How do permissions interact with workspaces, reporting and cross sheet lookups?

Question

Hi,

I'd like to understand how permissions interact with cross sheet lookups.

Let's say I have Sheet A in Workspace 1. Only I have access.

Sheet B is in Workspace 2. Everyone has access.

I then reference Sheet A from Sheet B to bring back data.

Is this data retrieved by lookup visible to all those with access to Sheet B? Or are they going to see a column full of "access denied" or similar?

I think it should be visible but it's not easy for me to test it right now.

If I then decide to move Sheet A into Workspace 2, but restrict the access to the sheet to just me, what rules apply in that scenario?

thanks

Ed

Genevieve P. · Accepted Answer

Hi @CycleBagEd

Yes, that data is visible: if you're using Cell Linking or Cross Sheet Formulas to bring data from one sheet into another, then your users shared to the second, destination sheet will see the content you bring in, even though they don't have access to the source sheet. This is a great way to display elements of a sheet without needing to share the entire thing! See: Tips for working with references

In regards to moving the sheet to a different location, this won't affect any of your cell linking or formulas as these are based on the Sheet ID, regardless of location. The only thing that would change is the Sharing Permissions on that item - when you move it to a new Workspace, then anyone shared with Workspace Level Permissions will automatically have the associated permissions for that sheet as well. See: Share a workspace

Let me know if I can help clarify anything further or provide you with screen capture examples of a specific scenario.

Cheers,

Genevieve