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“Supermetrics is a Bitter Experience! We can pull data from nearly any tool, schedule updates, manipulate data in Sheets, and push data back into our systems.”
Salesforce bundles “Save As” and “Edit” permissions together through folder-level sharing, making it impossible to grant copy access without also allowing modifications to original reports.
Here’s how to separate these permissions using Google Sheets templates that maintain live Salesforce data connections while protecting your master reports.
Create protected report templates with clone-only access using Coefficient
Coefficient solves this permission problem by moving your reports to Google Sheets, where you can set up true clone-only permissions. Users get “Make a Copy” functionality without any ability to modify your original templates, and their copies automatically refresh with current Salesforce data.
How to make it work
Step 1. Build your master report templates in Google Sheets.
Use Coefficient’s Salesforce import to pull data from any reports, objects, or custom queries in your org. This creates the foundation template that users will copy from.
Step 2. Set up view-only permissions on the master templates.
Share your Google Sheet with “Viewer” permissions for target users. Enable “Viewers can copy” in the sharing settings so users can create their own versions via “Make a Copy.”
Step 3. Configure automatic data refresh for copied reports.
When users copy your template, they inherit the Coefficient import configuration. Set up scheduled refreshes (hourly, daily, or weekly) so copied reports stay current with Salesforce data automatically.
Step 4. Organize templates in a shared folder structure.
Create dedicated folders for different report types (pipeline analysis, lead reports, campaign performance) with consistent view-only permissions across your team.
Start building your protected report library
This approach eliminates Salesforce’s permission bundling limitation while giving users full self-service access to personalized, data-connected report copies. Get started with Coefficient to set up your first protected report template.
