How to Share Google Sheets with Permissions and Comments

Collaboration is one of the strongest features of Google Sheets. You can share your spreadsheet with colleagues, clients, or friends and control what they can do—whether it's just viewing, commenting, or editing. In this post, you'll learn how to:

• Share Google Sheets with others
• Set specific permissions (Viewer, Commenter, Editor)
• Add and resolve comments for real-time collaboration

📤 How to Share a Google Sheet

Follow these steps to share your Google Sheet with anyone:

1. Open the Google Sheet you want to share.
2. Click on the green Share button in the top-right corner.
3. In the popup, enter the email address of the person you want to share it with.
4. Choose the role you want to assign:
   • Viewer: Can only view the file.
   • Commenter: Can view and comment, but not edit.
   • Editor: Can make changes to the file.
5. Click Send. They'll receive an email notification.

Tip: To share with a wider audience, click “Anyone with the link” and assign permissions accordingly.

🔒 Understanding Google Sheets Permissions

There are three primary levels of access you can grant:

• Viewer – Ideal for clients or stakeholders who only need to see the data.
• Commenter – Useful when you want feedback but want to prevent edits.
• Editor – Best for team members who need to make direct changes.

💬 Using Comments for Collaboration

Instead of emailing back and forth, you can comment directly inside the Sheet:

1. Select the cell you want to comment on.
2. Click Insert > Comment or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + M.
3. Type your message and click Comment.
4. Others can reply to or resolve the comment once addressed.

@mention Tip: Use @username to tag someone directly in the comment—they’ll be notified by email.

📁 Share Settings & Restrictions

You can also manage more advanced sharing settings:

• Restrict download, print, or copy for viewers/commenters.
• Prevent editors from changing permissions.
• Remove access at any time by clicking on the “Share” button and modifying user permissions.

🔍 Best Practices for Sharing Sheets

• Always double-check permission levels before sharing.
• Use comments to request clarification or approve updates.
• Create a version backup before giving edit access.

📥 Free PDF Guide

• Download Google Sheets Sharing Guide PDF

🔗 Related Tutorials

• How to Track Changes and Version History in Google Sheets
• Using Google Sheets Offline
• Keyboard Shortcuts in Google Sheets

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Tags: google sheets sharing, google sheets permissions, comment feature in sheets, collaboration in google sheets, google docs sharing options, sheets access levels