No matter what platform you use, there are many ways to send a Microsoft Word document to anyone on the internet. Most internet storage services or cloud services (eg Google Drive and Dropbox) offer the feature to send documents directly from their desktop websites or mobile apps. You can also attach documents to emails or Facebook chats. If you have an email management program set up and activated on your computer, you can even send documents without leaving Microsoft Word.
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Method 1 of 8: Attaching a Document to a Gmail or Yahoo
Step 1. Sign in to your Gmail or Yahoo
You can attach a Word document to a Gmail or Yahoo! Mail on a computer or through the service's mobile application.
Most free email sites and apps have the same procedure or way of working. You can also follow the instructions for writing and uploading files described in this method when using email services other than Gmail and Yahoo!
Step 2. Click or touch “Compose”
On the mobile app, the “Compose” icon is indicated by a pencil drawing. A new message window will load afterwards.
Step 3. Click or touch the paperclip icon
On most platforms, a file selection box will appear once the icon is selected.
If you use the Yahoo! Mail on a mobile device, touch the “+” symbol and select the second icon (the sheet of paper icon) on the toolbar that appears. A file selection window will appear after that
Step 4. Touch “Attach File” or “Insert from Drive”
You can skip this step if you're not using the Gmail app on a mobile device.
- Select “Insert from Drive” if the document is saved in a Google Drive account.
- Select “Attach File” if the document is saved on your phone or tablet.
Step 5. Locate the document you want to attach
Browse to the directory where the document is stored and double-click (or tap) the file to attach it to the email.
If you want to attach a file from Google Drive, tap the desired file, then select “Select”
Step 6. Send the email to the recipient
Enter the recipient's email address in the " To: " field, then add a title and message body.
Step 7. Click or touch “Send”
When the recipient opens an email from you, he or she will see the option to open or download the file to their computer or mobile device.
Method 2 of 8: Attaching Documents Via Mail App on iPhone or iPad
Step 1. Open the Mail app on the device
To use this method, make sure that the Mail app is properly configured to send messages from your email account.
- You can attach documents stored on your device or from your iCloud Drive account.
- If you have the Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive apps on your device, you can attach documents from either account.
Step 2. Touch the “Compose” icon
This icon looks like a square with a pencil.
Step 3. Type your email address into the “To: field” Enter the address of the recipient to whom you want to send the document.
Step 4. Enter the message
Type a title in the “Subject” field and enter a note or message to the recipient in the main text field.
Step 5. Touch and hold your finger on the body of the message
A black bar will appear and contain several options to choose from.
Step 6. Touch “Add Attachment”
A file navigator window will automatically open and display the iCloud Drive page.
Step 7. Touch “Locations” to switch to another location or directory
If the document you want to send isn't stored in iCloud Drive, select the appropriate directory from the displayed folders (including Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive if available).
If you do not see the icon of the internet storage service in use, touch “More” and select the appropriate service. Slide the switch to the on position or “On” to activate the selection, then touch the back button to go to the directory selection page (“Locations”)
Step 8. Select the file and touch “Add Attachment”
You will be taken back to the message window that was previously created. Now, the message has loaded the attached document.
Step 9. Touch the “Send” button
After that, the file will be sent to the specified email address.
Method 3 of 8: Attaching Documents Via Mail App on Mac Computer
Step 1. Launch the Mail app on the Apple device
To follow this method, you'll need to configure the app to send messages via your email account. Do the configuration first if you haven't already.
Step 2. Press Cmd+N to create a new message
You can also click the “New Message” icon (the square with the pencil) or select “File” > “New Message” menu.
Step 3. Click the paperclip icon
It's in the upper-right corner of the new message window (“New Message”).
Step 4. Select the document and click “Choose File”
You can hold down Cmd while clicking the document if you want to select multiple files at once.
Step 5. Email the recipient
Type the recipient's email address into the “To:” field, the message title into the “Subject:” field, and a note in the larger text field.
Step 6. Send the email
Click the paper airplane icon in the upper-left corner of the message window to send the email and attached document to the recipient.
Method 4 of 8: Sharing a Document from Google Drive
Step 1. Open a Google Drive account
If your Word document is saved in your Google Drive account, you can easily share it with others. The Drive account access procedure will differ depending on the platform you are using:
- Mobile app: Run the Google Drive app through the device.
- Desktop site: Go to https://drive.google.com via a web browser.
Step 2. Find the document you want to share
If you don't see it in the main folder, you may need to look for it in a subfolder.
If you haven't uploaded the document from your computer, click “New” > “File Upload”, then double-click the Word document
Step 3. Click the “⋮” icon and touch “Add People”
Skip this step if you're using the web version of Drive.
Step 4. Right click the file and select “Share”
Skip this step if you are using a mobile app.
Another way to do this is to single-click the document, then select the “Share” icon (outline of the human head with the “+” symbol)
Step 5. Type in the email address of the user who will receive the file
If the user is a contact in your Google account, you can type their name and select the right user from the search results.
Step 6. Determine whether the recipient can copy a copy of the document in Google Drive
By default, Drive allows users to edit documents via Google Drive directly.
Leave this option if you want to share a document with someone and you both plan to edit the document together
Step 7. Change “Can Edit” to “Can View” if you want users to download their own copy, but not be able to edit your copy
Step 8. Select “Done” or “Share” to share the document
An email will be sent to the recipient and contains information on how to access the document. The recipient can view it online or download it to a computer.
Method 5 of 8: Sharing Documents from Dropbox
Step 1. Open Dropbox on your computer or mobile device
If you are a Dropbox user, you can take advantage of this service to share documents with anyone over the internet. In this method, a message containing a document link will be sent to the recipient. After that, he or she can download the document by accessing the link (and the recipient doesn't have to have a Dropbox account).
