Collaborating on a spreadsheet used to be a real headache. You’d make changes to your sheet, send it out, and get it back with a whole new format. You had no way of knowing what changes were made and when. You even risked losing crucial data forever.
But times have changed, and collaboration is easier than ever. Google Sheets has several remarkable collaboration features. Plus, Google keeps a record of all the changes made to your spreadsheet. In this article, we’ll explore some of Google Sheets’ built-in track changes features.
Why Should You Track Changes in Google Sheets?
Tracking changes in a spreadsheet allows you to see where changes have been made and when. If you don’t like a particular change, you can revert back to a previous version of the sheet.
Unlike other Google ecosystem software like Docs, where you have a built-in feature to view all document changes, Google Sheets doesn’t have the same functionality. Instead, you have to track changes using other methods.
Tracking changes in Google Sheets can be done in several ways:
- You can receive email notifications when changes are made.
- You can track changes made to cells.
- You can view the complete version history.
- You can even protect cells or entire sheets from modifications.
How to Track Changes in Google Sheets
There are several methods to track changes made to your Google Sheets. Here are some of the main ones:
Tracking Changes with Notification Rules
This is the most comprehensive tracking tool in Google Sheets. When you enable email notifications, you receive an email whenever changes are made to the spreadsheet. You can customize the settings and choose whether you want to receive instant notifications or a daily recap of the changes at the end of the day.
You can also enable email notifications when changes are made to a form. This is particularly useful for those who use Google Forms to collect information in their spreadsheets. When this option is enabled, both the spreadsheet creator and the form submitter receive an email notification of the changes.
To activate notification rules, follow these steps:
- Open the spreadsheet you want to enable email notifications for.
- Click on the Tools button in the main toolbar of the spreadsheet. This will display a dropdown menu.
- Click on Notification rules here, which will open a small window in the middle of the screen. You can select your desired options here.
- You need to choose settings for two sections. The first section allows you to choose whether you want to be notified of changes to the spreadsheet or when a form is submitted. In the second option, you can choose whether you want to receive immediate notifications when a change is made or if you prefer to receive a list of changes at a specific time. Select your desired option here.
- Click Save to save the changes.
To edit or remove notification rules:
- Access the Manage notification rules menu by following the same steps mentioned above. Here, you can see the rules you’ve already added.
- Next to the rule, you’ll see the Edit and Remove options.
- At the bottom of the window, you can click on Add another notification rule to create new rules.
Tracking Changes with Version History
If you don’t want to receive emails in your inbox, you can use the version history feature in Google Sheets. Changes are automatically saved, so you don’t have to worry about missing any updates.
The version history changes can be viewed by both the spreadsheet creator and individuals with editing access to the file. The changes are stored on Google’s cloud servers, and you can name these versions to differentiate them.
How to View Changes with Version History in Google Sheets
To access the version history in Google Sheets, follow these steps:
- Click on File in the main toolbar of your spreadsheet.
- In the dropdown menu that appears, click on Version history.
- In the submenu that appears, click on See version history.
A sidebar will open on the right side of the screen where you can select the version you want to restore or rename.
How to View Cell Changes with Cell History
What if you want to view the change history of a specific part of the spreadsheet? Opening the particular version to identify the cell you want to check can be tedious. Thankfully, Google Sheets has a feature that allows you to view the change history of a specific cell in your spreadsheet.
Follow these steps:
- Click on the cell to select it. The selected cell will be highlighted with a blue border.
- Right-click on the cell. This will open a menu with several options.
- Here, click on Show cell history.
This will open a small window next to the cell where you can scroll left or right between different versions. Note that this history does not show formatting changes made to the cell. Sheets only shows changes in cell values. Feel free to revert back to a previous value from there.
FAQs
Can I Track Changes in Google Sheets?
You can use the version history feature in Google Sheets. The version history changes can be viewed by both the spreadsheet creator and individuals with editing access to the file. The changes are stored on Google’s cloud servers, and you can name these versions to differentiate them. Every little modification is saved, so you don’t have to worry about missing any updates.
How Do I Enable Tracking in Google Sheets?
Version history is automatically enabled whenever a new spreadsheet is created. Every time a change is made, it gets recorded. To view these changes, click on File in the main toolbar of your spreadsheet. In the dropdown menu that appears, click on Version history. In the submenu that appears, click on See version history.
How Do I Know When Someone Makes Changes to a Shared Google Sheet?
When you enable email notifications, you receive an email whenever changes are made to the spreadsheet. You can customize the settings in the notification rules menu and choose whether you want to receive instant notifications when a change is made or a daily summary of the changes at the end of the day.
It can also be helpful to share single sheets where changes aren’t a problem.
Can I Use Add-ons to Track Changes in Google Sheets?
If the built-in ways of tracking changes aren’t comprehensive enough, you can use one of the best Google Sheets add-ons for tracking changes instead. Although many change tracking add-ons can be costly, you’ll need to evaluate if it’s worth it in the first place.
Conclusion
We hope this guide on tracking changes in Google Sheets (similar to our guide on tracking changes in Excel) has helped you better understand how to keep a version history. You can track changes made to your spreadsheet in multiple ways. Learning how to view them allows you to stay up to date on all the modifications made to a sheet.
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