How to see the edit history for cells in Google Sheets and spot changes or mistakes in a spreadsheet

Publish date: 2024-06-29
2020-12-02T18:29:15Z

One of Google Workspace's best features across its product suite is its edit history tool, which is available for Docs, Slides, and Sheets.

The feature lets users view previous versions of the file, which can be named and are organized by time and date. Historically, edit history has only been available for the entire file, meaning you couldn't undo a single change from a past version without reverting its other associated changes. 

That could be particularly frustrating for Sheets users who are frequently working with multiple values, and thus multiple small edits. Fortunately, Google Sheets has now expanded its edit history feature so that you can view the past versions of not only the entire spreadsheet but individual cells within the spreadsheet.

This tool works like the file's whole edit history. You can view individual edits in order, all the way back to the creation of the cell. So if you're worried you may have made a mistake in your data entry, you can check the edit history of any problematic cell and confirm or refute your suspicions — without losing any of your work by hitting Undo repeatedly.

Here's a brief walkthrough of how to see the edit history for cells in Google Sheets. 

How to see edit history for cells in Google Sheets

1. Open the Google Sheet where you wish to view the edit history.

2. Click on the cell you wish to view the edit history for. 

A blue ring will appear around the Google Sheets cell you've selected. Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

3. Right-click on the cell. In the menu that appears, click on "Show edit history." 

The "Show edit history" option is beneath the "Special Paste" option. Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

4. To view individual edits, click the arrow icons in the "Edit history" message pane that appears.

You can use the arrows to click through and see past versions of the cell. Chrissy Montelli/Business Insider

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Chrissy Montelli Chrissy Montelli is a writer and content creator originally from Long Island, NY. She is the author of two poetry chapbooks, Heart Float (Bottlecap Press) and Going to Ithaca (Ghost City Press), as well as various online publications. Read more from her at chrissymontelli.wordpress.com. Read more Read less

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