When you share a sheet with someone, you can specify the sharing permission level with Viewer, Editor, or Admin level access to it. The permission level determines the features available to a collaborator for the item you're sharing (a sheet, report, or workspace for example). If you create an item, you are the Owner of that item.
If you are looking for information about sharing permission levels for sharing a dashboard, please see Sharing a Smartsheet Dashboard.
The sharing permission level on a sheet isn't related to your account user type. For example, it's possible to be a System Admin on a Business or Enterprise account with only Viewer-level sharing access to a particular sheet; or, you could be a free collaborator with Admin-level sharing access to a sheet.
To learn more about the difference between user types and permission levels, review our help article on User Types.
Some features listed here are available only to licensed customers. Not sure whether you have a license? See Identify Your Smartsheet Plan and User Type.
Sharing Permission Levels on Sheets
Sheet Management
| Available Options | Viewer | Editor | Admin | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View all sheet data, including comments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit unlocked rows and columns in a sheet | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit cells in locked columns or rows | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Insert rows | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Insert, rename & delete columns, change column properties* |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Move columns within a sheet* | No | No | Yes | Yes |
|
Hide or unhide columns* |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Move rows within a sheet | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Move rows to another sheet Learn more > |
No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Lock or unlock columns and rows* |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Delete unlocked rows | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Edit conditional formatting rules* |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Enable or disable Highlight Changes in a sheet or report | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Export a sheet or report |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sort unlocked rows and freeze columns without saving | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sort locked rows | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Save changes after sorting rows or freezing columns | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Add new attachments and comments in a sheet or report | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Download attachments in a sheet or report | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Filter data in sheets with the "Unnamed Filter" | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Name filters to save them | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apply saved filters (not available for Pro plan) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create, edit, and delete shared filters (not available for Pro plan)* | No | No | Yes | Yes |
|
Use the Save as New command to save the sheet as a new sheet* |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Save a sheet as a template* |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Rename a sheet or report |
No | No | No | Yes |
|
Delete a sheet or report/restore a deleted sheet or report |
No | No | No | Yes |
NOTE: Any collaborator with Admin access to a workspace will also have the ability to delete and re-name the sheets it contains. If a sheet is deleted from a workspace, it's recoverable for 30 days from the Admin and sheet owner's Deleted Items folder.
*Available only to licensed users
Collaboration
| Available Options | Viewer | Editor | Admin | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share a sheet or report | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Change the sharing permissions of other collaborators (for example, from Editor to Admin) | No | No | Yes | Yes |
|
Send a sheet or report via email to self or others |
Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Send rows via email to self or others* | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
|
Publish a sheet or report (business and enterprise accounts only)* |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
|
Create and manage forms* |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Send and edit Update Requests* | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
*Available only to licensed users
Automation
| Available Options | Viewer | Editor | Admin | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Create and edit own row-level reminders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create and edit sheet-level reminders for self or others* | No | No | Yes | Yes |
|
Create and edit automated workflows (e.g., notifications, approval requests, and automated update requests)* (Can disable or delete any automated workflows for themselves) |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
*Available only to licensed users
Project Management
| Available Options | Viewer | Editor | Admin | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Enable dependencies on a project sheet* |
No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Edit dependency settings* | No | No | Yes | Yes |
*Available only to licensed users
Reports
| Available Options | Viewer | Editor | Admin | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View all report data in all columns, including comments (if user is also shared to the underlying source sheets) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Refresh and run the report to update its content | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Edit unlocked rows and columns (if user also has editing permission in the source sheets) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Freeze columns | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Modify the Report Builder criteria* | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Sort the report* | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Rearrange columns | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Add and remove columns* | No | No | Yes | Yes |
*Available only to licensed users
Reports in Workspaces
Anyone with Admin-permissions to a workspace will have the ability to delete and re-name the reports it contains. If a report is deleted from a workspace it's recoverable for 30 days from the Admin and sheet owner's Deleted Items folder.