How to shorten long Google Drive file share links?
2 min read
Saving files to Google Drive and sharing links to others?
You must have noticed that the link from Google drive file sharing is a bit long. Links can be shared via messaging or emails which they can open directly. But if in case, people need to type the links to open documents, it could be tedious and people could make mistakes too. Why not shorten the links so that it is easy to read or type?
Here is how.
What does URL shorteners do?Here is how.
They take long links and convert them to short links, which is easier to read and type. Both the long and the short link points or opens the same thing.
First, get the sharable link from Google Drive.
- Go to Google Drive
- Right click on the file or folder to share
- Click 'Get Sharable Link'
- The link is automatically copied to clipboard. You can also select the link displayed and press CTRL+C to copy the link.
The link looks like:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=2fX-zdmTRstdTL83PSvyI9XYUq
How to shorten the links?
There are various URL shortening services online. But you can also use Google's service.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=2fX-zdmTRstdTL83PSvyI9XYUq
How to shorten the links?
There are various URL shortening services online. But you can also use Google's service.
- Open the link https://goo.gl/ in a browser
- Paste the shareable link from Google Drive
- Click SHORTEN URL button
- A short URL is generated Eg: https://goo.gl/FUGur49
- Copy the shortened url
Share the shortened url. Both the short and the long URL will open the same file / folder when viewed in a browser.
If you are logged in to Google Account and use https://goo.gl/ service, then the links you shorten are also saved for your for quick reference later if needed.