Sharing and editing together
Choose who can open and edit a spreadsheet, how one person edits at a time, comments on cells, version history, shared links and scheduled emails.
Who can open a spreadsheet
A new spreadsheet is yours only until you share it. Press Share:
- Who can open it: Only me and the people below, or Everyone with a Spreadsheet role - to view, or to edit.
- People: give each person Can view or Can edit. Viewers (the role) can only view.
Spreadsheets in a team folder are open to the whole team. Admins and Managers can change the sharing of every team spreadsheet; private spreadsheets stay private, even from Admins.
App data inside a spreadsheet is still shown to each person only as far as their own roles in those apps allow.
One editor at a time
One person edits a spreadsheet at a time, so nobody's work is lost. Anyone else who opens it sees "Name is editing now" and can look, scroll, filter and copy; editing opens for them by itself when that person finishes (closes the spreadsheet, or leaves it idle for a couple of minutes).
Comments
Select a cell and press the comment button (or Insert > Comment). Write, and @name someone to tell them. Cells with comments show an orange corner; point at one to read it. Reply, resolve when done, or delete your own. The Comments panel lists every comment of the spreadsheet; click one to go to its cell. The owner and people in the thread are told of new comments.
Version history
Every save is kept: File > Version history lists the versions, by person and time. Look opens one read-only; Restore brings it back (the version before stays in the history too). File > Name this version keeps a version with a name, like Budget sent to the bank - named versions are never removed.
How long unnamed versions are kept depends on the plan: 7 days on Free, 30 on Standard, a year on Professional, for ever on Business.
Shared links
Share > Shared links makes a link anyone can open without signing in. It shows a frozen copy - the values as they are now, with charts and formatting, but no formulas and no live app data. Press Update to refresh the copy. Add a password, an end date, or allow downloading as Excel. Turn a link off any time. Professional and up.
Scheduled emails
Share > Email on a schedule emails an Excel file of the spreadsheet every day, week or month, at the hour you choose, to up to 20 addresses. The file holds the numbers as they were when the spreadsheet was last saved, so open it now and then (or keep a dashboard on a screen) to keep app data fresh. Professional and up.