How to Share Google Sheets

Updated July 01, 2019

Google Sheets is Google's free online spreadsheet application. If you're already familiar with Microsoft Excel, you'll feel comfortable in the Google Sheets environment, as the two programs are very similar.

However, one big difference is that Google Sheets makes it easy to collaborate and share information. This ability is useful for distributed workgroups, or for co-workers with different schedules. This feature can also be used by teachers or other organizers who want to distribute information that's best presented in spreadsheet format.

How to Share a Google Sheets File

Sharing a Google Sheets file is easy. You add the email addresses of your invitees, include a note, then send the invitation. You can determine whether recipients may just view your spreadsheet, or also comment on, or edit it.

When you share a Google Sheet file, all invitees must have a Google account before they can view it. Creating a Google account is easy and free. If invitees don't have an account, a link on the Google login page takes them to the account registration page.

Log in to Google Sheets and create or open the spreadsheet you want to share.
In the top-right corner of the screen, select Share.
In the Share with others dialog box, add the email addresses of the people you want to invite to view, comment on, or edit your Google Sheets file.
Next to the email address field, select the pencil icon and choose one of the three options: Can edit, Can comment, or Can view.

You choice will depend on how much you want recipients to be able to interact with the file. Can edit means the recipients can make changes to the file. Can comment means they can't change anything, but can make comments. Can view means they can only view the file without making any changes or comments.
Add a note to accompany the invitation.
Select Send.
Alternatively, open your Google Sheets file, select Share, and choose Get shareable link. The link is copied to your clipboard, and you can paste it into an email message to send to recipients that way.
To stop sharing a Google Sheets file, select Share. In the Share with others dialog box, in the bottom-right corner, select Advanced.
In the Sharing settings dialog box, select the X next to the name of the person you want to remove.
In the Sharing settings dialog box you can also share your file via Gmail, Facebook, or Twitter.