Understanding why Admin permissions are required to move sheets into a Smartsheet workspace

Outline (skeleton)

• Hook: A quick scenario—Inez wants to move a sheet into your Smartsheet workspace, and you pause to think about permissions.

• The roles you’ll meet: Viewer, Contributor, Editor, Admin—what each can and can’t do.

• The core question and answer: Inez needs Admin permission to move sheets into a workspace; why this level matters.

• What Admin can do: moving, deleting, and managing sheets; the governance angle—why such power is reserved.

• Why others can’t: Editors and Contributors can edit content but not perform structural changes; Viewers only see.

• Real-life steps: what to do if you’re the Admin, or if you’re not but need a change.

• Best practices and quick tips: governance, communication, and safety nets.

• Gentle wrap-up: a memorable takeaway to keep in mind when workspace moves come up.

What permission does Inez need to move her sheets into your workspace? The short answer is Admin. Let me explain what that means in practice and why it matters.

Let’s start with the basics: roles and what they empower

Smartsheet uses a few clear roles to keep workspaces tidy and secure. Think of them like keys to a shared office building:

• Viewer: You can look at sheets and dashboards, but you can’t edit anything or move files around.

• Contributor: You can add comments, update certain sheet data, and contribute content, but you can’t reorganize the workspace structure.

• Editor: This one’s your middle ground. Editors can make changes to sheets and perhaps update data and formulas, but they still can’t perform big structural moves that affect the workspace layout.

• Admin: The boss key. Admins have full control over a workspace. They can move sheets, delete sheets, invite or remove members, and adjust permissions for the whole space.

If you visualize it, Admins sit at the top of the access ladder. They’re the people who set up the stage and decide who gets to move the pieces around. It’s a sensible guardrail, especially in larger teams where a misstep could shuffle a lot of data or break links between sheets.

Let’s circle back to the question and the answer

Question: What permission does Inez need to move her sheets into your workspace?

• A. Editor

• B. Viewer

• C. Admin

• D. Contributor

Correct answer: Admin.

Why Admin? Because moving a sheet into a workspace is a structural action. It’s not just about editing a cell or updating a value; it’s about reorganizing where content lives, who can access it, and how it’s shared with others. That kind of change can ripple through the entire folder structure, affect automations, and alter who can see what. Admin permissions give you, or the designated person, the authority to manage those relationships and ensure that the move aligns with governance and security standards.

What does Admin actually let you do in Smartsheet?

• Move sheets between folders and workspaces without friction.

• Delete sheets if needed (though with caution—deleting is permanent and can be disruptive).

• Manage membership: add or remove users, adjust who can view or edit things.

• Modify sharing settings and access levels across the workspace.

• Set up or tweak automations and dependencies that might rely on a sheet’s location.

All of these tasks influence how data is accessed and how work streams flow. Because of that big footprint, it’s sensible to confine these powers to Admins. It protects teams from accidental moves that could scramble dashboards, disrupt reports, or strip someone of access they relied on.

Why not Editor, Contributor, or Viewer?

• Editor: Great for updating content, but not for moving the structure of a workspace. They can’t rehome a sheet or switch the sheet’s parent folder.

• Contributor: Similar boundaries to Editor, with perhaps more emphasis on adding data or collaborating on content, not reshaping the workspace.

• Viewer: Exactly as the name says—view only. They see what’s there but can’t touch the setup or the location of sheets.

The practical upshot is simple: moving a sheet is a topology decision for a workspace. It affects who can find it, how automations run, and how reports pull data. That’s why Admin is the minimum necessary permission.

A real-world angle: what to do when you’re not the Admin

If Inez is on your team and you’re not the Admin, you have a few good paths:

• Request Admin assistance: Reach out with a clear reason. “We need to move this sheet to the Marketing workspace so the team can access it in one place.”

• Offer a workaround: If moving isn’t immediately possible, you could duplicate the sheet in the target workspace and then grant the appropriate permissions, or you could link critical data through cross-workspace references. This keeps work humming while you sort the governance bits.

• Propose a governance change: If you’re frequently needing moves, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate who sits on Admin duty. A rotating Admin or a delegated admin role with limited scope can strike a balance between agility and control.

Tips for smoother moves and better governance

• Confirm ownership and purpose: Before moving a sheet, double-check who owns it and why it’s being moved. Clear intent avoids last-minute flame wars over data access.

• Communicate with the team: A quick heads-up message goes a long way. “Heads up—this sheet is moving to the Marketing workspace at 3 PM.” People may rely on that sheet for dashboards or reports, and timing matters.

• Check automations and links: A move can break cross-sheet references and automations if the sheet’s new location isn’t wired into the same workflows. Take a moment to audit those dependencies.

• Use version control where possible: Create a snapshot or a backup before moving. It’s a safety net that pays off when a link breaks or something unexpected happens.

• Document changes: A short note in a central place about why the move happened helps future team members understand the decision.

A helpful analogy to keep in mind

Think of your Smartsheet workspace like a library system. Admins are the librarians who decide which shelves (folders) hold which books (sheets) and who gets the key to put a book on the shelf, borrow it, or remove it entirely. If you’re not the librarian, you don’t rearrange the stacks or pull titles out of circulation. You ask, they respond, the library stays orderly. That discipline makes it easier to find things, even when the shelves grow tall and crowded.

Connecting the dots to everyday use

If you’ve used another tool like Google Drive or Microsoft SharePoint, the pattern sounds familiar: structural changes require higher-level permissions. It’s not just about being able to type in a couple of letters; it’s about preserving the integrity of a shared workspace. In Smartsheet, that integrity matters because teams rely on sheets to track projects, timelines, and resource allocations. A misplaced move can ripple through reports and dashboards that stakeholders watch every week.

A quick recap you can carry with you

• The act of moving a sheet into a workspace is a structural action.

• Admin permission is the minimum required to perform that action.

• Editors and Contributors can edit content but generally can’t move sheets.

• Viewers can only view; they don’t touch the workspace’s structure.

• If you’re not the Admin but need a move, coordinate with Admin or consider safe workarounds.

• Follow best practices: confirm intent, communicate, check dependencies, and document changes.

Final takeaway

When teams collaborate in Smartsheet, clarity around who can rearrange the space keeps things smooth and predictable. Admins hold the keys to moves, deletions, and major setup decisions. So, the next time Inez asks to relocate a sheet into your workspace, it’s not about a power trip—it’s about protecting the workflow, the data, and the people who rely on it every day. And that, in my book, is exactly what good governance looks like in action.