Sheets ownership

[JesseShimer]

Hey there,

I have a Google Sheet that doesn't have an owner. I've found this means the sheet is on a shared drive which means the organization owns it. I'm trying to figure out how to give the ownership to one person, if possible. I'm also unable to change the level of access of employees on the sheet, any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[icrew · Accepted solution]

I think maybe you're missing step 4 in the instructions at https://support.google.com/drive/answer/14254362

Hope that helps,

Ian

[StephenHind]

@JesseShimer if the sheet is on the Shared Drive the Shared Drive is the owner and you cannot assign anyone else.  If you need an individual user to be an own you need to move it off the Shared Drive to that user's My Drive (you can add a shortcut on the Shared Drive to the file in My Drive).

Just out of interest why did you want to assign an individual user as an owner? One of the main aims for Shared Drives is to ensure that files are not owned by individuals so you don't need to worry about ownership.

[JesseShimer]

Hi Stephen,

Thank you for your assistance, I'm wanting to give it single ownership so that I can remove people from the access list. I have full admin access but am unable to remove people from the list. The only way I know how to do this is to transfer ownership.

If you have a simpler fix, I'd be grateful.

[icrew]

See https://support.google.com/drive/answer/14254362 (you can restrict access to folders, and the files within them, but not to the file directly....)

[icrew]

See https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/12380484?hl=en for an overview of how permissions work in Shared Drives.

[JesseShimer]

Hi icrew,

I appreciate you taki ng the time to send the links. I understand how to change the permissions on files/folders/drives. What I don't know how to do is fix the inability to make changes. Below is a picture of the people with access, everyone is greyed out. I apologize if I've missed something.

[icrew · Accepted solution]

I think maybe you're missing step 4 in the instructions at https://support.google.com/drive/answer/14254362

Hope that helps,

Ian

[JesseShimer]

I did miss step 4, unfortnuately I only have one option and that wasn't the option. I do appreciate everyone's help!

[loundy_mark · Accepted solution]

Jesse,

Copy it and delete the original.

[JesseShimer]

Thank you! I think this is what I'll have to do.