Can Admins Be Restricted from Locking/Unlocking Columns While Retaining Other Admin Rights?

Sachin Kumbar

Hi Smartsheet Community,

I have a user with Admin access to a sheet who needs to perform actions like renaming columns, inserting new columns, and other Admin tasks. However, I want to prevent them from locking or unlocking columns. Is there a way to restrict this specific action for Admins while allowing other Admin-level permissions on the sheet?

Thanks for your help!

Naeem Ejaz

In Smartsheet, user permissions are role-based and unfortunately cannot be customized at a granular level like restricting specific Admin actions such as locking or unlocking columns while still allowing other Admin capabilities.

While you cannot restrict column lock/unlock specifically for Admins, here are a few workarounds you can consider:

Use Dynamic View (if licensed)

• Create a Dynamic View filtered for the user.
• They can update only what you allow—without seeing sheet structure.
• Great for controlling what users can edit, even if they are Admins on the full sheet.