Google Sheets Advanced

How to share a Google Sheet with others and give access permissions so that multiple users can work on it at the same time?

✅ Steps to Share a Google Sheet with Others:

1. Open Google Sheets

Go to https://sheets.google.com and open the sheet you want to share.

2. Click the "Share" Button

In the top-right corner, click the blue "Share" button.

3. Enter Email Addresses

In the “Share with people and groups” box, type the email addresses of the people you want to share with.

4. Set Permissions

Click the dropdown next to each email address and choose:

Viewer – can only view
Commenter – can view and comment
Editor – can edit and work on the sheet

5. (Optional) Add a Message

You can write a message to notify them about the sheet.
6. Click "Send"
After setting permissions, click Send to share the sheet.

✅ To Allow Anyone with the Link to Access:

Click "Share"
At the bottom, click “Anyone with the link”
Change the permission (Viewer, Commenter, Editor)
Click “Copy link” and share it

✅ Now Multiple Users Can Work Together:

When shared as Editor, all users can work on the sheet at the same time.
You can see who else is working live via their profile icons on the top-right.

How to Prevent Editors from Sharing or Changing Access Permissions?

Step 1: Open Your Google Sheet

Go to https://sheets.google.com and open your shared sheet.

Step 2: Click the “Share” Button

Located in the top-right corner.

Step 3: Click the ⚙️ Gear Icon (Settings)

In the sharing dialog, find and click the gear icon in the top-right of the popup.

Step 4: Disable Editor Permissions

Uncheck both options:
- ✅ Editors can change permissions
- ✅ Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy

This ensures that only the owner can share or modify access.

Step 5: Click “Done” to Save Settings

🔒 Result:

Now, editors can still edit the content of the sheet, but:

They cannot change share settings
They cannot invite others
They cannot remove others
They cannot transfer ownership

How to See Who Made Changes in Google Sheets?

To track changes made by an Editor in Google Sheets, you can use the built-in Version History feature.

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Open your Google Sheet
2. Click on File in the top menu
3. Select Version history → then click “See version history”

4. On the right side, you’ll see:

A list of timestamps
The names of editors who made changes

5. Click any version to:

Highlight changes
See what was added, removed, or edited

6. (Optional) Click “Restore this version” to go back to that state

🔄 Shortcut:

You can also press:
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + H (on Windows)
Cmd + Option + Shift + H (on Mac)

🧠 Tip:

You must have edit access or be the owner to view version history.
Google Sheets automatically tracks all changes.

How to open and use the Explore feature in Google Sheets?

✅ How to Open the Explore Tool in Google Sheets

1. Open your Google Sheet where you want to use Explore.

2. At the bottom-right corner of the screen, you’ll see a small star-shaped icon or the word “Explore”.

3. Click on “Explore”.

🛠️ How to Use the Explore Tool

Once open, Explore offers several powerful features:

1. Automatic Analysis

Explore automatically analyzes your data and shows:
- Quick insights
- Trends
- Summaries (like totals, averages, etc.)

2. Ask Questions in Natural Language

You can type a question like:
- “What is the total sales?”
- “Average of column B?”
Google Sheets will give you answers instantly with formulas or charts.

3. Suggested Charts

It suggests graphs and charts based on your data.
Click on a chart to insert it directly into your sheet.

4. Pivot Tables & Formatting Suggestions

Explore may also suggest pivot tables for deeper analysis.
You may see formatting suggestions to make your data more readable.

💡 Tip:

If Explore is not visible, make sure you have some data selected or added to your sheet. It works best with organized tables or numerical data.

How to lock a range or entire sheet in Google Sheets?

✅ To Lock a Range (Specific Cells)

1. Select the range of cells you want to lock (e.g., A1:C10).

2. Right-click on the selected cells and click “Protect range…”

OR go to the menu: Data > Protect sheets and ranges

3. A sidebar will appear on the right. Add a description (optional), then click “Set permissions.”

4. In the “Range editing permissions”:

Choose “Only you” if you want to lock it for everyone else.
Or select “Custom” to allow specific people to edit.

5. Click Done.

✅ To Lock the Entire Sheet

1. Click on the sheet tab (bottom-left) you want to protect.
2. Go to Data > Protect sheets and ranges.
3. In the sidebar, select the “Sheet” tab.
4. Choose the correct sheet from the dropdown if needed.

