Google, with its sharing-friendly Google Drive, created a working environment to encourage collaboration across teams. It became super-easy to share spreadsheets, inviting colleagues to contribute at any time. Show
Though the sharing process is quite seamless, there is a powerful functionality behind it that is capable of supporting a great number of various scenarios. Needless to say, there are multiple ways to execute them. For example, sharing a tab in Google Sheets is not the same as sharing the whole spreadsheet, and sharing a document with a Google account holder can differ from sharing it with a person who doesn’t have one. In this blog post, I’ll cover all possible options and approaches of how you can share a Google sheet and a spreadsheet, giving precise instructions on how to do it. Table of Contents hide How to share a Google Sheets spreadsheet or workbook Google Sheets sharing permissions: how a spreadsheet is shared and managed How to get a shareable link to a file in Google Sheets What sheet will a user land on after I share a workbook in Google Sheets? How to share multiple Google Sheets files How to amend sharing settings for a person or group for a Google Sheets spreadsheet How to provide a link to a specific sheet (tab) in your Google Sheets workbook Google Sheets share only one tab without giving access to the whole spreadsheet Share a Google sheet with one user Share a single sheet of a Google spreadsheet with multiple users Ways to pull data from one Google sheet to another sheet or spreadsheet How to share Google Sheets with non-Gmail users Google Sheets is one of the best spreadsheet apps for collaboration, isn’t it? How to share a Google Sheets spreadsheet or workbookThe first step is to go to your Google Drive and find the spreadsheet you want to share. Then right-click on it. Alternatively, you can open the document first and then click the “Share” button located in the top-right corner. Once the “Share with people and groups” pop-up opens:
Google Sheets sharing permissions: how a spreadsheet is shared and managedGoogle supports three types of user permissions: Viewer, Commenter, and Editor. Where:
How to get a shareable link to a file in Google SheetsOnce you’ve shared your document, you may need to get a shared link to it. To find it, you may either locate your file in Google Drive, right-click on it and then select “Get link”. Or, you may open the document, navigate to the top-right corner and click “Share”. After the “Share with people and groups” pop-up opens, please:
Google allows you to pick between the following options:
What sheet will a user land on after I share a workbook in Google Sheets?By default, a user with whom you shared the link to a spreadsheet by either giving it to them or sending them an email notification (if you picked “Notify by name”), will land on the first sheet (tab) of your Google Sheets spreadsheet. How to Link Data Between Multiple Spreadsheets How to share multiple Google Sheets filesTo share multiple Google Sheets files, hold Shift on your keyboard and pick several files. Then right click on the selected area to call the sharing pop-up window. After that you can follow the steps described under “How to share a Google Sheets document (spreadsheet)” section of this article. How to amend sharing settings for a person or group for a Google Sheets spreadsheetTo change the sharing settings for a person, navigate to the “Share with people and groups”. Find the person for whom you want to make the changes. Then adjust their settings by selecting one of the options (Viewer, Commenter, or Editor), make the person an owner of the document, or Remove them from the list. In the “Get link” part of the pop-up window, you can also update group’s permissions, either by removing it and assigning the “Restricted” permissions, switching to the “Anyone with the link”, or keeping it and changing Viewer to Editor or Commenter rights. How to provide a link to a specific sheet (tab) in your Google Sheets workbookSometimes it is required to draw the user’s attention to a specific sheet in a shared spreadsheet, or make sure they land on a specific tab when opening the document (other than the first one that opens by default). To do it, navigate to the sheet you want a user to land on, then go to the address bar and copy the URL while staying on the sheet. This URL will have the following syntax, containing the GID number that corresponds to a unique number of a sheet, or a SheetID.
Here is an example of a link to a Google spreadsheet:
Where SpreadsheetID = 1q_Ch8q9ZesuSmHSmiBR-51w7n7wsri_hDXgAJLIipBI sheetID = 992289955 Google Sheets share only one tab without giving access to the whole spreadsheetBelow I’ll take a closer look at the two different use cases that people frequently ask about on forums. Both of them relate to a user’s need to share only one tab in Google Sheets. However, each of them has a unique condition that needs to be considered as well. So, below you’ll find possible solutions for both. Share a Google sheet with one userFor example, I have a spreadsheet that consists of three tabs (Sheet 1, Sheet 2, and Sheet 3). What I want is to share only one tab in Google Sheets (Sheet 3) with my colleague. To share a Google sheet, follow these steps:
Note: If you only hide the sheet, the user with Editor permissions will be able to unhide, edit and share it.
As a result, the user will be only able to edit “Sheet 3” while the others will be protected and hidden from them. If they try to open it, they will get the following error message. Share a single sheet of a Google spreadsheet with multiple usersWhat if I need to share separate sheets of my spreadsheet with three different users, allowing them to view only one tab that was specifically shared with them? My suggestion would be:
Ways to pull data from one Google sheet to another sheet or spreadsheetA side case is when you need to not share a Google sheet, but import data from it. In this case, it is important not only to pull data from one sheet to another but also to have this data synchronized across both documents. To do it, you can use:
Google Sheets integration allows you to import data on a set schedule (for instance: every hour, on weekdays, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm). To set up this synchronization, you need to sign up to Coupler.io, click Add importer, and select Google Sheets as both the source and destination apps. Then execute the following steps:
Voila! You can run the import right away if you click Save and Run or you can automate data import on a schedule using the Automatic data refresh. There is an option to use Coupler.io as a Google Sheets add-on to have faster access to the tool in your spreadsheet. For this install it from the Google Workspace Marketplace and customize it as we described above.
You can also use Coupler.io to merge data from two or more different sheets into one. Basically, you perform a similar setup of the product, adding one more step to specify the sheets to join. Note:
Load data to Google Sheets from your source with just a few clicks How to share Google Sheets with non-Gmail usersAccording to Google’s help materials, it’s possible to switch on the “Visitor sharing” option for your organization. By doing so, visitors can view, comment or edit your document for 7 days (once verifying their email). To switch on this sharing option, please communicate with your Google account administrator. If you don’t want to share documents with visitors, then I would recommend following these instructions when sharing files with non-Google account users:
Google Sheets is one of the best spreadsheet apps for collaboration, isn’t it?I hope that you’ve managed to find the best way to share a Google sheet or spreadsheet. However, when doing so, be attentive, since you may either open a document publicly or to a Google group without any intention of doing so. Make sure you can also trust the person you share your file with. A good practice is to create a backup version of your master spreadsheet in order to protect your data from damage or loss. How do I create a shared Google Doc?Select the file you want to share.. Click Share or Share .. Under “General access” click the Down arrow .. Choose Anyone with the link.. To decide what role people will have, select Viewer, Commenter, or Editor.. Click Copy link.. Click Done.. Paste the link in an email or any place you want to share it.. Can multiple users edit Google Sheets at the same time?Up to 100: You can let up to 100 people with view, edit, or comment permissions work on a Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides file at the same time.
How do I allow others to edit a Google sheet?Open the required Google Sheet and click on the Share button at the top. From the sharing window that appears, click on 'Change to anyone with the link' under Get link section. By default, the permission level is set to Viewer mode in this case. Click on the Viewer box and select Editor.
Can multiple people own a Google sheet?You can invite another person with a personal Google Account to take ownership of your files and folders. You can't invite another person with a work or school account to take ownership of your files or folders. The person you invite to own the file or folder must accept your request to complete the transfer.
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