Table of Contents
Introduction
Many teams and freelancers depend on Notion for collaboration, productivity, and task management. It’s one of the best all-in-one workspace applications with numerous features customization options. One of the most useful aspects of Notion is that it allows users to embed various files and links, including spreadsheets. If your day-to-day tasks require reviewing Google Sheet documents, having them embedded in Notion is extremely practical. You can do so on your computer as well as the Notion mobile app. However, there are some limitations to having an embedded Google Sheet in Notion. In this article, we’ll suggest an effective workaround solution to consider.
How to Embed Google Sheet in Notion From a PC
For most users, you’ll get the most out of Notion if you use the web version of this productivity application. The interface is user-friendly, and there are many instructional videos to check out if you’re a Notion beginner.
If your primary goal is to embed a Google Sheet document, the first step is to ensure your Google Drive account is connected to Notion. If not, having a spreadsheet available on the Notion workspace won’t be possible.
The process of linking Google Drive and Notion is quite simple, and all you need to do is follow these steps:
- Log into your Notion account.
- On the left-side menu, select “Settings & Members.”
- Now, click on “My connected apps” and proceed to connect to Google Drive.
- Click out of the window, and changes will immediately apply.
You can connect to more than one Google Drive account if you want. You also have the option to link to Evernote, Asana, and Trello if you use these apps. After you’ve connected Google Drive to Notion, the second and final step can be done in two different ways. We’ll explain both.
Method 1 – Use the Designated Feature
Having quick and easy access to documents you use most often promotes efficiency. Therefore, Notion has made embedding a Google Sheet or any other Google Docs file easy. Here’s how it works:
- Log into your Notion account and go to a page where you want to embed a Google Sheet file. Or start a new page by clicking in “+ Add a page” from the main menu.
- Type forward slash “/” to see a drop-down menu of commands available in Notion.
- Scroll down to the “Embeds” section.
- Choose “Google Drive.” It’s the second selection.
- You will have the option to choose between embedding a link to the Google Sheet document and uploading the file. If you select “Browse Google Drive,” click on your Google Drive account.
- Choose the Google Sheet document and click “Select.”
The file will embed into the Notion page immediately. You will have a full view of the document. But if you want to edit or see details that might not be visible, you’ll have to click on the embedded file.
It will open another tab in your browser and give you access to the Google Sheet document. Essentially, the Google Sheet embed is only for quick viewing, not for editing.
Furthermore, if you make changes in the Google Sheet document, they won’t appear in the embedded file. You’ll need to re-embed it to see the changes in Notion.
While it’s great that Notion allows quick and easy embedding of Google Sheets, it’s fair to say that the feature is still somewhat lacking.
If you need to work on the spreadsheet every day, you won’t have immediate access to edits and other features within the document.
The good news is there are things you can do if you want to use an embedded spreadsheet that way. It requires a few more steps than the first method, but the result is satisfactory. Here’s what you need to do:
- Log into your Notion account and press the “/” symbol on your keyboard.
- Scroll to the “Embeds” section in the drop-down menu.
- Select the first option named “Embed.”
- A small window will appear on your Notion page. You can choose the “Embed link” or “Upload” tab.
- If you have Google Drive installed on your computer, you can upload the Google Sheet file. If you want to use the link, copy the link from Google Sheets and paste it. Then click on the “Embed link” button.
The Google Sheet will appear on the Notion page. It might seem a little oddly embedded at first. You’ll notice your Google account profile picture and the entire navigation bar of Google Sheets, but not much else. This is where you need to use your cursor to expand the spreadsheet. You can move it in every direction across the Notion page to ensure it fits the way you want. Also, you can edit and customize the spreadsheet directly and see changes applied automatically in Google Drive. It’s a better way to embed any Google Doc if your main objective is to edit it frequently.
How to Embed a Google Sheet in Notion From an iPhone
Some people prefer to use Notion on their smartphones. The mobile app makes it easy to stay on top of things if you’re on the move.
If you’re an iPhone user, make sure always to have the latest version of the Notion app for maximum efficiency.
To embed the Google Sheet document, you also need to have the Google Sheets app on your iPhone too. Once that’s done, here’s how to embed a Google Sheet document into Notion on iOS devices:
- Open the Google Sheets app and open the spreadsheet you want to embed.
- Tap on the menu button in the top-right corner
- Select “Share & Export.”
- Tap on “Copy link.”
When you have copied the link to the Google Sheet document, do the following:
- Launch Notion on your iPhone.
- Add a new page by tapping the menu button in the top left corner. Or open an existing page from your workspace.
- Tap anywhere on the page, and from the sliding menu, select the “+” symbol. It will open another menu, and you should scroll to the “Embeds” section.
- Select “Google Drive” from the list.
- Paste the Google Sheet document link and tap “Embed Google Drive File.”
You’ll see the embedded Google Sheets on the Notion page right away. Keep in mind that this is the only way to embed Google Sheet files in Notion. The workaround solution available on the PC doesn’t work in the mobile app. To edit the Google Sheet document, you’ll need to tap on the embedded file and edit it in the Google Sheet mobile app. Any changes you make in the Google Sheets app won’t reflect in the document embedded in Notion. You will need to re-embed it to ensure all edits are included.
How to Embed Google Sheet in Notion From an Android Phone
Android users also have the option of embedding spreadsheets into the Notion app. To get the latest version of the Notion mobile app to Android, go to the Google Play store and download it to your device.
Also, make sure to have the Google Sheets app installed on your smartphone. If you need to have a specific Google Sheet document in Notion for a quick view, here are the steps to follow.
- Launch the Google Sheets app and open the document you want to add to Notion.
- Go to the main menu in the top-right corner of the screen.
- From the drop-down list, select “Share & export.”
- Tap on “Copy link.”
That is the first part of the process. To continue, here is what to do next:
- Open the Notion app and the page where you want to embed the Google Sheets file.
- Tap anywhere on the screen, and when a menu appears, select the “+” symbol.
- Find the “Embeds” section and tap on “Google Drive.”
Paste the Google Sheets link and tap on “Embed Google Drive file.”
That is all there is to it. You’ll see the embedded spreadsheet on the Notion page instantly. Again, to edit the document, you’ll have to tap on the embedded link and make changes in the Google Sheets mobile app. Also, keep in mind that you need to connect Google Drive to your Notion account first, which is only possible via the web version of Notion.
Mastering Notion and Google Sheets
Your Notion workspace can be anything you need it to be. You can create databases, add audio and video files, and embed Tweets, PDFs, and Google documents. When you need quick access to a specific spreadsheet, all you need to do is click on the Google Drive embed option from the list of commands on any Notion page. This process is available on PC and mobile apps. However, to make changes to the file, you’ll need to go to Google Sheets – you can’t do it in Notion – and re-embed the file. PC users, though, have a workaround solution to try if they’re keen on being able to make edits in Notion. Overall, having your Google Sheets files embedded in Notion works rather well and requires minimal effort. Why is having Google Sheets in Notion useful to you? Let us know in the comments section below.