---
title: "Create and co-edit collaborative documents in the Drive"
description: "Create text documents, spreadsheets, and slideshows in the Drive and co-edit them in real time with your group, using the built-in collaborative editor."
category: collaboration
section: drive-and-files
type: Tutorial
lastUpdated: 2026-08-26
locale: en
canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/collaboration/collaborative-documents-in-the-drive
---

# Create and co-edit collaborative documents in the Drive


You create collaborative documents, spreadsheets, and slideshows directly from the Drive, then edit them online with the members of your group at the same time. Three create buttons in the Drive header open a blank text document, spreadsheet, or slideshow in the collaborative editor. Every change is saved automatically as you type, and existing Microsoft Office and OpenDocument files open in the same editor.

**Prerequisites:** The three create buttons appear in the Drive header only when collaborative documents are enabled for your organisation, your plan includes them, and you are a member of the group with permission to add files to its Drive. When you lack the group permission, the buttons are greyed out with the tooltip **Restricted to group managers**.

> **Note:** The document editor itself is a third-party collaborative editor embedded in Talkspirit. Its toolbar, menus, and labels are provided by that editor, so the exact wording can differ from this article and can change when the editor updates. The steps that stay inside Talkspirit (creating, naming, and storing a document) are described exactly.

## How do I create a collaborative document?

1. Open the **Drive** from the left navigation.
2. In the Drive header, open the **+ New** menu and choose **New document**, **New spreadsheet**, or **New slideshow**.
3. If no group is selected yet, choose the group and folder in the **Choose a group** window, then click **Ok**.
4. The document opens in a new browser tab with the default title **Untitled document**.
5. Click the title field in the top banner to rename the document.

![The + New menu open in the General group Drive header, showing New document, New spreadsheet, and New slideshow at the top](/images/collaboration/collaborative-documents-in-the-drive/drive-create-buttons.png)

## How does real-time co-editing work?

Several members of the group edit the same document at the same time. Each connected person is shown by an avatar in the top-right banner of the editor, and changes are saved automatically, so you can close the tab at any time without losing work.

The collaborative editor adds change tracking, comments, and version history from its own toolbar. Change tracking marks each person's edits for review, comments let you discuss a selection and resolve the thread, and version history lets you compare earlier states and restore a previous version.

## Which files can I open and edit?

Click a supported file in the Drive to open it in the collaborative editor. Talkspirit converts it to the matching collaborative format for editing:

- **Text documents:** `.doc`, `.docx`, `.odt`, `.rtf`, `.txt`, `.html`
- **Spreadsheets:** `.xls`, `.xlsx`, `.xltx`, `.csv`, `.ods`, `.ots`
- **Slideshows:** `.ppt`, `.pptx`, `.odp`, `.gslide`

Changes you make are saved back to the file in the Drive, so you do not download and re-upload it to share updates. You can also download a collaborative document to a Microsoft Office format from the editor.

## Where are collaborative documents stored?

Every collaborative document is stored in the Drive of the group you created it in, alongside the group's other files. Creating one from a personal space stores it in **My Drive** instead. Access follows the group's Drive rules: members of the group can open and edit the document, and it supports the same actions as any other file, including rename, move, copy, download, and copy link.

## Next steps

- [My Drive on Talkspirit](/en/collaboration/my-drive-on-talkspirit)
- [Moving and sharing a document from the Drive](/en/collaboration/move-and-share-a-document-from-the-drive)
- [Drive rights management](/en/collaboration/drive-rights-management)