Overview

Sheet Sync Workflow

0 sync modes and 0 safety features — how linking two spreadsheets actually works, step by step.

Click a section to jump directly.

Setup Linking Sync modes (3) Protections (2) Good to know

Setup

Sheet Sync has no formulas to write. You link a range from inside the sheet itself, in a few clicks.

Select a range

Select the range you want to keep in sync, then open Manage Links → Add link. This selection becomes the "own side" of the link.

Pick the target spreadsheet

Paste the target spreadsheet's ID, or use Browse… to pick it with Google's own file picker. Sheet Sync then auto-detects that spreadsheet's sheet names, so the target sheet is chosen from a list instead of typed by hand.

Confirm — same shape required

The target range must have the same number of rows and columns as your selection. Confirm, and the link is live immediately — both sides start syncing according to the spreadsheet's current sync mode.
⚠ Both spreadsheets need Sheet Sync installed, with edit access on both under the same Google account — otherwise syncing to (or from) that spreadsheet fails.

Linking

A few rules decide what you can and can't link, to keep sync predictable on a shared sheet.

One range, several targets

The exact same range can be linked to more than one target at once — a "hub" setup where one master range feeds several others. Editing it syncs to all of them; each link still runs independently.

What counts as a link

One connection between a source range and a target range counts as one link, even though sync itself is bidirectional. It counts against whoever created it, totalled across all of their spreadsheets — not per spreadsheet.

Sync modes

Sync mode is a per-spreadsheet setting, chosen from the Sync Mode sidebar — it applies to every link on that spreadsheet.

Auto

mode: real-time
Every edit syncs immediately to the other side of the link. The default, and the closest thing to "just works."

Manual

mode: on-demand
Nothing syncs automatically. Use the Sync now menu item (or the sidebar button) whenever you want to push your current values out.

Scheduled

mode: interval
Syncs automatically on a fixed interval — hourly up to once a day — instead of on every edit. Useful for a reporting sheet that doesn't need to move in real time.
💡 "Sync now" still works regardless of the current mode — in Auto or Scheduled it's just a harmless extra push.

Protections

Two guardrails stop a link setup from silently doing the wrong thing.

Overlap protection

A new link is rejected if either side's range partially overlaps an existing link's range on the same spreadsheet. Without this, two spreadsheets that were never directly linked could silently affect each other through a shared cell.
Linking the exact same range to a different target is still allowed — that's the intentional hub/fan-out case.

Orphaned-link warning

If a target spreadsheet becomes unreachable (deleted, or access revoked), the link is flagged with a warning in Saved Links instead of failing silently forever — sync to it stops until you fix access or remove the link.

Good to know

A few behaviours that aren't a setting in the dialog, but decide whether Sheet Sync does what you expect.

Sync is genuinely bidirectional

There's no "source" and "copy" side — edit either range and the other updates. That also means a link can propagate an edit back and forth between more than two spreadsheets in a hub setup, which is why overlap protection exists.

Every spreadsheet in a link needs its own install

Sheet Sync must be installed on every spreadsheet in the link, both source and target, with edit access on both under the same Google account. A spreadsheet without the add-on installed can't be synced to or from.

What the free plan covers

New accounts get a 14-day trial with full access — up to 20 links, all sync modes. After that you drop to the free plan: 1 link, manual sync only, no time limit. A paid plan lifts both limits.
💡 If a paid plan lapses, links over your new limit are paused, not deleted — upgrading resumes them exactly as they were.

Still not sure how to set something up? The FAQ covers billing, team licensing and troubleshooting, or just email us.