Collaborate in Sheets

On this page

• Share spreadsheets
• Add comments and assign tasks
• Email collaborators
• Switch to an earlier version or name a version
• Create filters and filter views
• Protect content
• Limit sharing, downloading, printing, or copying
• Set an expiration date for sharing
• See who’s viewed a spreadsheet

Share spreadsheets

Excel:  Share workbook

Sheets:  Share with specific people or using a link

Excel 2013   Excel 2010

Share with specific people: Open the file you want to share (that you own or have edit access to). Click Share. Enter the email addresses or groups that you want to share with. Choose what kind of access you want to give people: Editor, Commenter, or Viewer. Click Send. Share using a link: Open the file and click Share. Under Get link, click Copy link. (Optional) To change permissions, click Change, then choose Viewer, Commenter, or Editor. Copy and paste the link in an email or any place you want to share it. For more details, see Share files from Google Drive.

Add comments and assign tasks

Excel: Comment

Sheets: Add comments and assign tasks

Excel 2013   Excel 2010

In Docs, Sheets, or Slides, select the text you'd like to comment on. Click Add comment . Enter your comment in the box. (Optional) To direct your task or comment to a specific person, enter a plus sign (+) followed by their email address. You can add as many people as you want. Each person will get an email with your comment and a link to the file. (Optional) To assign the comment to a specific person, check the Assign to box. Click Comment or Assign. Note: If a file reaches the maximum number of comments, you can make a copy of the file without copying over any comments.

Email collaborators

Excel: Send as Attachment	Sheets: Email collaborators
Excel 2013 Excel 2010	To follow up on a conversation that’s too long for comments, email collaborators right from Sheets. Click FileEmail collaborators. (Optional) To remove a collaborator from the email, uncheck the box next to their name. Add a subject and message. (Optional) To send a copy of the email to yourself, check the Send a copy box. Click Send.

Switch to an earlier version or name a version

If you own the spreadsheet or have edit access to it, you can see past versions and restore them.

Sheets: See versions or restore a version:

1. Select FileVersion historySee version history.
2. (Optional) To see only named versions in the list, click Only show named versions.
3. Click a timestamp to see a previous version of the file.
   
   Below the timestamp, you’ll see:
   • The names of anyone who edited the document.
   • A color next to each person’s name. The edits they made appear in that color.
4. (Optional) To make the version the active version, click Restore this version.

Name a version:

1. Select FileVersion historyName current version.
2. Enter a name and click Save.

Create filters and filter views

Excel: Filters data

Sheets: Filters and filter views

Excel 2013   Excel 2010

To filter out data in a spreadsheet, create a filter. If you want filters that don’t affect anyone else’s view, create filter views. Create a filter: Select a range of cells. Click DataCreate a filter. Go to the top of the range and click Filter  to see the filter options. Create a filter view: Click a cell that has data. Click DataFilter viewsCreate new filter view. In a column header, click a list and select the data you want to filter. Or, in the search box, enter text to search for the data you want to filter. Click OK. In the Name box, enter a name for your filter view. Click DataFilter views to open your filter view anytime. For more information, see Sort & filter your data and Create, name, and save a filter view.

Protect content

Excel: Protect Sheet or Workbook

Sheets: Protected sheets and ranges

Excel 2013   Excel 2010

If you have sensitive content in a spreadsheet, you can restrict people from updating it. Open the sheet and click Data > Protected sheets and ranges. Click +Add a sheet or range. Click Range to protect a range of content or Sheet to protect a whole sheet. Click Set permissions and choose whether to show a warning or restrict who can edit the content. Click Done. For details, see Protect content in a spreadsheet.

Limit sharing, downloading, printing, or copying

Excel: Encrypt with Password	Sheets: Limit sharing options
Excel 2013   Excel 2010	If you have sensitive content in a spreadsheet, you can prevent people from downloading, printing, or copying it. At the top of the spreadsheet, click Share. At the bottom, click Advanced. Check the Disable options to download, print, & copy for commenters and viewers box. Click Done.

Set an expiration date for sharing

Sheets: Set sharing expirations

When you’re working with people outside of your organization, such as clients or agencies, you might want to restrict their access to certain files when your projects are complete.

Set an expiration date:

1. At the top of the spreadsheet, click Share.
2. If the file isn’t already shared, share it.
3. Click Advanced.
4. Hover over a person’s name and click Set expiration .
5. Change the access expiration date.

   Note: You can’t set the expiration for the current day. If you need to restrict access immediately, just unshare the file.

6. Click Save changesDone.

See who's viewed a spreadsheet

Sheets: See who's viewed a spreadsheet

In Sheets, if you have edit access to a spreadsheet, you can see:

• Who it’s shared with
• Who viewed it
• A chart of viewers over time

To see the Activity dashboard, at the top right, click Activity dashboard .

If you don’t want your view history to appear in the Activity dashboard, you can change the privacy settings.

               

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