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Q2-6 How Can You Use Collaboration Tools to Manage Shared Content?

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too, if three users obtain the same document as an email attachment, each changes it, and each
sends back the changed document via email, then different, incompatible versions of that docu-
ment will be floating around. So, although email is simple, easy, and readily available, it will not
suffice for collaborations in which there are many document versions or for which there is a desire
for content control.
Another way to share content is to place it on a shared file server, which is simply a com-
puter that stores files . . . just like the disk in your local computer. If your team has access to a file
server at your university, you can put documents on the server and others can download them,
make changes, and upload them back onto the server. You can also store files on the cloud servers
listed in Figure 2-13.
Storing documents on servers is better than using email attachments because documents
have a single storage location. They are not scattered in different team members’ email boxes, and
team members have a known location for finding documents.
However, without any additional control, it is possible for team members to interfere with
one another’s work. For example, suppose team members A and B download a document and
edit it, but without knowing about the other’s edits. Person A stores his version back on the
server and then person B stores her version back on the server. In this scenario, person A’s
changes will be lost.
Furthermore, without any version management, it will be impossible to know who
changed the document and when. Neither person A nor person B will know whose version of
the document is on the server. To avoid such problems, some form of version management is
recommended.

Shared Content with Version Management on Google Drive

Systems that provide version management track changes to documents and provide features
and functions to accommodate concurrent work. For office documents, you can obtain version
management services from Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Microsoft SharePoint. Here we
will discuss the use of Google Drive.
Google Drive is a free service that provides a virtual drive in the cloud into which you can
create folders and store files. You can upload files of any type, but only files that are processed
by Google Docs receive version management. We’ll restrict the rest of this discussion to files of
those types.
To use Google Drive, you need a Google Account, which you obtain by creating a gmail address.
(If you already have a gmail address, you already have a Google Account with the same name as
your gmail address.) To create a Google account, go to http://accounts.google.com and fill out the
form shown in Figure 2-15.
In this form, you need not provide a value for your current email address, though it’s a good
idea to provide one if you can. That address is used by Google in the event you forget your password
and for other security backup purposes.
To create a Google document, go to http://drive.google.com (note that there is no www in this
address). Sign in with your Google Account (your gmail address). From that point on, you can