I’m trying to figure out if it’s possible to generate a public link that points to a particular revision of a Google Doc rather than just the latest version. I know the regular sharing feature lets people view the current document, but I need to share an older version that was saved as a named revision. I want recipients to see exactly what the document looked like at that specific point in time, not the current state. I’ve tried looking through the revision history but can’t find an obvious way to create a direct link to a past version. The sharing options seem to only work for the most recent content. Has anyone found a working method to accomplish this? I need it for view-only access, not editing permissions.
ugh, totally feel your pain! google docs really makes this tricky. the only way is to create a copy of that older version and share that link instead. kinda a hassle, but at least it gets the job done!
Found a workaround for this after hitting the same problem last month. Go to revision history, click the three-dot menu next to whatever version you need, then hit “Make a copy.” You’ll get a separate doc frozen at that exact state. Way cleaner than restoring old versions, especially if you need multiple snapshots of the same document. Your original stays untouched, you get a permanent link to share, and the copy keeps all the formatting exactly how it was.
Google Docs doesn’t let you link directly to specific revisions, which can be frustrating. What does work is visiting the revision history, selecting the version you need, and restoring it as the current version. After that, you can create your shareable link as usual. You can always revert back to the latest version afterward. While this process may seem clunky, it’s the most reliable way to ensure others see the document as it was at that specific moment. Just be mindful of the timing when restoring and creating the link.