
• Viewers of the document may have kept their View History private.
• The Activity Dashboard only shows activity when you log in.
• You may have disabled the View History function or the file administrator.

Troubleshoot Viewing Activity

How to Enable Activity Dashboard See History

Get into your Google Admin Console as the account administrator to make sure that View History is turned on for Google Docs.

Step 1: Open Docs

In the left-hand menu, go to Apps > Google Workspace. From the list that comes up, choose Drive and Docs.

Step 2: Go to Activity Dashboard Settings

On the “Settings for Drive and Docs” page, go to “Activity Dashboard Settings” and select “Activity Dashboard Settings.”

Step 3: Enable the Users View History

Make sure that Users’ View History is turned on. Click the pencil icon on the right, choose “ON,” and then click the “Save” button to make changes.

How to Enable View History for individual or All Files

Open the document in Google Docs and follow the steps to show your View History or help someone you expect to look over the document show theirs.

Step 1: Open the Activity Dashboard and Select Privacy Settings in the Google Doc

You can track a Google Doc, Sheet, or Slide by opening it.

Click on the Activity Dashboard icon in the upper right area of the screen. It looks like an arrow pointing up. Or go to the drop-down button and choose Tools. Then, go to the Activity Dashboard.

Go to Activity Dashboard and Select Privacy Settings

Step 3: Turn on the Toggle and Save

To show the view history for the current document, toggle the “Document setting” option on the right and “Account setting” for all documents. Then click “Save.” to save the changes.

How to Find out who made changes to your Google Docs

Step 1: Open Google Doc

Open the Google Doc and choose “File” from the drop-down menu at the top of the screen.

Step 2: Go to Google Doc Version Icon

Go to Google Doc Version Icon

Step 3: Click on All Versions and Select the File Version

Click on All Versions>>Select the File Version

Step 3: See the Version History

There will be a window on the right side of your screen that shows all the changes and saves you’ve made to the document. You can see when each change was made and who made it.

Note–

You can also look at the version of the document that was there before the changes were made. This function is helpful if you need to undo changes or check the differences between different versions of a file.

How to Check Who Shared your Google Docs

Step 1: Go to Google Drive

Click on “My Drive” in the menu on the left side of Google Drive.

Step 2: Select the File

Click on the small “i” button in the top right corner of the screen after choosing the file.

Select the File

Step 3: Go to Tools and Choose “Activity” tab

Select the “Activity” tab to see what people have done to share that file.

You can use the scroll bar on the right side of the screen to see who has shared the paper with other people and what else they have done.

Go to Tools and Choose Activity Tab

Note-

Anyone with a personal Google (Gmail) account can see the “Version” and “Sharing” records of their Google Drive files. You don’t need a Google Workspace account to do this.

FAQ’s

Where is View in Google Docs?

Open a file on your computer, such as a presentation, a spreadsheet, or a presentation. Simply select the desired View by clicking the View button on the toolbar.

What does a viewer do in Google Docs?

People are allowed access to the file, but they cannot make any changes or share it with anybody else.

What if I Don’t See Any Viewing Activity?

These things should help you if you don’t see any Viewers-

• When you use the Activity Dashboard, you can only see what’s been done with files that belong to a Google account.
• After you log in to the Activity Dashboard, you can only see what people have done.
• The document may have too many views or viewers for the Activity Dashboard information to show up.
• People who want to see the documents have chosen not to show their View History.
• The View History feature might not be on for you or the Admin.

How do I share a folder in Google Docs?

Open Google Drive, then browse through the folder you wish to share within Google Docs and select it. Simply right-click on it, then select the Share option. Enter the email address of the person or group that you want to share with, and then select whether you want them to have access to Editor, Viewer, or Commenter.