Does anyone have a trick to remove sharing of multiple users on multiple sheets?

Ami Veltrie · 08/28/23

I have a terminated user who owed 2000+ sheets. I need to remove sharing on all the sheets before I earmark them for future deletion. Has anyone figured out a way to bulk remove sharing of multiple sheets and multiple users?

Paul Newcome · 08/30/23

That's what I was hoping you weren't going to say. Haha.

Unfortunately it sounds like you have either a grueling manual process or some API coding ahead of you.

Or... What if you made a copy of the sheets and deleted the originals? If someone needs it, they can be shared to the copy. The "catch" with this method is that any sheets linked together will need to be dropped into a folder and copied at the same time to maintain the links, and any reports/dashboards referencing these sheets will need updated. So it may not work for everything, but it may help narrow things down a little bit.

And that is a good method for workspace level sharing.

Paul Newcome · 08/28/23

When you say "earmark them for future deletion", do you mean the sheets or the user?

If the sheets, sharing will automatically be removed when the sheets are deleted. If the user, they will be removed if you deactivate them, or you can transfer ownership of the sheets to someone else and the user will be removed from sharing once the user is deleted.

Ami Veltrie · 08/29/23

@Paul Newcome Hi Paul! As always, thank you for your quick response!!

"Earmark for future deletion" is referring to the sheets. I cannot delete them right away, I have to remove all sharing first to ensure no one is still trying to use them, before I can delete them (six months from now).

Paul Newcome · 08/29/23

Sharing will be removed as soon as the sheets are deleted.

Or are you more talking about having users access new versions of the sheets to avoid breaks in workflow?

Ami Veltrie · 08/29/23

@Paul Newcome

I need to remove users from sharing 6-12 months before deleting the sheets. This is the only way I can guarantee no one still needs the sheets. In other words, when I remove sharing, and no one comes to me (within 6-12 mo) looking for their sheet, I know I can delete it.

Maybe you have a different suggestion?

Paul Newcome · 08/30/23

Ah. Ok. I see what you are doing now. Sorry for the confusion.

Are they shared through workspace level permissions, or are the people shared to each sheet individually?

Ami Veltrie · 08/30/23

@Paul Newcome

At the sheet level.

If it's workspace level, I typically just move the sheets to a different workspace. Is that the correct method?

Paul Newcome · 08/30/23

That's what I was hoping you weren't going to say. Haha.

Unfortunately it sounds like you have either a grueling manual process or some API coding ahead of you.

Or... What if you made a copy of the sheets and deleted the originals? If someone needs it, they can be shared to the copy. The "catch" with this method is that any sheets linked together will need to be dropped into a folder and copied at the same time to maintain the links, and any reports/dashboards referencing these sheets will need updated. So it may not work for everything, but it may help narrow things down a little bit.

And that is a good method for workspace level sharing.

Ami Veltrie · 08/30/23

@Paul Newcome

Haha! Right?! I might try the API route.

I mentioned this functionality shortcoming to my Smartsheet rep many times and they never suggested an API. I've also put in an enhancement request. They really need a way to bulk unshare and disable workflows.

You're the best!!

As always, thank you soooo much! Wish I was going to ENGAGE just to give you a hug. 😊

Paul Newcome · 08/31/23

A little tip for the API... Drop them all in the same workspace if you can. Then you can just run the API on any sheets within that workspace using the workspace ID. You should also be able to set the API up to run whenever a new sheet is added. This way you can add them a few at a time if they are spread out and even keep this solution for future use.

Did you submit the enhancement request through the form or through the Product Ideas tab at the top of this page? If through the Product Ideas tab, feel free to share the link to the idea here so others can add their votes if they stumble across this thread looking for the same thing.