Google Sheets huge limitation — can't use shared spreadsheets in workflows

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I found a very annoying issue when I tried to connect to a Google Sheets spreadsheet that I want to use in my workflow. No matter how many times I refreshed, the spreadsheet I wanted to connect to would not show in the list of spreadsheet IDs. After a while, I realized that the only spreadsheets that can be selected are ones that were created under the same Google account. Though I have full editor rights to the spreadsheet, Make won’t let me use it in a workflow.

I actually created the spreadsheet under a different Google account. I have several Google accounts I use for different purposes. For privacy reasons, I choose not to connect any third party accounts to my original Google account, which I consider my personal account. Even though the spreadsheet was created under a different account, I gave full editing rights to the Google account I connected to Make.

I am currently reviewing several workflow automation services and this is the first time I ever ran into such an issue. I’m afraid I won’t be able to continue testing Make with this limitation, which is a bummer because I heard great things about Make.

2

Welcome to the Make community!

Did you try the “Shared with me” option?

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Hope this helps! Let me know if there are any further questions or issues.

— @samliew

P.S.: Investing some effort into the Make Academy will save you lots of time and frustration using Make.

3

Hi there,
Thanks for your suggestion. Yes I did look in the Shared folder and there was nothing. I found a workaround by manually entering the Google Sheets ID, but I am still struggling with a lot of the mapping functionalities. I can tell Make is a powerful tool once you get through the learning curve, but I’m not sure I have enough time to go through the education.

4

Are any of your Google accounts a Google workspace (business) account? It might not have been set up correctly to share outside of the organisation.

Also, how did you set up the connections? Did you insert a custom client ID and secret key?

If you require further assistance, I think it’s best to contact support since it has to do with permissions with your accounts. I am able to share editing rights between my accounts and still use them in Make.

Hope this helps! Let me know if there are any further questions or issues.

— @samliew