Step 1: Log in to Softr or create an account

First, you will need to login to Softr. If you don’t have an account, you can sign up to Softr for free.

Step 2: Choose a template or build from scratch

Softr offers a wide variety of templates that can simplify the process of creating apps with data stored in Google Sheets. When you’re logged into Softr, click on “New Application.”

Step 2.1: Select a template

You’ll be navigated to the template gallery, where you can choose to build from scratch or speed up the process by using any template that fits what you’re looking to password-protect.

For example, password-protect a timeline, click on the Internal Tools tab. Then scroll down until you find the Project Management Template and click on it.

Step 2.2: Click on “Use Template”

You’ll be presented with an overview of the Project Management Template. Once you’re ready, click on the “Use Template” button in the bottom right corner.

Step 3: Connect Softr and Google Sheets

To password-protect your timeline in Softr using your Google Sheets data, you have to connect both tools following these steps:

Step 3.1 Choose Google Sheets as the data source

First, grant Softr access to your data in Google Sheets by clicking on “Google Sheets” and then on “Continue.”

Step 3.2: Log in to your Google account

You’ll be redirected to the Google account login screen, where you need to click on the account where the Google Sheets file is saved.

Step 3.3: Authorize Softr

Next, authorize Softr to see and make changes in your Google Drive files, which includes your Google Sheets files, by ticking the two boxes highlighted in the image below. Then click on “Continue.”

Step 4: Click on “Go to application”

Now that you’ve connected Softr with your Google account, you’ll be redirected back to the onboarding page. There, click on “Go to application” to continue the process.

Step 5: Add a block

Now, you need to add one of Softr’s pre-made blocks, so that you can get your data from your Google Sheets spreadsheet. To do so, click on the “+” sign at the top right corner of your screen. Once the block menu slides in, choose one block.

In our example, because we set ourselves to import project management-related data from Google Sheets, we typed “timeline” and selected “List with timeline” to visualize our projects.

Step 6: Choose your Google account

Click on “Connect data source” under the Source tab, then choose your connected Google account.

Step 7: Select your spreadsheet and sheet

Next, select the spreadsheet with the data you want to use. Then, select the specific sheet of that spreadsheet that contains the data you want to protect with a password.

Step 8: Access the visibility options

In Softr Studio, click on the “Pages” button at the top left corner of your screen to select the page you want to access and edit. This can be any of the pages you used to connect your Google Sheets data with.

Then click on the three dots and click on “Settings” to access the visibility options for that specific page.

Step 9: Protect your data with a password

In the settings, click on the dropdown under Visibility to choose who you’d like to see the data in your Google Sheet file. There are three options to choose from:

• All users: includes those who are logged in and those who aren’t;
• Logged-in users: only those who have a password needed to access the data;
• Non logged-in users: only those who don’t have a password access the data.

Since you want to restrict access to the page to only those who have a password, select the “Logged-in users” option.

Step 10: Define who can view your data

Softr lets you assign and choose the specific group of people you want to view the document using the user groups feature. These groups are a way to organize those attempting to access your data into different categories, so that each person gets access to specific parts of your data.

Step 10.1: Create a user group

To create a user group, click on “users” on the left side of your screen and select the User Groups tab. Then click on “Add user group.”

Step 10.2: Name your user group

After clicking on “Add user group,” a text box will pop up asking you to name your user group. Type the name you might use to identify a group of people, such as “Employees,” then click on “Next.”

Step 10.3: Add users to your new group

Once you have a user group, you need to add users to it. You can do this manually or by adding users based on their attributes with conditions. After creating a user group, you can use it to control who can see a particular block or page.

Step 11: Set block visibility for logged-in users

To set block visibility for logged-in users, return to the page where you added your block. Then click on the block to open the settings on the right side. There, click on the Visibility tab to add the user groups who can see your data under “Which user groups.”

Step 12: Test and optimize

Click on the preview button to test and ensure the settings work well. Then publish and share the web application you just created with those you’d like to give access to your Google Sheets file.

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