What does the Gmail "Send without sharing" feature do when sending an attached file from Google Drive?

Question

In Gmail, when sending a message with an attachment from Google Drive, there are three options:

• Share & send
• Cancel
• Send without sharing

If I choose the "Send without sharing" option, will the document be sent as an ordinary attachment?

Answer 1

No, sending an email with a Google Doc and selecting "Send without sharing" does not add it as a regular attachment.

The recipient will still get the same email, with a link to the Doc you sent. When clicked, the user will see the page that says "You must request permission to view this document"

The best use of this feature that I can think of is to set the Document to "Anyone can view." When you then share the doc with an email, you won't have to share it with everyone on the thread, but their having the link should be enough to allow them to see the document's contents.

Answer 2

Not positive...but, I think if you "send without sharing" to a person without a google account, they have to go through the password procedure, but if you send to someone with a google account it will be received as a regular attachment.