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.
In this article:
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 multi-user 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 permissions and account user types, see the visual guide Infographic: User Types and Sharing Permissions Explained or 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 in single-user plan types) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Create, edit, and delete shared filters (not available in single-user plan types)* | 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.