5. Click “Set permissions”, then choose:

Only you
Or select specific people who can edit.

7. Click Done.

⚠️ Important Notes:

Locking doesn’t stop others from viewing the sheet—only editing.
To fully restrict access, change the sharing settings from File > Share.

How to make a duplicate copy of a Google Sheet or share it with another user?

✅ How to Make a Duplicate (Copy) of a Google Sheet

1. Open the Google Sheet you want to copy.
2. Click on File > Make a copy.

3. A dialog box will appear:

Give the copy a new name.
Choose the folder/location in Google Drive.

4. Click OK.

✅ This creates a new, separate file that you own and can edit freely.

✅ How to Share a Google Sheet with Another User

1. Open the Google Sheet.

2. Click the “Share” button in the top-right corner.

3. Enter the email address of the person you want to share with.

4. Choose their permission level:

Viewer – Can only view
Commenter – Can comment
Editor – Can edit

5. (Optional) Add a message.

6. Click Send.

🔐 Tip:

If you want to share a view-only copy, but allow them to make their own version:

Share as Viewer, and tell them to go to File > Make a copy.

✅ Steps to Create a “Copy” Link for Google Sheets

1. Open your Google Sheet.
2. Click the “Share” button (top-right).

3. Under “General access”, change to:

Anyone with the link
Set permission to Viewer (so they can’t edit your original).

4. Click Copy link.

✏️ Now Modify the Link

The link will look like this:

Before:- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mT62Ut_rpRY/edit?usp=sharing

After:- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mT62Ut_rpRY/copy

Before:- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mT62Ut_rpRY/edit?usp=sharing

After:- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mT62Ut_rpRY/template/preview

How to set Notification Rules in Google Sheets so that you get a notification when someone edits a shared sheet?

✅ Steps to Set Notification Rules in Google Sheets

1. Open the Google Sheet

Go to Google Sheets and open the sheet you’ve shared with others.

2. Click on the “Tools” menu

At the top menu bar, click on Tools.

3. Select “Notification rules”

In the dropdown, click on Notification rules…

4. Choose when to receive notifications

You’ll see two main options:

“Any changes are made” – You’ll be notified whenever someone edits the sheet.
“A user submits a form” – Only for Sheets linked to Google Forms.

5. Choose how often to receive notifications

Email – right away (you get an immediate email after each change)
Daily digest (you get one email per day with a summary of all changes)

6. Click “Save” After setting your preference, click Save and then Done.

📬 Example Notification Email

You’ll receive an email with details like:

"Change made to your spreadsheet
User John Doe edited cell B3 on June 14 at 3:12 PM."

How to Use Publish to the Web in Google Sheets?

1. Open your Google Sheet
Go to Google Sheets and open the desired file.
2. Click on “File” in the top menu
3. Select “Share” → Click on “Publish to the web”

4. Choose what you want to publish

Entire Document or a specific sheet
Optionally, choose Web page or CSV, PDF, etc.

5. Click “Publish”
Confirm by clicking OK when prompted.

6. Copy the public link or embed code

You can share this link or
Click on Embed to get HTML code for websites.

📌 Notes:

Changes you make to the sheet will be reflected automatically in the published version.
Viewers cannot edit the published version.
You can stop publishing anytime.

What is “Create New Filter View” in Google Sheets?

"Create New Filter View" is a feature in Google Sheets that lets you filter and sort data in a spreadsheet without affecting what others see. It’s useful when you're collaborating and want to temporarily look at data in a certain way without disrupting others.

📌 When to Use Filter View:

You want to sort/filter data only for yourself (not all users)
You're working on shared spreadsheets
You want to save custom filtered views to come back to later
You need to analyze specific rows/columns without changing the master data

✅ How to Use Create New Filter View (Step-by-Step):

1. Open your Google Sheet
2. Click on “Data” in the top menu
3. Select “Filter Views” → Click “Create new filter view”

4. A black border will appear around your data.
Now you can:

Click on filter icons in the column headers
Apply filters (e.g., sort A–Z, show only values > 100)

5. Name your filter view (top-left corner)
6. When done, just close the filter view tab (it will be saved automatically)
7. You can return to it anytime via:
Data > Filter views > [Your Saved Filter View Name]

Importance
I hope that you have now clearly understood all the information I provided about Google Sheets Advanced. If you have any doubts about this article, feel free to let me know by leaving a comment below. If you liked this article, please share it on your social networks.