How to share an Excel spreadsheet as view-only

To share an Excel spreadsheet as view-only, upload it to OneDrive and share it with Can view (or clear Allow editing on the link), or give people the Viewer role in Google Drive. Either stops them changing your original. What view-only does not do is stop them taking a copy: viewers can usually download the workbook, and everything inside it travels with them, hidden sheets included. This guide covers the steps in Excel for the web, OneDrive and Google Sheets, what sheet protection really does, when a CSV is the better thing to send, and how to clean a workbook so that nothing you hid ends up in the wrong inbox.

What view-only does, and what it doesn't

"View-only" sounds like a lock. It is really a rule about the original file.

• It stops people editing the copy you shared.
• It doesn't stop them downloading their own copy. Microsoft says sharing a workbook as read-only "doesn't prevent someone from downloading a copy of the workbook" and changing that copy.
• It doesn't stop copying or printing unless you switch those off where the service allows it, and even then a screenshot is always possible.
• It doesn't hide what's hidden. Hidden sheets, rows and columns are part of the file, and Google says viewers "can still access content in hidden sheets".

Here is how the common methods compare.

Option 1: Excel for the web and OneDrive

Excel for the web has two ways to share view-only: invite people by email, or make a link.

Invite specific people

1. Open the workbook in Excel for the web.
2. Select File > Share > Share with People, or Share in the top-right corner.
3. Type the email addresses of the people you want.
4. Select Can view, which sets the workbook as read-only for them.
5. Select Share. Excel emails them a link.

On a work or school account, Microsoft notes you might only be able to share with people in your organisation.

Make a view-only link

1. Select Share, then open the link settings.
2. Choose who the link works for: anyone who has it, people in your organisation, or specific people.
3. Clear Allow editing. Microsoft says people can then view, copy or download the file without signing in.
4. Copy the link and send it.

Two extra settings depend on your account. Link expiry dates and passwords are "only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers", according to Microsoft. Block download is for OneDrive for work or school, may be switched off by an administrator, and removes the options to download, print or copy; recipients can only view the file on the web.

"Share a section" still shares the workbook

Excel for the web can send a link to a range, table or chart, which opens with that section outlined. It is a pointer, not a cut-out: the link opens the workbook in Excel for the web, and Microsoft notes that downloading the workbook simply removes the highlight. If the rest of the file is private, don't rely on this feature.

Option 2: Google Sheets with view access

If you upload an .xlsx file to Drive, you can either keep it as an Excel file (Google's Office editing) or convert it to Google Sheets. Converting has a consequence worth knowing: Google says that when protected Excel workbooks and worksheets move to Sheets, "locked and hidden cells become viewable and editable".

To share a Sheet view-only:

1. Select Share.
2. Add people as Viewer, or set General access to Anyone with the link. Google says such a link opens "without signing in to a Google Account".
3. Open the settings and untick viewers and commenters under the option for who can download, copy and print.
4. If you have a work or school account, you can set an expiry date within one year.

Now the important part. Google's help page on protecting and hiding sheets says "Hiding a sheet is not the same as protecting a sheet", and adds that spreadsheet viewers "can still access content in hidden sheets". A viewer who makes a copy of the file can unhide the sheets in it. Even protected ranges come with the warning that they "shouldn't be used as a security measure", and people can still print, copy, paste and export copies of a protected spreadsheet.

Sheets created in or converted to Google Sheets can hold up to 20 million cells or 100 MB (checked on 15 November 2026). For a fuller look at Drive's sharing settings, see our comparison of Google Drive sharing and tracked links.

Protecting sheets is about mistakes, not secrets

Excel's protection features are excellent at stopping accidental damage and poor at keeping secrets. Microsoft says so in plain terms: "Worksheet level protection isn't intended as a security feature." It stops people changing locked cells; it doesn't stop them reading or copying them.

