How to share a Google Sheet without sharing the whole file

Google Drive grants access to a file. A spreadsheet is one file, no matter how many tabs are inside it, so "share this spreadsheet" always means "share all of it." There is no checkbox that narrows it down: not per tab, not per range, not per column.

So every method below works the same way underneath: either you create a second thing that holds only the part you want to share, or you accept full access and constrain what the person can do with it. Knowing which of those two you're doing is most of the decision.

Start with two questions

Read-only and one-time is the easiest case in the whole article, so jump to option 1. Editable and ongoing is the hardest, and it's option 3.

1. Send a snapshot copy of one tab

The fastest honest answer. You duplicate the single tab into a brand-new spreadsheet and share that file. Nothing else from the original comes with it.

1. Right-click the tab at the bottom of your spreadsheet.
2. Choose Copy to → New spreadsheet.
3. Open the new file (Google offers a link as soon as it's made) and give it a sensible name.
4. Share that file normally, as viewer or editor.

Watch out for two things. First, formulas that referenced other tabs come across as #REF! errors, because their source didn't travel with them. If the tab you're sharing pulls from a pricing or salary tab, the numbers will break. Fix that by pasting values only: select all, copy, then Edit → Paste special → Values only in the new file. Second, it's frozen in time. Change the original tomorrow and the copy knows nothing about it.

Good for: sending someone last month's numbers. Bad for: anything either of you will keep updating.

2. Share a specific range with IMPORTRANGE

Same shape as option 1, a second file you share instead of the first, except that the contents stay live. And unlike a tab copy, you can narrow it to exactly the rows and columns you want.

1. Copy the URL of your source spreadsheet.
2. Create a new, empty spreadsheet. This is the file you'll share.
3. In A1, enter:
   =IMPORTRANGE("<source-URL>", "Orders!A1:F500")
   Narrow the range to only what they should see. Sharing columns A–F of a tab whose sensitive columns start at G is a legitimate use of this, since the other columns are never transmitted to the second file.
4. The cell shows #REF! at first. Click it and press Allow access.
5. Share the new spreadsheet.

The catch: it's read-only in both senses. The imported cells can't be typed into, and anything the recipient adds elsewhere in that file never reaches you. Formatting, conditional rules, and dropdowns don't come across either, because IMPORTRANGE moves values rather than appearance.

Good for: a live dashboard, a price list, a status board someone needs to watch. Bad for: collecting anything back.

3. Share one tab that stays editable and in sync

When the other person has to fill something in (a vendor updating stock counts, a department head entering budget lines, a contractor logging hours), copies and imports both fall down. You need them to have a real, editable Google Sheet that contains only their tab, and you need what they type to come back to your master workbook.

That's a two-file setup with sync running between them, which is what the Share Single Sheet add-on automates:

Good for: ongoing collaboration with someone who shouldn't see the rest of the workbook. Bad for: a one-off send where option 1 would take ten seconds.

4. Publish a single sheet or range to the web

Google can render one tab as a standalone web page, no Google account needed to view it.

1. Open File → Share → Publish to web.
2. In the Link tab, change Entire document to the single sheet you want.
3. Pick a format (web page, CSV, or others) and click Publish.
4. Send the generated link.

Understand what you just did: that link is public. Not "public to people at your company". Public to anyone who has it or finds it, with no sign-in. It's the right tool for an open dataset, a public price list, or a schedule you'd happily put on your website. It is the wrong tool for anything internal, and it's the one on this list most often used by accident.

You can undo it: return to the same dialog and click Stop publishing.

5. Limit what people can do with access they already have

Sometimes the file genuinely has to be shared whole, and the concern is redistribution rather than visibility. Google gives you real controls for that:

• Turn off download, print, and copy. In the Share dialog, open the settings gear and untick Viewers and commenters can see the option to download, print, and copy. This stops the easy export paths. It does not stop a screenshot or retyping, so treat it as friction, not a lock.
• Turn off resharing. In the same settings, untick Editors can change permissions and share so your editors can't quietly widen the audience.
• Keep the link restricted. Under general access, Restricted means only the people you named. Anyone with the link means exactly what it says, forever, to whoever it gets forwarded to.
• Use commenter instead of editor when someone needs to give feedback rather than change numbers.

None of this hides a single cell. Every tab is still fully readable. Reach for these to control spread, not sight.

6. Give access that expires

On Google Workspace accounts you can put a clock on someone's access, useful for a contractor, an auditor, or a candidate doing a work sample.

1. Open the Share dialog and share the file with the person as viewer or commenter.
2. Click the dropdown next to their name and choose Add expiration.
3. Set the date. Access ends by itself.

Two limits worth knowing: it isn't offered for editor access, and it's a Workspace feature, so personal Google accounts don't have it. If you need a deadline on an editable share, the practical substitute is a separate file (options 1–3) that you delete or unshare when you're done.

Things that look like solutions but aren't

The pattern is consistent: features inside the document adjust presentation and editing. Only a separate file changes who can read what.

Which one should you use?

Frequently asked questions

The short version

You can't carve up a Google Sheets file with permissions. Once you accept that, the choice gets simple. Decide whether the other person is reading or writing. Readers get a copy, an import, or a published page. Writers get their own file, kept in sync with yours. Anything else means handing over the whole workbook and hoping.