Google Sheets canvas can now be published as its own link

Google Sheets now lets you publish a canvas to its own link, so other people can view and use it without getting the spreadsheet. Google says it rolls out from 11 November 2026 for Rapid Release domains and from 2 December 2026 for Scheduled Release, on Business Standard and Plus, Enterprise Standard and Plus and some Google AI plans. Check what the canvas shows before you publish it.

What is a Sheets canvas?

A canvas is a tab in a spreadsheet where Gemini turns the data into a small app, such as a dashboard, a kanban board or a calendar. It uses the data from one tab of a sheet stored in Google Drive. Google's help page says source data above 1 million cells is not supported yet. Normally, anyone who opens the canvas needs access to the spreadsheet itself.

What changes with publishing

With this update, someone who can edit the spreadsheet can publish the canvas. The people who open the published link get a read-only copy of the mini app. They can filter and click around in it, but they cannot open or change the source sheet.

The link is separate from the spreadsheet link and has its own audience. Google gives the example of a file shared with a small team while the canvas is published to the whole organisation. When you publish, you choose one of two modes. The canvas can republish by itself every time the sheet changes, or it can stay as a fixed view of the data as it was when you published. From the same toolbar button you can copy the link, change who can see it or stop publishing. For now it works in Sheets on the web only.

Who gets it and what admins control

Google lists these plans:

• Business Standard and Business Plus
• Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus
• Google AI Pro and Ultra, Google AI Pro for Education, and the AI Expanded Access add-on

Business Starter is not on the list. Each domain may take up to 15 days to see the option after its rollout start date.

There is no new switch in the Admin console. Canvas publishing follows the existing Drive sharing setting that allows users to publish files to the web. If your company has turned that off, staff will not be able to publish a canvas either.

Where it helps in a Malaysian office

The obvious use is a sales dashboard for the boss or branch managers who only need to look, not edit. A product price list, a delivery schedule or a training calendar for all staff also fits. Your team keeps updating the sheet and everyone else sees the result, with no risk that someone deletes a formula by mistake.

It also helps when the sheet holds more than you want to show. The canvas can show totals per region while the raw rows stay in the file that only the accounts team can open.

What to do

1. Admins: in the Google Admin console, open the Drive sharing settings and check whether users may publish files to the web. Google says this new option follows that setting. Decide if that is what you want before staff start using this.
2. Before you publish, open the canvas and look at every view, filter and card. If it shows customer names, IC numbers, phone numbers, addresses or salaries, do not publish it as it is. Make a canvas from a tab that holds only the summary figures. Under the PDPA your company is responsible for the personal data it shares, so check with your own adviser if you are not sure what may go out.
3. Pick the audience with care. "Anyone in the organisation" is enough for most internal dashboards. Only choose a wider audience when the content is meant for clients and has nothing private in it.
4. Choose auto republish for live numbers such as daily sales. Choose a static view for a price list you want to approve before each change goes out.
5. Keep a list of what you have published. When a project ends or a staff member leaves, open the canvas toolbar and stop publishing.

If your company is still on another email system and wants features like this, our Google Workspace migration service moves your mailboxes and files across.

Source and credit

We are sharing this news from Google. This summary is written by Synctech in our own words.

• Publish a Sheets canvas as a standalone link, Google Workspace Updates, 11 November 2026: https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2026/11/publish-sheets-canvas-as-standalone-link.html
• Create a Sheets canvas, Google Docs Editors Help: https://support.google.com/docs/answer/17035851 Retrieved 12 Nov 2026. Google, Google Workspace, Google Sheets and Gemini are trademarks of their owners. Synctech is not connected with them. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If anything here is wrong, email support@synctech.com.my and we will correct it.