In this article we will show you how to share individual tabs in Google Sheets instead of an entire workbook in just a few simple steps. While there is no method in Google Sheets to share just one tab effectively there are workarounds we can apply.
There are two main workarounds we can apply to share only one tab in Google Sheets.
This method allows both parties to edit the data and is applied by copying data into a new worksheet and sharing the worksheet with others. Using this method also copies any formatting applied to cells to the new sheet.
For the purposes of the below demonstration, example workbooks were created. Access these and follow along by clicking the links below:
At the bottom of the display are the tabs contained in the worksheet. Click the tab you want to share which will select it.
In the below example we will click the table labelled Sheet2.
Click any empty cell in the sheet and press Ctrl + A (Cmd ⌘ + A on Mac).
Alternatively you can click the grey box located at the top left of the sheet above row 1 and next to column A.
With all the cells selected you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl (Cmd ⌘ on Mac) + C to copy the data.
Alternatively click Edit from the file menu and select Copy from the displayed menu.
From the file menu at the top of the display click File to display the menu. Select New and from the side menu choose Spreadsheet.
Press Ctrl (Cmd ⌘ on Mac) + V to paste the data into the new sheet. Alternatively clicking Edit from the file menu followed by Paste will achieve the same result.
The data from the original tab will now be pasted and displayed in the new workbook.
Click the green Share button located at the top right of the display.
The sharing options pop up menu will now display. In the section labelled General access click the dropdown option labelled Restricted and select Anyone with the link from the menu.
To change the access permissions of anybody with the link select the dropdown options located in the right hand side of the General access section. There are three options for access permissions:
Viewer: Allows anybody with the link to view the workbook only, they will not be able to comment or make any changes to the data.
Commenter: Grants any user with the link the ability to view the data and make comments however they are not able to edit the data in any way.
Editor: Grants edit access to users with the link. They can view, make comments and edit the data. Any changes to the data will reflect to any other users with access.
Click the Copy link button to copy the link to send to the user. Click Done to apply the changes. Any users you send the link to will now have access to the workbook.
Note that any further changes to the original workbook (workbook1 in this example) will not be reflected in the new workbook.
By using IMPORTRANGE in a new workbook we can share a tab that can share updates when changes are made to the original spreadsheet. Note that this method does not support editing on the new workbook as it will break the IMPORTRANGE function so is only advisable for viewing of data only.
For the purposes of the below demonstration, example workbooks were created. Access these and follow along by clicking the links below:
Click the tab to share on the original worksheet selecting it. Then copy the full URL from the address bar in your web browser. The URL starts with “https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets…..”
In the below example we will select Sheet3 from Workbook1 as this is the tab we want to share. We will then copy the entire URL from the top of the window.
Create a new workbook in Google Sheets, in the new workbook select cell A1 in the top left of the display.
In the selected cell enter the formula in the following format:
=IMPORTRANGE(“URL”,“SheetName!A:Z”)
Formula Breakdown:
IMPORTRANGE: This function is used to import a data range from another worksheet in Google Sheets.
URL: This is the website address of the original worksheet copied in the previous step. This needs to be encapsulated in double quotations (“ ”).
SheetName!: The name of the sheet where the data is located in the workbook to be referenced followed by the exclamation point (!). This needs to match the name of the sheet exactly. In our example this would be Sheet3!
A:Z: This is the range of cells of the tab to share, A:Z ensures the entire tab range is stated.
In our example below we can see the formula is:
=IMPORTRANGE("https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qCpyeTwQ6oWqaE6HtZqHrS-gVLd1gI7ORvqwd9T7OXk/edit#gid=0","Sheet3!A:Z")
With the IMPORTRANGE formula entered press enter, you may see that the cell displays #REF!, this appears when attempting to access a worksheet for the first time. Click the cell to see a pop up message requesting access. Click Allow access
The data will now populate on the workbook, note that only the data is populated. Any formatting to the cells is not included in the import.
Click the green Share button located at the top right of the workbook.
The sharing options menu will display, in the section labelled General access click the drop down menu next to the padlock symbol, by default this will be set to Restricted. Select Anyone with the link from the drop down menu.
When Anyone with the link has been selected you will see a new dropdown menu appear to the right side of the General access section. These options are the access permissions that are applied to anybody accessing the workbook using the link.
These access permissions are:
Viewer: The link recipient will be able to view the data in the tab however they cannot edit or comment.
Commenter: The recipient is granted commenting access, they can view and comment on the workbook but will not be able to edit data. Comments will not break the IMPORTRANGE formula.
Editor: The link recipient can view, comment on or edit the data. Note: This is NOT recommended for this method as editing the data at all breaks the IMPORTRANGE.
Because any edits to the data will break the IMPORTRANGE formula in the below example we will select Commentor.
Click on the Copy link button, this will copy the link to the workbook. Now click the blue Done button. Share the link with the relevant people via any text based method, they will be able to use the link to access the tab.
