As a child of the '90s, I have fond memories of "Don't Copy That Floppy," the Software Publishers Association's attempt to use rap to convince kids that copyright law was cool. Nowadays, it's not only impossible to explain to kids what a "floppy" was, but it's becoming equally impossible to get people to do the opposite of what the video demanded: copy my files.
Please, I am begging you: copy my files.
How to force a copy of a Google Doc or other Google file
Anyone can make a copy of a Google Doc or other Google file by going to File > Make a copy. But I refuse to trust people with my files, so I insist on forcing a copy.
There are two things you need to do to force a copy of a Google file:
Make sure the people you're sharing the file with only have Viewer or Commenter permissions.
When you share the link, change
/editat the end of the URL to/copy.
It's really that simple. When you copy the share link that Google gives you, the URL will end in /edit. For example, here's a spreadsheet from an article I wrote.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ 16qfk6DL22LpoilIdaDXCUoGC4NlIs1Xzx3Mrelbtg9s/edit
When you click that, you'll be taken to the spreadsheet itself, and you can copy it from the File menu. But if I change /edit to /copy, this is the new URL.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ 16qfk6DL22LpoilIdaDXCUoGC4NlIs1Xzx3Mrelbtg9s/copy
When you open the link that ends in /copy, you'll see this:
You only have the option to copy.
No more panicking about whether you accidentally gave someone editing permissions, or having to explain to coworkers, "It's a template! Stop making changes!" or saving "Go to File > Make a copy" as a snippet in your text expander because you type it eight thousand times a day.
Now it's all right there, and it's beautiful.
Automate the process of forcing a copy of a Google Doc
If you have a Zap (Zapier's word for an automated workflow) with a Google Drive step, you can automatically change the link it provides by adding a Formatter action with the Replace transform function.
The action's output can then be sent via email, SMS, or direct message, and the link will take the recipients to the hassle-free "Make a copy" page.
Zapier is a no-code automation tool that lets you connect your apps into automated workflows, so that every person and every business can move forward at growth speed. Learn more about how it works.
Want to remove the human element entirely, and let automation do all the copying for you? Zapier can help with that, too.
Why are people still requesting edit access to my file?
So you've shared the /copy link, and you're still getting access request emails in your inbox. What's happening?
Honestly, I'm not sure. My best guess is that people are seeing the "Make a copy" page and not liking it for some reason. Maybe they think they won't be able to edit it? Maybe they think they're copying the "Make a copy" page itself? Either way, I have to assume they're changing copy to edit in the URL.
Do I have too much faith in people's abilities to try to find workarounds for simple app actions? Maybe. But if your link only exists in the wild using the /copy version, I can't come up with any other possible answer. Please tell me if you figure it out.
In the words of MC Double Def DP himself: See ya, I'm out of here.
Related reading:
This article was originally published in February 2021. The most recent update was in May 2025.