The three layers do different jobs:

• Worksheet protection locks cells against edits, and can hide formulas from the formula bar.
• Workbook structure protection stops people viewing hidden worksheets and adding, moving, deleting, hiding or renaming sheets. The password is optional, and Microsoft warns that without one "any user can unprotect and change the workbook".
• File encryption asks for a password before anyone can open the file at all. Excel also offers a separate password to modify, so some people get read-only access and others can edit.

If you use a password, keep it safe: Microsoft says it cannot retrieve a forgotten one. Our guide to password-protecting a shared document covers choosing passwords and sending them separately from the file.

The hidden-sheet trap

Hiding is a display setting. Microsoft describes hidden data as "not visible, but it can still be referenced from other worksheets and workbooks". In Excel for the web, anyone editing a copy can unhide a sheet by right-clicking any visible tab and choosing Unhide.

There is also a "very hidden" state, set with a macro. Microsoft explains that such sheets don't appear in the Unhide dialog box, but they are still in the workbook, waiting for anyone who knows where to look.

This is not a theoretical risk. In August 2023, the Police Service of Northern Ireland published a spreadsheet online in response to a freedom of information request. A hidden tab held the surnames, initials, ranks and roles of all 9,483 officers and staff, and the staff who checked the file before release didn't spot it. The UK Information Commissioner's Office fined the force £750,000 in October 2024, saying simple procedures could have prevented the breach.

Hidden sheets aren't the only stowaways. Hidden rows and columns, comments, document properties, and headers and footers all travel with the file too.

How to clean a workbook before sharing it

1. Work on a copy. Use File > Save As and give it a new name, as Microsoft recommends before inspecting a file.
2. Unhide everything and look. Microsoft's advice is to review the contents of hidden sheets before removing them, because you may not know what they hold.
3. Turn formulas into values where the shared figures depend on sheets you are about to delete. Copy the cells, then choose Paste Options > Values Only. Microsoft warns this permanently removes the formulas, which is exactly why you do it on the copy.
4. Delete what the reader shouldn't see, including sheets, rows and columns.
5. Run the Document Inspector in Excel on Windows: File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document. It looks for hidden worksheets, hidden rows and columns, comments, document properties, headers and footers, invisible content and custom XML data. Removing items can change calculation results and may not be undoable.
6. Open the cleaned copy and check every tab before you share it.

For anything sensitive, the most reliable method is the simplest: paste the values you mean to share into a brand-new workbook. A file that never contained the private data can't leak it.

When a CSV is the better thing to send

Sometimes the honest answer is to send less. A CSV file is plain text, and Microsoft spells out what saving one does:

• It "saves only the active sheet", so every other sheet, hidden ones included, stays behind.
• It keeps "only the text and values as they are displayed in cells", so formulas are replaced by their results.
• "All formatting, graphics, objects, and other worksheet contents are lost."

Note the words "as they are displayed": a number shown to two decimal places is saved that way, so widen the format first if precision matters. Microsoft's page doesn't promise to leave out hidden rows or columns on the active sheet, so delete those before saving.

A CSV suits data that someone will import into their own tool. It is a poor choice for a report someone needs to read, since the layout and charts are gone. In that case, share the cleaned workbook instead.

Option 3: Share the workbook as it is, by link

The other route is to upload the original workbook to a service that shows it in the browser without converting it. Breathier is one example, and it is free.

• It takes Excel files (.xlsx and older .xls) and CSV or TSV files up to 15 MB.
• Readers see the workbook in their browser, laid out as the original, with a tab for each sheet. They need no account, and they can select and copy text.
• Hidden sheets are not shown to readers.
• Each link has its own rules: ask for an email address, add a passcode, set an expiry date, allow or block downloads, or switch the link off. Someone reading is closed out within seconds of the switch.
• The statistics show each visit's time, device and country, and how long the reader spent on each sheet.

Two honest caveats. First, Breathier never alters your file, so if you allow downloads, the reader gets the exact workbook you uploaded, hidden sheets and all; clean it first or switch download off. Second, turning download off hides the download button and blocks printing, but it is a deterrent, not copy protection: anyone can take a screenshot or copy what they can see. Some older .xls files can't be shown either; Breathier then asks you to save them as .xlsx.

