How To Share Google Data Studio Reports With Clients

So, it’s time to share a masterpiece report you just finished in Google Data Studio, but you don’t know how to go about it.

You don’t need to worry, as I will show you all the possible ways on how to share Google Data Studio reports with clients in this post.

Let’s check out the various sharing options, what they entail, and how to enable them.

Sharing Google Data Studio Reports With Clients

At first, it may seem that there aren’t many options, but Data Studio has several different options to share a report.

Understanding the differences between these sharing options and what they mean for the people who will access your report is essential.

In this section of the post, I’ll take you through each sharing option in detail, including how to use them, different scenarios in which you could use them, and other relevant information.

Inviting People To View Or Edit A Report In Google Data Studio

You most likely want your dashboard to be private, accessible only to the clients that you specifically invite to see or make changes to it. You can add the client’s email addresses to the list of all the users.

You can invite customers by email to view, analyze, edit, or contribute to a report by following these steps:

1. First, click Invite People from the Share drop-down menu in the report’s top-right corner.

2. Here, you can configure access rights with two primary options: View Only and Edit Permissions. 

These have varying degrees of accessibility, but they are relatively easy to understand on their own. 

If you’re the owner, you can also restrict editors from altering access levels and adding people on their own, as well as viewers from downloading or duplicating your dashboard.

Let’s check out the two sharing options:

View Only

Sharing reports with clients in View Only mode prevents them from editing the report’s format or contents.

Here’s how to share Google Data Studio reports with clients in “view-only” mode:

1. First, click the drop-down menu beside the Share button.

2. Then, select Invite People from the drop-down menu. 

NOTE: You can also achieve steps 1 and 2 by clicking the Share button directly.

3. In the Add People section, enter the email address of the client you want to invite.
4. Assign Can View as the user’s permission type.

5. You can decide to notify the person(s) you’re sharing access with by email by checking the box in front of Notify People, 
6. Then, click Send.

• With Editing Permission

If you’re okay with it, you can allow your clients to make changes to your Google Data Studio reports.

Follow these procedures to share a report with a client with “edit permissions”:

1. First, click the drop-down menu beside the Share button.

2. Select Invite People. 

NOTE: You can also achieve steps 1 and 2 by clicking the Share button directly.

3. In the Add People section, enter the email address of the person you want to invite.
4. Assign Can Edit as the user’s permission type.

5. Click Notify People to email the clients.
6. Then, click Send.

Sharing The Report Link On Google Data Studio

Sharing the report link is the simplest method to share Google Data Studio reports with clients since Google Data Studio will provide you with an automatically-generated link that you can use to share your reports. 

You can easily share the report with others by clicking Get Report Link in the Share drop-down. You’ll need to configure your link-sharing permissions.

You still have a few choices available to you in this regard, and you should be aware that their degrees of safety will differ.

You can specify the level of access that anyone who clicks on a link to your report will have under the Manage access section.

The following are the access options Google Data Studio offers:

Anyone On The Internet Can Find And View

With this option, your report will be viewable and shareable by everyone on the internet. You can use it to create stunning, publicly available Google Data Studio dashboards and illustrations.

Anyone On The Internet Can Find And Edit

By selecting this option, you give anybody the ability to view, share, and even edit your report, making it searchable on search engines like Google.

For the sake of your dashboard’s security, I strongly advise against this. 

Anyone With The Link Can View 

Choose this option if you want everyone with the report’s URL to be able to view the report. If you wish to post your report on social media, use this option to do so.

 It’s both efficient and secure. This option is fantastic for dashboards that have a significant number of users.

Anyone With The Link Can Edit

Select this option if you want anybody with the report’s URL to be able to view and edit the report.

Again, due to your dashboard’s security, I wouldn’t recommend this, but it is a simple approach to provide edit access.

Don’t forget to utilize the Version History to restore your dashboard if someone makes a mistake.

Anyone In Your Organization With The Link Can View

With this option, you can share the generated link for clients to view, but only when the user is signed in to an account belonging to an organization.

As a result, you can time by not having to create and maintain additional user accounts manually.

