Learn about Smartsheet user types.
User type and permission level both impact how you can interact with Smartsheet.
Account-Level User Types for Multi-User Plans
Your user type designates what you can and can't do with your Smartsheet account.
NOTE: Your user type is NOT related to the access you have in sheets. Your sharing permission level (Viewer, Editor, or Admin) designates what you can and can't do within a sheet and may vary from sheet to sheet. For more information about sharing permission levels, see Sharing Permission Levels.
The features here are not available for single-user plan types. Not sure which plan type you have? See Identify Your Smartsheet Plan and User Type.
System Admin
System Admins are designated to manage users and adjust settings for everyone in the account.
Details on this are available in the Managing Users in a Multi-User Plan help article.
A System Admin does NOT need to have a license.
Group Admin
Group Admins are able to create and manage groups (for more on groups see: Create and Manage Smartsheet Contact Groups) based on contacts in their Smartsheet Contact List (see the Contact List article for more info). Anyone on the account can share and send information to the groups created by the Admin.
A Group Admin needs to also have a license.
Resource Viewer
Resource Viewers are able to track everyone in the account's allocation percentage across all sheets. A Resource Viewer needs to have a user license under a Business or Enterprise account. (More information on this feature is available in the Resource Views help article.)
While a license is required to become a Resource Viewer, everyone on the account (both licensed and unlicensed users) can be tracked as a resource by the Resource Viewer.
Licensed User
The number of licensed users available to your account will vary by account type:
- An Individual account has only one licensed user: the licensed user is the owner of the account.
- A Business or Enterprise account can have multiple licensed users. Any System Admin can assign licenses from the User Management form.
- If you are participating in a 30-day free trial you are also considered a licensed user.
Capabilities that involve creating, owning, administering, or driving a process, program, or project in Smartsheet require a paid license. For example, a license is required to do the following:
- Create and own sheets and templates (the number of sheets that you can create and will depend on your plan type)
- Create, own, and manage reports
- Create workspaces
- Publish sheets, reports, and dashboards
- Insert and delete columns*
- Change column properties*
- Hide/unhide columns*
- Create and modify forms*
- Lock columns and rows*
- Create and edit update requests, automated actions, and workflows
- Create sheet-level reminders, and row reminders for other users
- Request backups of sheets
- Obtain Resource Viewer or Group Admin access on a Enterprise or Business account
- View Activity Log
- Create, delete and edit shared filters
- Create conditional formatting rules
- Send rows
- Edit project settings
* These activities require Owner- or Admin-level sharing permissions to the sheet.
Free User
Free users (Unlicensed Users and Free Collaborators) are important participants in collaborating on the work you manage in Smartsheet. Free users can view, edit, and update sheets and reports within the platform. (Creating, owning, administering, or driving a process, program, or project in Smartsheet requires a paid license.)
If a free user is shared to a sheet as an Admin, they won't be able to create and manage forms on the sheet or insert, rename, delete, hide/unhide, move or change the properties of columns. These features are only available to the sheet owner and licensed users with Admin sharing permissions.
For a full list of permissions available to licensed users, see the Licensed User section above.
Unlicensed User
Unlicensed users are part of a Business or Enterprise account but aren't able to create or own sheets. An unlicensed user doesn't count against the user limit of the account.
Resource Viewers can track tasks assigned to these users, and System Admins can manage their accounts as described above. Unlicensed users can access shared sheets as Viewers (read-only), Editors (edit cell data), or Admins (manage the sheet), and can even re-share them depending on the sharing access level they were assigned.
To add an unlicensed user to a Business or Enterprise account, uncheck the Licensed User box when sending the invitation. Learn more about Managing Users in a Multi-User Plan.
Free Collaborator
Free collaborators can be shared on any amount of sheets, but they can't create their own. They can access shared sheets as Viewers (read-only), Editors (edit cell data), or Admins (manage the sheet), and can even re-share them depending on the sharing access level they were assigned.
Connector-Specific User Types
If your organization has purchased Smartsheet for Jira or Smartsheet for Salesforce Connectors, any System Admin can control who can access the respective Connector.
These user types are only available to people that have purchased the Salesforce or Jira Connector. (More information on the Connectors can be found here.)
Smartsheet for Jira User Types
Smartsheet System Admins can control what level of access someone has to the Smartsheet for Jira Connector, if any. Check out Smartsheet for Jira for more information on the Connector.
You must be a licensed user in Smartsheet and have a Jira account in order to use the Smartsheet for Jira Connector.
Jira Connector Admin
Jira Connector Admins are designated by a Smartsheet System Admin to install and configure Smartsheet for Jira.
A Jira Connector Admin can:
- Set up Smartsheet for Jira by connecting the Jira host with Smartsheet, assuming you are also an administrator in the Jira application. Check out the Smartsheet for Jira Connector article for more information.
- Designate others in the Smartsheet account as Jira Users.
- Troubleshoot any workflows created by Jira Users by disabling them.
Jira Connector User
Smartsheet for Jira Connector Users can create workflows with Smartsheet for Jira that synchronize information between the two applications.
See Smartsheet for Jira Connector: Creating and Editing Synchronization Workflows for more information on creating workflows with this Connector.
Smartsheet for Salesforce User Types
Smartsheet System Admins can control what level of access someone has to the Smartsheet for Salesforce Connector, if any. See Smartsheet for Salesforce for more information on the connector.
You must be a licensed user in Smartsheet and have a Salesforce account in order to use the Smartsheet for Salesforce Connector.
Salesforce Connector Admin
Salesforce Connector Admins are designated by a Smartsheet System Admin to configure the Connector.
As a Salesforce Connector Admin, you can:
- Set up Smartsheet for Salesforce by connecting your Salesforce host with Smartsheet (you must also be an administrator in Salesforce). Check out Smartsheet for Salesforce Connector: Admin Setup for more information.
- Designate others in the Smartsheet account as Salesforce Connector Users.
- Troubleshoot any workflows created by Salesforce Connector Users by disabling them.
Salesforce Connector User
Smartsheet for Salesforce Connector Users can create workflows with the Salesforce Connector that synchronize information between the two applications.
See Smartsheet for Salesforce Connector: Sync Smartsheet Data with Salesforce for more information on creating workflows with this Connector.
Learn about Smartsheet sharing permissions
Sharing Permission Levels
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 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 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 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.