Easy collaboration is of the utmost importance in the age of remote work. Thankfully, Google has many sharing options that allow multiple users to work on the same project. Knowing who made changes to a file and when can be crucial to effective spreadsheet management.

Thankfully, Google Sheets has two features that allow you to track the changes made to your spreadsheets. The first is Google Sheets notifications, while the second is version history. In this article, we will detail these essential functions, show how you can activate them, and cover why they could be vital for your spreadsheets.

Why Use Email Notifications in Google Sheets?

When working on a large sheet where multiple employees are making changes to a spreadsheet, it can be challenging to know what changes are made by each collaborator. It's much better to know who made a particular change, especially for project leaders.

We can check using version history to see who made the change. But, scanning through version history can be tedious if there are many instances. Instead, you can use Google Sheets Notifications. This way, Sheets will notify you through email(s).

If you’re on the go, you should ensure your mobile email notifications are working, so you don’t miss anything.

How to Enable Email Notifications in Google Sheets

Turning on email notifications only takes a few minutes, and once you do it, it will stay active until you make further changes to the settings. Follow these steps to turn on the notifications:

How to Enable Google Sheets Email Notifications Step 1
  1. Open your spreadsheet on which you want to enable the email notifications on.
  2. Press Tools at the top of your spreadsheet. A drop-down menu will show up.
  3. Press Notification rules, which opens a new window in the middle of the screen.
    How to Enable Google Sheets Email Notifications Step 2
  4. You can set the rules here. If you choose an option from the first section, you have to select when you want to receive notifications. Either choose: Any changes are made, or A user submits a form.
  5. In the second section, you can choose Email - Daily Digest or Email - Right Away.
    How to Enable Google Sheets Email Notifications Part 3
  6. Press Save when you have selected your preferred settings,

We’ll describe each of the settings in more detail a little further down the article.

How to Add and Delete Notification Rules in Google Sheets

If you want to add more rules, edit existing ones, or delete them, head to the Set notification rules option by clicking on Tools and Notification rules.

How to Add, Edit, and Delete Notification Rules in Google Sheets

If you already have an existing notification rule, it will appear in the list. You can click on Delete or Edit, or press Add another notification rule to create a new one. Once you’re done making the changes, click Done to save them.

Understanding the Options in Notification Rules

There are two sections in the notification rules: the first is Notify me at and the second is Notify me with.

1. Notify me at [Your Email] when…

  • Any changes are made: When you select this option, all changes you make to the spreadsheet are logged and informed to the user by email, immediately, or in a daily readable digest.
  • User submits a form: Choosing this option will alert you whenever someone submits a form. Google Forms allows you to link your forms to your spreadsheet. This might be anything from a survey to a university application form.

2. Notify me with…

  • Email - Daily Digest: Whenever this option is chosen, a list of user changes will arrive when the day ends or at a fixed time. If you select this option, you will receive notifications later rather than immediately after they have been made. This benefits individuals who don't like to be notified of changes immediately. It’s also ideal for those working for a huge company where the spreadsheet they're working on is constantly changing to avoid filling up your inbox with notifications. Make sure you set the time of arrival outside your email blocking period, if you have one.
  • Email - Right Away: When you choose this option, you’ll receive an email whenever a change to their spreadsheet happens. This is ideal for people who deal with sensitive information and want to receive an email if something changes.

We wouldn’t recommend using this setting for a sheet with more than two or three collaborators, lest you be bombarded with constant notifications. If you need to use this method, it may be a good idea to set up a Gmail folder to receive all the notifications.

Why Use Google Sheets Version History?

You can use the Google Sheets Version History feature if you don't want notifications through email, but keep track of the changes made to your spreadsheet. Google Sheets will even save the small changes if they occur far enough apart, so you don't have to worry about missing any important changes.

The owner of the spreadsheet and those with edit access to the spreadsheet are the only ones that can view the version history of a spreadsheet in Google Sheets.

As the changes are on the cloud, you can access the version history and find the exact version you're looking for. This is perfect if one of your team members (or you) has made an error and needs to go back to an older version. You can also name the changes to know which version you want.

How to View Version History in Google Sheets

To access Google Sheets version history, ensure enough changes are made to a sheet before Sheets can create a change log. Here are the steps you need to follow to access the version history:

The How to View Version History Menu
  1. Click on File in the top bar. This will show a drop-down menu.
  2. There, click on Version history.
  3. Click on See version history from the menu. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl + Alt + Shift + H.
Viewing Version History

A sidebar will open on the right side of the screen. There, you can click on the three vertical dots beside the older versions and click on Restore this version. You can also click on Name this version to give names to particular saves. If you want to create a new spreadsheet instance, click on Make a copy.

When you make a new copy of the spreadsheet, it will start fresh and have a new version history. If you still want to keep track of the changes in the new spreadsheet, you may want to delete the older one to avoid confusion in the future.

Differences Between Email Notifications and Version History

Google Sheets notification allows you to receive emails anytime a user changes the spreadsheet. When using Version history, the changes are only logged and not actively notified to the user.

The Tip of the Iceberg

In most cases, it's a good idea to use both of these features for important spreadsheets. Although the two features discussed in this article are great for collaboration, they are only a small part of all the tools Google Sheets has to offer teams working on spreadsheets.

There’s still plenty more to learn, so keep reading up on everything this powerful program has to offer.