Anyone In Your Organization With The Link Can Edit

This sharing option is the same as the previous option, but now, all of these users can make changes to the dashboard. 

Your firm or group will benefit greatly from using these dashboards and reports as a collaborative tool.

Off – Only Specific People Can Access

If you want your report to be accessible to just a select group of individuals, you should choose this option.

As we previously discussed, this is the configuration you should use if you want to limit access based on invitation alone.

So if you are looking for how to share Google Data Studio reports with clients, you can see that there is a plethora of sharing options for Google Data Studio reports, each with specific attributes. 

Sharing reports may seem like a lot, but keep in mind that each option is unique, and each use case is also different.

Schedule Email Delivery Of A Report In Google Data Studio

Scheduling an email delivery enables you to automate the sharing of report links through email. You can set up an email distribution schedule for your dashboard and send it to a particular group of people.

You have complete control over which pages of your report are shared, and you can do so on a regular schedule. 

Regular data and statistics meetings benefit significantly from this since it allows everyone to stay up to date on everything.

Here’s how to schedule email delivery:

1. In the drop-down menu under the Share button, Click on Schedule email delivery, 

2. Then, enter the email addresses of the recipients.
3. (Optional) You can also customize the mail subject and message.
4. Next, select the pages of your report you would like to schedule email delivery for.
5. After that, specify the Start Time.
6. Then, select the repeat rate (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Weekdays, or Custom).
7. Last, click Schedule to finalize the automation.

Download Dashboard as a PDF

Another option to share Google Data Studio reports with clients is downloading a dashboard as a PDF. 

Whether you wish to have your report printed to discuss with your team or if you have been requested to send it as an attachment, you can download your Data Studio dashboard as a PDF.

Here’s how to download a dashboard as a PDF:

1. First, click the drop-down menu beside the Share button.

2. Then, select Download Report. 

NOTE: You can also access the Download Report button from the File tab.

3. Now, you’ll need to select the dashboard(s) you want to download as PDF under the Select Page radio button. 

4. (Optional) You can also select Additional Options (Ignore custom background color, Add a link back to the report, and Password protect report).

5. Then, click Download, and the PDF file should be in your default download location.

Embed Report

Google data studio enables you to embed a fully working report on any iframe-enabled website/application or oEmbed-compatible social media platform.

Here’s how to get the iframe to embed your report:

1. First, click the drop-down menu beside the Share button.

2. Then, click Embed report. 

3. After that, check the Enable embedding box to embed a data studio report on a website or app that supports the HTML iframe element. 

4. Now, you can copy the iframe code or URL and embed your report.

5. You can also uncheck the Show report navigation in embedded mode if you feel you won’t need it.
6. (Optional) You can also specify the width and height in pixels.
7. Finally, you can click COPY TO CLIPBOARD and use it in your HTML page or web application.

Keep in mind that each embedded resource will appear on as many pages as you choose. Enabling embedding implies that other people can use your embedded material on their websites.

At this point, I believe you should know how to share Google Data Studio reports with clients efficiently using the sharing options listed above. 

However, you may want to export the report for use in other formats. Read on to find out how you can do so.

Before that, you should also check out STEP 10 of a similar tutorial on how to automate your reports in 10 steps with Google Data Studio. 

How Do I Export A Data Studio Report From Google?

The interactive capabilities of Data Studio reports are pretty powerful, and you can access them from any device so long as you have the link and an active internet connection. 

However, there are situations in which it is more practical to have a printable piece that one can refer to, write notes on, or mail out.

You can utilize Data Studio to get insight into your data and then export that data for use in other applications.

This section will examine how to export Google Data Studio reports to several file formats, including PDF and Google Sheets.

How to export your Google Data Studio report to a PDF

Another option for sharing Google Data Studio reports with clients is exporting your report to a PDF. Here’s how to export your Google Data Studio report to a PDF:

1. First, click the drop-down menu beside the Share button.

2. Then, select Download Report. 

NOTE: You can also access the Download Report button from the File tab.

3. Choose between All Pages and Select Pages (You can check the boxes of the pages you want to download) to save just the pages you want to your computer or mobile device. 

