Short answer: Start with a Grid for general tracking, switch to a Project when you need Gantt or dependencies, use Card for Kanban workflows, and surface insights in a Report or Dashboard.

• Grid: Blank, flexible table—great starting point.
• Project: Adds Start/Finish/Duration, dependencies, and Gantt.
• Card: Board view for status columns (To Do → Doing → Done).
• Task List: Prebuilt columns like Task, Due, Assigned To.
• Report: Pulls rows across sheets with filters/sorting.
• Dashboard: Visual summary with charts, metrics, and links.

Sharing invites named users with permissions (Viewer → Admin). Publishing creates a link anyone with the URL can view (or interact, depending on settings). Use sharing for collaboration; publish for broad visibility.

Use Forms for structured intake (events, requests, tickets) and to limit fields and access. Use the Sheet when collaborators need to edit or review multiple rows and columns at once.

Automations watch for triggers (date reached, status changed) and run actions like alerting, assigning, moving rows, or kicking off approvals—reducing manual follow-ups and deadlines slipping.