Presentations have the same quirk with hidden slides and speaker notes; our guide to sharing a PowerPoint online explains how to deal with them. The resources hub has more guides on sharing documents by link.

FAQ

How do I make an Excel file view-only for other people?

Upload it to OneDrive and share it with Can view, or clear Allow editing on the link. In Google Drive, give people the Viewer role. Both stop edits to your original, but not downloads, unless you also block them.

Can view-only users download my spreadsheet?

Usually, yes. Microsoft says read-only sharing doesn't prevent someone downloading a copy, and a view-only OneDrive link lets people view, copy or download the file. You can block downloads on OneDrive work or school accounts, in Google Drive's sharing settings, or per link in Breathier.

Can people see hidden sheets in a spreadsheet I share?

Often, yes. Google says viewers can still access content in hidden sheets, and in Excel anyone with a copy can unhide them. Delete sheets you don't want seen rather than hiding them.

Does protecting a worksheet stop people copying my data?

No. Microsoft says worksheet protection isn't intended as a security feature: it stops edits to locked cells, not reading or copying. Google gives the same warning about protected ranges in Sheets.

Does saving as CSV remove hidden sheets?

Yes, in the sense that Excel saves only the active sheet to a CSV, so other sheets are left out. Hidden rows and columns on that sheet aren't promised to be removed, so delete them first. Formatting, charts and formulas are lost too; only the displayed values remain.

Can I share just one sheet of a workbook?

Not safely from the same file. Excel's "share a section" link still opens the whole workbook with that part outlined. Copy the sheet's values into a new workbook, or save that sheet as a CSV, and share that instead.

Sources

• Share a workbook in Excel for the web (Microsoft Support): Can view steps; read-only sharing doesn't prevent downloading a copy.
• Share files and folders in Microsoft OneDrive (Microsoft Support): link types, Allow editing, expiry and passwords for Microsoft 365 subscribers (checked on 15 November 2026).
• Block downloads for view-only files in SharePoint and OneDrive (Microsoft Support): work or school accounts only; no download, print or copy options.
• Share a section of a workbook (Microsoft Support): section links open the workbook with the section highlighted.
• Protect a worksheet (Microsoft Support): not intended as a security feature; forgotten passwords can't be retrieved.
• Protect a workbook (Microsoft Support): what structure protection prevents; the optional password.
• Protection and security in Excel (Microsoft Support): file, workbook and worksheet protection compared.
• Hide or unhide worksheets (Microsoft Support): hidden data can still be referenced; unhiding in Excel for the web.
• Hide sheets and use xlVeryHidden constant in a macro (Microsoft Learn): very hidden sheets don't appear in the Unhide dialog.
• Remove hidden data and personal information by inspecting documents (Microsoft Support): Document Inspector steps, what it checks in Excel, and its warnings.
• Replace a formula with its result in Excel (Microsoft Support): Paste Values steps; formulas are removed permanently.
• Save a workbook to text format (.txt or .csv) (Microsoft Support): CSV saves only the active sheet; formatting removed.
• Excel formatting and features that are not transferred to other file formats (Microsoft Support): CSV keeps displayed values only; everything else is lost.
• Share and manage access to files and folders in Google Drive (Google Drive Help): Viewer role, Anyone with the link, download settings, expiry for work and school accounts.
• Protect, hide and edit sheets (Google Docs Editors Help): hiding isn't protecting; viewers can access hidden sheets; protection isn't a security measure.
• Work with Office files (Google Docs Editors Help): locked and hidden cells become viewable and editable when protected Excel files move to Sheets.
• Files you can store in Google Drive (Google Drive Help): 20 million cells or 100 MB for Google Sheets (checked on 15 November 2026).
• PSNI faces £750,000 fine from ICO over major data breach (Lewis Silkin): the hidden tab, the date of the breach and the 9,483 people affected.
• £750,000 fine for PSNI over data breach (Law Society Gazette): the final £750,000 fine in October 2024 and the ICO's finding that simple procedures could have prevented it.