4. (Optional) You can also select Additional Options (Ignore custom background color, Add a link back to the report, and Password protect report).

5. Then, click DOWNLOAD, and the PDF file will be in your default download location.

How to export your Google Data Studio report to Google Sheets

First, you cannot export a full report to Google Sheets; you can only export data from a chart.

This option produces a new spreadsheet from the exported data and saves it straight to your Google Drive account. 

Using this method, you can export a small table and send it to your clients. 

To export your Google Data Studio chart to Google Sheets, follow these steps:

1. First, click on the three vertical dots in the upper right of the chart. 

2. Then, click on Export.

3. You can change the name of the export file in the Name box provided
4. Then, select Google Sheets under the Export As heading.

5. (Optional) You can also decide to keep the formatting of your values by checking the Keep value formatting box.
6. Now, click EXPORT, and you’ll be redirected to a new Google Sheet page containing the sheets you just exported.

How do I export data from a chart?

Exporting a chart’s data saves it in the file format of your choice. Data export does not save the picture of the chart but rather the data it contains. 

Exporting data from a chart is as simple as following the instructions below:

1. Place your mouse pointer on the chart you want to export.
2. Right-click the chart to choose More options, and then click Export.

3. Name your exported data, and you’ll get three Export As options:
   1. CSV: Generates a text file with comma separation.
   2. CSV (Excel): Creates a comma-separated text file with non-ASCII characters encoded correctly for use in Excel by using the CSV format.
   3. Google Sheets: Data is sent immediately to Google Sheets.

4. If you want to export your data with the number and date formats that you applied in Data Studio, click the Keep value formatting checkbox.
5. Now, click EXPORT, and the data for the chart will be exported/downloaded in the specified file format.

Conclusion

From this article, you must have learned that there are several ways on how to share your Google Data Studio reports with clients, but as you can see, there are also some minor differences to be mindful of before you begin sharing them. 

If you are planning on automating your Google Data Studio report, I recommend you check out Porter Metrics first and make a report.

Porter Metrics offers you a no-code platform with free template galleries, familiar marketing tools and connections, and 24/7 customer support.

You should also know that you’ll be getting a 14-day free trial, and if you have any issues with making a report, you can schedule a call to get a free report setup.

Lastly, you should check out our YouTube video on Google Data Studio: Share Your Reports [Automate it] to learn more about sharing Google Data Studio reports and automating them. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make a Data Studio report public?

Follow the steps below to make a Data Studio report public.

1. Choose Share from the menu to open the sharing window.
2. Then, head to the Manage Access tab.
3. Now, choose the Anyone on the internet can find and view option.
4. You can also choose to select the Disable downloading, printing, and copying for viewers option in the sharing settings.
5. Then, click Save to save the changes.

How do I share a Data Studio template? 

The easiest way to share your report as a Data Studio template is to enable the Link Sharing option.

Follow the steps below to share a Data Studio report so viewers can use it as a template.

1. First, choose Share from the menu to open the sharing window.
2. Then, head to the Manage Access tab.
3. After that, enable the Linking Sharing option by selecting your preferred sharing choice.
4. You can now copy and share this link with your colleagues. They will have the ability to make a copy of the report and use it as a template for their work.

NOTE: Verify that the Disable downloading, printing, and copying for viewers box is unchecked.

5. Then, click Save to save the changes.

How do you send a Data Studio report?

You can send a Data Studio report to a client by scheduling an email address for them to receive it. 

Using an email delivery schedule, you can send out report links to clients or coworkers without having to do so manually. 

Scheduling reports has proven to be an excellent way to share Google Data Studio reports with clients. 

Follow the steps below to send a Data Studio report:

1. In the drop-down menu under the Share button, click on Schedule email delivery, 
2. Then, enter the email addresses of the recipients.
3. (Optional) You can also customize the mail subject and message.
4. Next, select the pages of your report you would like to schedule email delivery for.
5. After that, specify the Start Time.
6. Then, select the repeat rate (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Weekdays, or Custom).
7. Last, click Schedule to finalize the automation.