Workbook Modes Overview: View, Explore, Edit

This document applies to organizations that onboarded after the November 1, 2022 release of Live Edit or have since upgraded to workbooks with Live Edit capability. If Live Edit isn’t enabled for your organization, see Workbook Modes Overview (Legacy).

Sigma features three workbook modes (View, Explore, and Edit) that provide different levels of access and interactions within a workbook. Each mode is designed to help you perform specific tasks depending on your objectives and permissions.


Summary of Content

Workbook Mode Objectives

Workbook Accessibility Comparison


Workbook Mode Objectives

  View mode Explore mode Edit mode
Purpose Allows you to view a published version of a workbook (i.e., the version labeled “Published” and all tagged versions) Provides an isolated environment that allows you to perform unrestricted ad hoc analysis without impacting saved or shared versions of a workbook Provides a draft environment with full-scope analytic functionality that allows you to perform and save an individual or collaborative analysis
Use case Recommended when you need to review a workbook without performing additional analysis Recommended when you need quick answers to specific business questions, but you don’t need to save the analysis for future use or sharing Recommended when you need to build reports and publish them for future use or sharing
Account type requirement View workbook permission enabled Explore workbook permission enabled Edit workbook permission enabled
Workbook permission Can view, Can explore, Can edit, or Owner Can explore, Can edit, or Owner Can edit or Owner

Workbook Accessibility Comparison

The following table breaks down the workbook access control model that governs what you can do in each mode.

  View mode Explore mode Edit mode
Version access

Published version1

Draft version
Element actions
Maximize element

View, filter, and sort underlying data

View element data source

Download element data2
Add/view element comments
Refresh element data
Copy element
Paste element
Create child element
Workbook actions
Use existing controls (filters, parameters)
Export workbook page2
Refresh workbook data
Add/view workbook comments
Modify content (pages, elements, layouts)
Create content (pages, elements, layouts)
Delete content (pages, elements, layouts)
Edit workbook layout
View and change workbook data source
View custom SQL logic
View the workbook lineage
View hidden workbook pages
Publish changes

1 If Version Tagging is enabled, users with Can view or Can explore workbook permission are granted access to all versions or specified tagged versions only.
2 Function requires Export permission in the user’s assigned account type.


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