Automagic Copy Command With Google Apps

One reason Google Apps are great for the classroom is because how easy it is to share documents with students.  Teachers sharing documents for students to edit have a few ways to give edit rights. One way shared online by Trevor Beck provides a nice shortcut that works well in some situations.

A Google Draw document I want to share with my students has been shared using the URL:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1OQ3sL7dTjq4pa8BGOl8wtSXY4jZhyxTVgr0nCdlzhEU/edit?usp=sharing

Notice the word edit near the end of the URL.  Copy the entire URL, but replace the word edit with the word copy.    The new URL:
https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1OQ3sL7dTjq4pa8BGOl8wtSXY4jZhyxTVgr0nCdlzhEU/copy?usp=sharing

Now, when you share this new URL with students, the first thing they see is:

Students have no choice but to make a copy of the shared document and the teacher does not have to worry about students remembering to make a copy first.  Keep in mind, students must be logged into their Google Drive accounts before the copy will take place.

This tip is much less important if the teacher is using Google Classroom, uses group addressing to share or trained students already about File-Make a copy in Google Apps. Still, it's a neat trick.