- You need a Dropbox account to follow this method.
- You must also have the Dropbox app on your device. If you are using a computer, you can access the web version by going to
Step 2. Add the document to your Dropbox account
If you haven't uploaded a Word document to Dropbox, upload it first.
- On the mobile app: Touch the “+” icon and select “Upload files”. Find the document you want to upload, then tap “Upload File”.
- On the desktop application: If the file storage folder is not already synced with your Dropbox account, drag the file from its original directory to the Dropbox folder.
- On Dropbox.com: Go to the file storage folder, then click “Upload” to select the document.
Step 3. Open the “Share” window
The steps to follow differ depending on the platform you are using:
- Mobile app: Touch the down arrow icon next to the document and select “Share”.
- Desktop application: Right-click (or Ctrl+Click) the document in the application, then select “Share…”.
- Dropbox.com site: Hover over the file and select “Share” (after the menu loads).
Step 4. Select “Can View” from the permission options
If you are using a mobile device, this option is in the “These People” section.
Step 5. Type in the email address of the recipient you want to send the file to
Enter the address in the “To:” field. To add multiple recipients, separate each address with a comma (“,”).
Step 6. Select the “Invite” or “Send” button
The button label will depend on the application.
If you are using the Dropbox.com site, the button will be labeled “Share”. After that, an email will be sent to the addresses you entered
Method 6 of 8: Attaching Files to Facebook Messages
Step 1. Log in to your Facebook account
If you have a Word document that you want to send to someone else on your computer, you can send it via the web version of Facebook.
- For this method to work, both you and the recipient you want to send the document to must have a Facebook account.
- The Facebook Messenger app does not support uploading documents stored on the phone, except for photos or videos.
Step 2. Open a chat window with the recipient
You will attach the document to the chat thread.
- The mail icon icon in the upper right corner of the Facebook window and select “New Message” (“New Message”).
- Type the recipient's name into the “To:” field and click on his/her name when it appears in the search results.
Step 3. Click the paperclip icon at the bottom of the chat window
Now, you can search for Word documents on your computer.
Step 4. Select the document and click “Open”
If you are using a Mac computer, this button is labeled “Choose File”.
Step 5. Press Enter or Return to send documents.
The recipient can download the document by double-clicking the icon displayed in the chat window.
Method 7 of 8: Sharing Documents Through Word Online
Step 1. Open the document in Word Online
If you use the free version of Microsoft Word available on the internet, you can share the document directly from the program.
This method is similar to the method of sharing files from a OneDrive account. If the document is stored in your OneDrive account, search for the document to open it in Word for the web
Step 2. Click the “Share” button
It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
Step 3. Select “Invite People”
On this page, you can enter the email address of the user you want to send the document to.
Step 4. Enter the recipient's email address in the “To: To add multiple recipients, separate each email address with a comma (“,”).
Step 5. Select document editing permissions
By default, recipients can make changes to the document. This permission is indicated by the “Recipients can edit” drop-down option on the “Invite” page.
- If you need to share ongoing access to this document and want anyone on the “Invite” list to be able to make changes, leave this option.
- To share a read-only version of the document (others cannot edit it), click “Recipients can edit” and select “Recipients can only view”.
Step 6. Enter a note in the “Note” field
Think of this column as the main part/body of the email. Type anything into the field to notify recipients of the contents of the email and document.
Step 7. Click “Share”
An email containing a link to the document will be sent to the recipient. With this link, the recipient can make changes to the document in Word Online (if you have given permission) or download the file to their computer.
Method 8 of 8: Sharing Documents Through Word 2016
Step 1. Open the document in Microsoft Word
If you are using Word 2016 on a Windows or Mac computer, you can use the built-in “Share” feature to send documents directly from the program.
If you are using an older version of Word, click the “File” menu (or the “Office” button in Word 2007) and select “Send” or “Send To” to send the document
Step 2. Save changes to the document
So that you don't send an old version of the document, click " File " and select " Save ".
Step 3. Click the “Share” icon
It's in the upper-right corner of the Word window. The button looks like a human silhouette with a “+” symbol.
Step 4. Click “Save to Cloud” when prompted
If you haven't saved the document to your online storage, you'll be prompted to save it first. Word saves the document to an online storage space in case you want to share the document for editing, rather than as an attachment (more information on this below).
Step 5. Click “Send as Attachment”
You may need to click on the “Share” option again to see this option. With the “Send as Attachment” option, you can send a copy of the document to the recipient via email.
If you want to share online editing access for the document, instead of sending the file to recipients, select “Invite People”. Type in the recipient's email address when prompted, then click “Send” to send the document editing invitation to the recipient
Step 6. Select the attachment type
You have two options to choose from:
- “Send a copy”: Select this option if the recipient of the document needs to edit or add content to the file.
- “Send a PDF”: Select this option if you don't want the document to be modified.
Step 7. Email the recipient
After selecting the attachment option, a new message window will open in your computer's main email management program (eg Outlook or Apple Mail). Enter the recipient's email address in the “To:” field, type a title line, and add a file description in the main message field.
To send a document to multiple people, separate each address with a comma (“,”)
Step 8. Click “Send”
The document will arrive at the recipient's email address in a few moments.
Tips
- Most online storage services feature sending documents via email or a mobile app. Shipping instructions for most services are usually similar.
- If you don't have Microsoft Word, you can use Microsoft Office Online. This service includes a free and up-to-date version of Word that is only accessible via the web.
