How to Share a Google Sheet: People, Links and Settings

Sending a spreadsheet as an attachment is how you end up with Final, Final-2 and Final-really-this-one. Sharing the live Google Sheet means everyone sees the same version, and you stay in charge of who can change it.

The part that deserves care is the choice between letting named people in and handing out a link anyone can use. I'll take you through Google's own steps for both, then the settings I'd check before a client sees anything.

Sharing a Google Sheet with named people

This is the safest route and the one I'd use for clients and team members. Google's help describes it like this:

1. Open the sheet. You need to be its owner or have edit access.
2. Click Share.
3. Type the email addresses or groups you want to share with.
4. Choose a role: Editor, Commenter or Viewer.
5. Click Send.

Google can also send them an email about the file. Each person then gets exactly the role you picked, and nobody else gets in unless they're given the file another way.

What Viewer, Commenter and Editor mean for a shared Google Sheet

Picking the wrong role is the most common mistake. Google's Drive help sets out the difference:

Role	What Google's help says they can do
Viewer	Can view the file. Can't comment, edit or share. Download is on by default, and the owner can turn it off
Commenter	Can view and comment. Can't edit or share
Editor	Can view, comment, edit, download and share. Can't change the owner
File owner	Has all permissions

For a client who only needs to read a report, Viewer is right. If you want feedback on a content plan without people rewriting it, choose Commenter. Keep Editor for the people who really do maintain the data.

Sharing a Google Sheet with a link

A link is handy when you're sending something to a group or posting it somewhere. Google describes the quick way: click Share, click Copy link, then paste it into an email or wherever you want it.

What matters is the general access setting that sits behind that link. Google's help names two you'll meet most often:

• Restricted: only people with access can open the file.
• Anyone with the link: anyone who has the link can use your file without signing in.

Google also lists a Public option, where anyone can find the file through Google Search and open it without signing in. Unless you're deliberately publishing something, don't go near it. Also note that with link sharing your name and email address are visible as the owner.

Whenever a link is going to a prospect, I think about who might forward it. If the sheet holds anything private, share it with named people instead.

Stopping people from copying or downloading your Google Sheet

Google lets owners tighten things up after sharing. In the Share window, the Settings icon opens options under the heading 'People who can download, copy, and print'. Adjust the boxes there and click Done.

Google's Drive help also says advanced settings let owners stop editors from changing permissions or sharing, and stop viewers and commenters from downloading, printing or copying. If your sheet is a product list, a supplier list or a client database, I'd switch these on before you send it.

If you want to protect parts of the sheet from accidental edits even among editors, read my walkthrough of locking cells in Google Sheets.

Setting an end date on access to a shared Google Sheet

For a short project, you can give access an expiry. According to Google, after sharing you click the down arrow beside a person, choose Add expiration, set the date and click Save. Two catches: you can't set an expiration for the current day, and Google says expirations are available only for eligible work or school accounts.

To cut access straight away, unshare the file. Google says that's the way to remove access immediately.

Seeing who has opened your shared Google Sheet

Anyone with edit access can check activity. Google's help says to open Tools, then Activity dashboard, to see who the file is shared with and who has viewed it. It's useful when a client says they never received it, or when you want to know if the team has looked at the plan.

Limits worth knowing before you share a Google Sheet widely

Google's Drive help lists a few that matter for team and client sheets:

• A single file can be shared with up to 600 individual email addresses.
• If lots of people are in one document, it can crash or update slowly. Google suggests using a Google Form for feedback instead.
• A folder's access is inherited by the files inside it, and you can't give someone less access to a file than they have to its parent folder.
• Work or school accounts may be blocked from sharing files outside their organisation.

If you share sheets with clients, my guide on sharing your LinkedIn profile with clients and leads pairs well with it, because a tidy handover includes both.

If someone says they can't open your shared Google Sheet

1. Check the email address you used. A typo or a different Google account is the usual cause.
2. Check the general access setting. If it's Restricted, only people you added can open it.
3. Ask them to sign in with the account you shared with.
4. Look at the role. A Viewer can't edit, so a request to change something needs Editor.
5. If your organisation limits outside sharing, ask your admin.

Frequently asked questions

How do I share a Google Sheet with someone?

Open the sheet, click Share, type their email address, choose Editor, Commenter or Viewer and click Send. You need to be the owner or have edit access.

How do I share a Google Sheet with a link?

Click Share, then Copy link, and paste the link where you want it. Check the general access setting first: Restricted limits it to people with access, while Anyone with the link lets anyone use it.

What is the difference between Viewer, Commenter and Editor?

Viewers can only look, Commenters can look and comment, and Editors can edit, download and share too. The owner has all permissions.

Can I stop people downloading or copying my sheet?

Yes. Click Share, open the Settings icon and adjust the boxes under 'People who can download, copy, and print', then click Done.

Can I make sharing expire?

On eligible work or school accounts, click the down arrow beside a person, choose Add expiration, set the date and click Save. You can't set it for the current day.