Three locks on the door
The Share button can do more than “send a link”. It can say who and what they may. That is this whole chapter.
In Sheets the button is top right. In Excel on the web too. In desktop Excel it is often File → Share. The goal is the same: pick a person and pick a right.
Three rights you will meet:
| Whom | Right | When |
|---|---|---|
| teacher, mum | View (Viewer) | handing in, checking |
| a classmate in the team | Comment (Commenter) | “there is a mistake here” without deleting formulas |
| you + one teammate | Edit (Editor) | you really fill it together |
| anyone with the link | edit | almost never |
“Anyone with the link can edit” is like a key on the noticeboard at the entrance. You do not want that on a class survey. One joker deletes your SUM. A second rewrites the average to 1. A third renames Dashboard to lol.
The least rights that are enough. For the teacher view is almost always enough. They do not have to fix formulas in your workbook. When they want a fix, they write a comment or tell you.
Before you send a link, open it in a private window (or send it to a parent and ask what they see). You will see what a stranger sees. If they can edit and they should not, go back to Share and lower the right. A link you already sent, after lowering the right, stops letting people in — but only when it is not “anyone”.
What each right can do
View. A person opens the workbook, sees the sheets, clicks a cell and at the top they see the formula. They cannot overwrite B8. They cannot delete a chart. That is what you want for the teacher and parents.
Comment. They see the same and on top they can pin a comment to a cell. They do not delete a formula. That is what you want for a teammate who is checking.
Edit. They see, delete, overwrite, rename sheets. The same power as you, they are just not the owner. Give that only to a person you are really building the table with.
You are the owner. The owner can take rights and give them. If you accidentally give an editor too much, open Share, at their name lower to View, or remove them.
English menu: Viewer, Commenter, Editor, Restricted, Anyone with the link. The same locks, different words.
How to share with the teacher
A concrete path. Not “send it somehow”.
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Open the workbook. Click Share.
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In the people field enter the teacher’s school email, not a link for the whole internet. Under the email pick View / Viewer. Not Edit.
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Write one sentence in the message: “Grades and dashboard, sheet Dashboard.” So they do not look in
Poznamkyat yourn/aexperiments. -
发送. The teacher gets a mail. You in Share will see their name and the right view.
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When school wants a file and not a link, download a PDF of sheet
Dashboard(you can do that from Chart maker) and do not send the link. A PDF does not move, even if you change a grade tomorrow.
Turn on a “anyone with the link” link only when the teacher explicitly says “send a link, I have no time for access” — and even then view, not edit.
A comment instead of an eraser
A classmate sees that in B3 there is text, not a number. If they have the edit right, they “fix” it for you and accidentally delete a formula. If they have comment, they mark the cell and write a sentence. The formula lives.
In Sheets: click the cell → right-click → Comment (or insert comment). Write “this is text, not a number”. A yellow triangle or an avatar appears at the cell.
You read the comment, fix the data, mark it as resolved. History stays. That is cooperation without chaos.
The comment right is a good default for team work at school. Leave edit to one person who builds the table — you. The second should write notes. Two editors in the same column overwrite each other’s SUM.
What often goes wrong
A link for anyone + editor. You copy from the address bar the workbook URL and put it in the class chat. That is not yet “anyone”. But when in Share you switch Anyone with the link → Editor, the chat spreads it in a minute. Put it back to Restricted or View.
The teacher cannot open it. They got a link, but the workbook is Restricted and their mail is not in the list. Either add them, or temporarily Anyone with the link → View.
A private window still edits. You are still signed in with the same account. Try another browser, or a parent’s account. Otherwise the test lies.
You share the wrong file. Workbook copy from last week. Before sending look at the name at the top and at sheet Dashboard.
Comment vs note. A note is a yellow sticky for you. A comment can have a thread and a name. Give a classmate a comment.
🏆 Mini dashboard — who gets what
Teacher: view + the sentence “look at Dashboard”. A teammate on the project: comment. Yourself: owner. Class chat: nothing, or a PDF. A survey where you collect answers is a different situation — that is a form, not an editor of a workbook with SUM.
Now you 💪
With a parent open Share. You do not have to send anyone anything. Looking is enough.
- Is it Restricted at the top, or Anyone with the link?
- If you added the teacher’s mail, which right would you pick? (View.)
- If you added a teammate, which? (Comment, if they are not building the table with you.)
If you are not giving the workbook to anyone, restricted is enough. That is a decision too. Not every workbook has to go out.
Open the link in a private window once you add someone. What does a stranger see? Can they click into B8 and delete the average? They should not. If yes, the right is too high. Lower it and try the private window again.
Check: You know the difference between view, comment and edit. You check a link before you send it. “Anyone edits” is not a hand-in.
What to take from this lesson
- The least rights that are enough. For the teacher view is often enough.
- A comment fixes a mistake without deleting a formula. As few editors as possible.
- Check a link in a private window before you send it. Anyone + edit almost never.
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