How to make a sign-up sheet in Google Docs

Step by step

1. Start a blank document. Go to docs.google.com and click Blank document, or in Google Drive click New > Google Docs. Click "Untitled document" at the top left and name the file after the event, so you can find it again.
2. Write the header. Type the event, date, time and place, then one line of instructions: "Type your name in an empty row. Please don't change anyone else's." That sentence prevents more damage than any setting.
3. Insert the table. Click Insert > Table and drag across the grid to pick 4 columns and one row per spot, plus a row for the labels. The grid goes up to 20 by 20. For more rows, right-click the last row and choose Insert row below.
4. Label the columns. In the top row, type Slot, Name, Email or phone, and Notes. Select the row and make it bold (Ctrl+B, or Cmd+B on a Mac).
5. Write one row per spot. If you need three desserts, write "Dessert" in three rows. In a Doc, the number of rows is the only limit you get, so count carefully.
6. Pin the label row. Right-click a cell in the top row and choose Pin header row, so the labels repeat at the top of every page of a long list.
7. Share it. Click Share at the top right. Under General access, change Restricted to Anyone with the link, then change the role next to it from Viewer to Editor. Click Copy link, then Done.
8. Stop editors re-sharing it. In the Share box, click the gear icon and uncheck the option that lets editors change permissions and share. Otherwise anyone with the link can invite other people or change who has access.
9. Get an email when the list changes. Click Tools > Notification settings. Under Edits, choose Added or removed content. You'll hear about names going in, and names coming out.
10. Save a clean copy of the blank sheet. Click File > Version history > Name current version and call it "Blank sheet". If the list gets wrecked, you can find this point in a few seconds.

A layout to copy

Select the whole table below, copy it, and paste it into your document. Google Docs pastes it as a real table, so you can skip steps 3 to 5 and just rename the slots. It's set up for a potluck of about 25 people.

For the lines above the table, something like this works:

Fall potluck · Saturday, November 14 · 5:30pm · Lincoln Park shelter
Type your name in an empty row. Please don't change anyone else's.
Can't come after all? Delete only your own name, then text Maya.

For volunteer shifts, put the day and time in the Slot column ("Sat 9–11am, setup") and repeat the row once for each person the shift needs. The numbers in the first column help on the phone: "I took row 7" is easier to say than describe.

Where a shared Doc goes wrong

• Anyone can change anything. The Editor role covers the whole document, not just the empty cells. A slip on a phone deletes a row. Someone tidying up removes names they don't recognize. Google Docs has no way to lock part of a document.
• Two names, one spot. Nothing stops two people typing into the same cell at once, or a fourth person adding a row under Dessert. You find out when four desserts arrive.
• You can't always tell who did it. People who open the link without signing in to Google show up as anonymous animals, such as Anonymous Otter, in the document and in its history.
• No confirmations, no reminders. Nobody gets an email saying what they signed up for. Reminding people means copying addresses out of the table and writing the email yourself.
• Phones. Most people open a sign-up link from a group chat on a phone. Editing a Docs table on a phone usually means installing the Google Docs app first, and in a phone's web browser people are often only able to read it. Some of them won't come back on a laptop.
• Everyone sees everyone's details. Every email address and phone number in the table is visible to anyone with the link, and editors can download or copy the whole document.
• Big groups hit a ceiling. Google lets a file be edited in up to 100 open tabs or devices at the same time. Past that, only the owner and some editors can make changes. A class list sent to 300 parents at once can hit it.
• School and work accounts. If your Google account comes from a school or employer, the admin may block "Anyone with the link" sharing outside the organization, and parents with a personal Gmail account can't get in.

Undoing damage with version history

Google Docs keeps earlier versions of the file, so a deleted name is rarely gone for good.

1. Click File > Version history > See version history, or the clock icon at the top right of the document.
2. Click through the versions in the panel on the right. Changes are highlighted with the name, or anonymous animal, of whoever made them.
3. Copy the missing name back into the current version. Use Restore this version only if nothing newer needs keeping, because restoring also removes every sign-up made after that point.

Seeing who changed one particular part of a Doc ("Show editors") only works on some paid Google Workspace plans. In Google Sheets, anyone with edit access can right-click a cell and see its history, which is one reason Sheets is the sturdier choice.

Making the Doc harder to break

• Use Commenter instead of Editor. Set the link's role to Commenter and ask people to leave a comment such as "Dessert: apple pie, Maya". You type the names in yourself. Nobody can delete anything, but commenting needs a Google account, and you become the person doing data entry.
• Close it when you're done. Once the list is full or the deadline passes, switch the role back to Viewer so the final list stays put.
• Keep a copy the night before. File > Make a copy takes two seconds and gives you a list nobody else can edit.
• Print it. For a sign-up on a table at the event, print the Doc and bring a pen. A printed list can't be deleted from a phone.

In Microsoft Word

The same table works in Word for the web. Share the file from OneDrive with a link that lets anyone with it edit. It has the same weak spots as a Google Doc. There are no limits per slot, no way to lock the slot column, and no reminders.

When a sign-up tool is easier

A Doc is fine when the group is small (say under 15 people who know each other), nothing runs out, and you'll be checking the list anyway. A snack rota for a team that already lives in Google Workspace is a good Doc.

A sign-up tool is easier when slots run out and a duplicate matters, when people sign up from their phones, when you want reminders and a way to cancel that doesn't involve messaging you, or when you'd rather not show everyone's email address to everyone else.

In Dibs, the Slot column becomes the list. You type each slot once with its limit, and the sheet keeps count:

1. Main dish x33 spots
2. Side or salad x44 spots
3. Dessert x33 spots
4. Drinks x22 spots
5. Plates, cups & napkins1 spot

Use this list for Fall potluck

Each person taps a slot, types their name and email, and gets a confirmation with a link to swap or cancel. A full slot says so and offers the waitlist, and reminders go out before the day. It's free, with no ads and no accounts for anyone. If you'd rather stay in Google, a Google Sheets sign-up sheet can count spots and lock the slot column, which a Doc can't. And if you were weighing up Google Forms, the Forms comparison covers why it can't limit a single option.

Google Docs, Google Sheets and Google Drive are trademarks of Google LLC. Microsoft Word is a trademark of Microsoft. Dibs is not affiliated with either. Menus were checked against Google's help pages on October 28, 2026; if Google has moved something since, tell us and we'll fix it.