Can I open one of my docs/spreadsheets/etc in read-only mode?
I would like to view it for reference without having to worry about it being modified.
asked Jun 9, 2016 at 17:38
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Didn't find any solution for Google slides - so I just downloaded a copy of it as a powerpoint and viewed it offline.– Janac MeenaCommented Feb 3, 2023 at 16:03
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6 Answers
Well, it seems Google Documents has been updated since I wrote my first answer. There's now a button that allows you to enter read-only mode:
At least this button is available in some Google Accounts. Probably a feature that is being rolled out gradually.
answered Jun 17, 2016 at 13:19
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9is there a way to send readers of a document directly to the "Viewing" mode instead of the "Suggesting" mode where they do accidental edit suggestions that cause administrative burden? (having to review/delete them) Commented Jun 2, 2017 at 11:11
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@GeorgeBirbilis I don't know, but that could make a great question if posted separately. Commented Sep 7, 2017 at 20:20
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1indeed, here it is: webapps.stackexchange.com/questions/109562/… Commented Sep 8, 2017 at 15:58
When you have "edit" rights on the document there are no elegant solutions out of the box to switch to a "read-only" mode temporarily.
After trying out several answers and solutions I have found two solutions that work with the current version (Jun 2018) of google docs (docs, sheets, ...):
Solution #1 (Print Preview mode) Use the /preview endpoint, which is a read-only view.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/<your_document_id>/preview
The only problem with this view is that you cannot use any of the data tools like sorting, filtering etc., which are usually required when you are dealing with sheets/data.
Solution #2 (Create a copy)
File > Make a copy
This gives you a personal copy in your drive with full permissions but you wouldn't care making edits because it's a copy visible only to you. Once you are done with it you can delete the file and reclaim space from your drive.
File > Move to trash
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5Upvoting this because
/previewoption is exactly what I was looking for. E.g. scenario: A sheet that only has links (bookmarks etc) and text and you want to open it quickly (without js bloat) and get on with clicking on the link etc. Super fast and efficient.– spcsLrgCommented Sep 4, 2021 at 12:11 -
1This is definitely the correct answer as far as being able to generate and send a link to a spreadsheet/document in "viewing mode" - Amazing! Thank you so much!– Ashby45Commented Sep 2, 2022 at 21:31
It's possible, by creating a shareable link for your document, and opening it in an Incognito/Private window:
Click the Share button while editing the document
In the dialog that opens, click Get shareable link
- Make sure can view is selected.
Then copy the generated URL by pressing Ctrl-C, and click Done
- Open a private/incognito window in your browser (usually by pressing Ctrl-Shift-N, or see these instructions on Wikihow)
- Paste the link into the address bar, and press Enter
You now have a read-only version of your document in the private window.
answered Jun 9, 2016 at 19:00
In Google sheets, I found it effective to protect the sheet.
Right click the sheet tab at the bottom of the screen. Click Protect Sheet. Click the Set permissions button.
Choose Show a warning when editing this range.
My users have a sheet they mostly use for reference to lookup student information. On the rare occasion they need to make a change, or accidently edit something, they receive an "Are you sure..." prompt which they must acknowledge.
Especially when a team uses a Google Docs doc mostly for reference, accidental edits will happen. They'll get tangled in the edit history with intentional edits, making them hard to tease out.
Not exactly what you were asking for: In this situation, it's sensible to switch from Google Docs to Google Sites. Sites is handy for managing a private website of reference-oriented pages. You have to explicitly click to edit a Sites page, so accidental edits don't occur.
That doesn't help with Google Sheets, but Sites might have a "gadget" that can display content from a Sheet. Sites has lots of gadgets and other features for handling semi-structured information like release notes.
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I haven't downvoted, but I think your answer would be better if you described a concrete way to publish a Google Doc on Google Sites. As of now, your answer says that "Sites might have a gadget ...". If you actually found such a gadget, and described how it could be used, the answer would be much better. Commented Jul 1, 2016 at 10:29
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1Google Sites is currently available for Google Apps for Work users, so I no longer have access to it. (That could change.) Anyway, @VidarS.Ramdal's second answer is ideal: Google Docs now has a "Viewing" mode. (Google Sheets does not, at least not yet.)– Jerry101Commented Jul 8, 2016 at 0:38
It is possible.
Try the below - you need to put the document ID in the middle and remove "< >".
https://docs.google.com/document/d/<document ID>/view
I have tried and it works.
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2This doesn't appear to work with spreadsheets, although it may with regular docs.– ijosephCommented Jul 15, 2020 at 18:16
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@ijoseph - It does actually, you just need to replace the word 'document' with 'spreadsheets' and you're golden.– Ashby45Commented Sep 2, 2022 at 21:33
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@Ashby45 tried this again and it doesn't even appear to work for regular docs anymore -- seems to open them in Edit mode regardless of whether I use the
/viewURL suffix. Ditto for Sheets.– ijosephCommented Sep 3, 2022 at 3:39 -
@ijoseph We use it in production. It works fine.. Let me know if you have any questions.– Ashby45Commented Nov 22, 2022 at 19:47
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@Ashby45 ok, I guess, a question could be: why doesn't this test: i.imgur.com/Ffw06pL.gif work?– ijosephCommented Nov 24, 2022 at 0:16
